“The Story of baby X” By Lois Gould Adapted by me.

1. “The Story of baby X” By Lois Gould Adapted by me.

2. Pre-story question • Do you think we are born with certain gender behaviors or do you think we learn them? • Why do you think that?

3. Once upon a time a baby named X was born. It was named X so that no one could tell whether it was a boy or a girl. Before it was born scientists created an Official Instruction Manual that would help the families raise baby X.

4. Many families were interviewed to find the perfect parents for baby X. Families with grandparents named Milton or Agatha, families with aunts who wanted to knit blue shirts and pink dresses, families with other children who wanted a little brother or sister. All of these families didn’t want a baby X, they wanted a baby girl or boy.

5. Finally, scientists found the Jones family The Jones family wanted to raise a healthy, happy baby, no matter what kind. They wanted, most of all, to raise a baby X. The Jones promised to take turns holding X, feeding X, and singing X to sleep. They promised to never hire any babysitters, because babysitters might try to peek at baby X’s secret.

6. The day the Joneses brought home their baby… Everyone asked, “Is it a boy or a girl?” To which Mr. Jones replied proudly, “It’s an X!” No one knew what to say. They couldn’t say, “look at her cute dimples” or “look at his husky biceps!” And just saying “kitchy-coo” didn’t seem right either. The neighbors were unsure, and the relatives were embarrassed. “People will think there is something wrong with it” and the Joneses didn’t understand this. “What could be wrong with a perfectly healthy and happy baby?” they sat and wondered.

7. Suddenly everything changed for the Joneses… The cousins who sent a tiny helmet did not come and visit anymore. The neighbors who sent pink, flowered dresses pulled their shades when the Joneses passed their house. The Official Instruction Manual had warned the new parents this would happen, so they didn’t worry too much. Besides, they were having too much fun raising baby X.

8. Mr. & Mrs. Jones had to be very careful… Because if they kept bouncing baby X up in the air and saying how strong and active X is, they’d be treating baby X more like a boy.

9. But… if they cuddle and kiss baby X and tell it how sweet and dainty X is, they’d be treating baby X more like a girl rather than an X.

10. So they consulted the Official Instruction Manual and the scientists prescribed, “Plenty of bouncing and plenty of cuddling. X ought to be strong, sweet, and active. Forget about dainty altogether.”

11. There were other problems too like clothes & toys… On his first shopping trip, Mr. Jones said to the store clerk, “I need some things for my baby.” The clerk smiled and asked, “boy or girl?” Mr. Jones replies, “Its an X” smiling. The clerk got red in the face and said huffily, “in that case, I’m sorry I can’t help you,” and she stalked away.

12. Poor Mr. Jones… Mr. Jones was very confused but continued to walk down the aisle. But everything in the store was marked BOYS or GIRLS… boys pajamas, girls underwear, boys fire engines, girls doll set.

13. That night Mr. & Mrs. Jones consulted The official Instruction Manual… It said firmly, “buy plenty of everything! But try to keep it gender neutral.” So they bought all kinds of toys. A boy doll that made pee-pee and cried. A girl doll that talked three languages and said, “I am the President of General Motors.” They bought story books about a brave princess who rescued a handsome prince, and another one about a sister and brother who grew up to be a baseball star and a ballet star and you had to guess which.

14. The scientists were pleased with the Joneses They checked in with the Joneses and baby X often, and they were thrilled with the progress baby X was making. They made sure the Joneses knew to “never make baby X feel embarrassed or ashamed about what it wants to play with. And if X gets dirty climbing rocks, never say, ‘nice little Xes don’t get dirty climbing rocks.”

15. Likewise… if baby X fell down and cries, don’t ever say, “Brave little Xes don’t cry.” Because after all, little Xes DO get dirty and brave little Xes CAN cry.

16. Once a little girl grabbed X’s shovel In the sandbox and hit X on the head with it. Her mother immediately scolded her, “Now Tracy, you know better than that, little girls mustn’t hit little…” the mother turned to X and asked, “dear, are you a little boy or a girl?” Mr. Jones held his breath and waiting hopefully for X’s reply. X smiled politely, holding back tears from being hit on the head, and said, “I’m a little X.” “You’re a what?!” the lady exclaimed angrily. “You’re a little brat is what you are. Either way Tracy, little girls mustn’t hit… whatever this child is.” And the woman took her child away. Mr. Jones was upset, but he was pleased that Baby X didn’t associate with either gender, nor did X recognize a difference in gender.

17. The hardest part was yet to come… Baby X wasn’t a baby anymore. It was time for him to start school, and with school came a whole new set of problems. Schools are full of rules for girls and girls, and they weren’t sure where their little X would fit in. Teachers tell students to form a boy line and a girl line. There are games for boys and areas to play for girls. Even the school library has a girl section and a boy section. The bathrooms are marked girl and boy to keep their secrets, but how would they keep X’s secret?

18. The Joneses were summoned to a meeting with the scientists. The scientists were confident that with the schools cooperation everything would be fine. The Joneses followed the Official Instruction Manual. They made sure that X’s mother taught X how to throw and catch a ball and that X’s father had taught X what to serve at a doll’s tea party. X knew how to play with kitchen sets, shoot marbles, play sports, and color in the lines, but best of all X knew what to say when asked if he was a boy or a girl. X was above all else, an extremely happy child.

19. X’s teachers had promised to cooperate… X’s class would line up alphabetically, instead of separate lines for boys and girls. The principal gave X permission to use his private bathroom because it wasn’t marked by gender, it simply said “bathroom” No one, however could help with what might pose the biggest problem at school – other children.

20. Nobody in X’s class had ever known an X… None of the other children had ever even heard of an X. What would the other children think? What would they say? Would they make Xist jokes? Or would they make friends? You couldn’t tell what X was by its clothing. Overalls don’t button right to left, like girls’ clothes, or left to right like boys’ clothes. And did X have long hair for a boy or short hair for a girl? As for the games X liked to play, either X played ball very well for a girl, or played house very well for a boy…

21. The children tried to figure it out by asking X tricky questions… Like, “who’s your favorite sports star?” and X had two favorite sports stars: A male gymnast and a female boxer. Then they asked, “What’s your favorite TV show?” And X said “Lassie” an show that stars a girl dog played by a boy dog. When X said his favorite toy was a doll, they all thought X was a girl… until X told them the doll was really a robot that X had programmed to bake fudge. After that the children stopped trying to figure out what X was. All they knew they’d like to see that doll (which the boys kept calling an “action figure”) VS

22. After school X wanted to play with the other kids… “How about shooting some baskets in the gym,” he asked the girls. They just made faces at X and giggled behind X’s back. “Boy, is she weird,” they said. “Would you like to make a basket in the arts and crafts room,” he asked the boys. But they just made faces and laughed behind X’s back. “Boy, is he weird,” they said. Poor X just walked away sadly. “Why don’t the other kids want to play with me?” X thought.

23. That night Mr. & Mrs. Jones asked X how things had gone at school… X tried to smile, but there were tears in X’s eyes. “The lessons are ok, but…” “But? But what, dear?” Mrs. Jones asked anxiously, she hated seeing her child upset. “The other children hate me,” X exclaimed as tears fell. “They hate you? Surely they can’t hate you.” “They do,” cried X, “they won’t play with me.” The Joneses grabbed their trouble child and told X it would be alright, as they tried to convince themselves the same thing…

24. The Joneses called the scientist about their troubled child… Their response was simply, “What did you expect? Other children have to obey silly boy/girl rules, because their parents taught them to, whether they realized it or not. Luckily, X, you don’t have rules at all. All you have to do is be yourself. We know this isn’t easy, but you are so much more lucky than the other kids.” X liked being itself, but X was still upset and cried a lot that night. The Joneses tucked their child into bed and held X while X cried, and Mr. and Mrs. Jones cried too. Mrs. Jones then read X one of X’s favorite stories about an enchanted prince called Sleeping Handsome who woke up only after the Brave Princess kissed him.

25. The next morning they all felt much better… Little X went back to school with a brave smile and a clean pair of red and white overalls. That day at school there was a 7 letter spelling bee, a 7 lap boys relay race, and a 7 layer cake baking contest in the girls kitchen corner. X won the spelling bee. X also won the relay race. And X almost won the baking contest, but forgot to put the sprinkles on top. Hey, no one is perfect. Many students however, complained that X just wanted to win at everything.

26. But then something strange happened… The children began to really look at X. One even said, “X doesn’t care about winning. X just thinks its fun playing boys’ stuff and girls’ stuff.” Another child added, “If you think about it, its like X gets to have twice as much fun as we are.” After school that day the girl who beat X in the baking contest gave X the biggest slice of her cake. The boy who X beat in the relay race asked to race X across the playground.

27. After that, things really started to get strange… Suzie, who sat next to X, refused to wear pink dresses to school anymore. She wanted to wear pants. Pants, she told her mom, were easier for climbing monkey bars. Then, Jim, the football nut, started carrying his football around and treating it like it was a person, or a doll. Even when he put his entire uniform on, he treated his football like it was a person and sang to it. The kids didn’t think anything of it because that’s what X did, and X was the star quarterback.

28. Suzie’s parents were horrified by her behavior… Jim’s parents were worried sick about his. But the worst was when the twins, Joe and Peggy, started sharing everything. Peggy used Joe’s hockey skates, his microscope, and took half of his paper route. Joe used Peggy’s needlepoint kit, her cookbooks, and took on of her baby-sitting jobs. Joe showed Peggy how to use the lawnmower and Peggy showed Joe how to use the vacuum. Their parents were not please. Even if Peggy mowed the lawn better, or Joe loved to vacuum. They were furious.

29. “It’s all that kid X’s fault…” That’s what all the parents started saying. “That kid doesn’t know what it is, or how it’s supposed to act,” Suzie’s mom argued. “X is trying to do the same thing to our kids so it isn’t the only one acting like that,” cried another parent. Suddenly kids were forbidden to play with X, even at school. But it was too late, the kids loved their new friends. They refused to go back to the way they were before X came along.

30. Finally, the parents held a meeting To discuss “The X Problem.” They sent a report to the principal saying the X was a “bad influence” and immediate action needed to be taken. They said the Joneses should be forced to tell whether X was a boy or a girl and that X should have to start acting like whichever it was. If the Joneses refused to tell, the parents felt that X should have to take an examination. An Impartial Team of Experts would figure out X’s secret and X would have to start obeying the gender rules. They also felt that if X ends up being some sort of confused misfit, then X must be expelled from school so X can stop filling their children’s heads with nonsense ideas.

31. The principal was very upset… Was X really a bad influence? Was X a mixed-up misfit? He told the parents that X was a wonderful student, caring and compassionate, inclusive, and never negative towards another student. X was student council president, X was respected and looked up to by other students. X had won honorable mention at the art show and was a key player on many of their sports teams. X was the example of what a good student should be at the school.

32. The parents wouldn’t listen… “X is a problem child,” they shouted. And the principal had no choice but to notify X’s parents and the Joneses reported this to the scientists. They said, “we knew this would come sooner or later. This will be the ultimate test to know the effects of X’s upbringing, and to see if X is in some way ‘mixed up’ or if everyone else is.” The scientists were nervous, but the Joneses knew their child was not mixed up at all, they knew they had raised their child to know exactly who it is.

33. At 9 a.m. the next day X reported to the office… The principal along with the Parents’ Association and X’s teachers, classmates, and parents all waited in the hall. Inside the office the Experts were doing different types of psychological evaluations to try and figure out if X was male or female and if X was in any way “mixed up.” Question after question after question X answered them all patiently.

34. After what felt like forever, the door opened… Everyone crowded around to hear the results. X didn’t look any different, in fact X was smiling. The team of experts however looked stumped. “So, what happened?” someone shouted after a long silence. The lead expert took off his glasses and pinched his noise, in a frustrated motion. “In our opinion,” he began to say, “In our opinion, young X here is the least mixed up child we have ever seen.” “I told you mom,” exclaimed Suzie. Her mother was furious, but all around her X’s family, teachers, and classmates were cheering.

35. The parent committee was angry and confused… How could X have passed the entire examination with no issues?! X doesn’t know if it is a girl or a boy… how could it not be mixed up?! The experts spoke up and said, “X knows exactly who it is. X was brought up to be exactly who X wanted to be with no restrictions on gender, no boundaries to follow.” “We don’t care, we still want it to act like whatever it is,” one parent shouted. “Well then, ma’am, the answer is simple… X is an x!” said a male expert. He then went over to the Joneses and hugged them. “You child is extraordinary, if I ever have children I hope you’ll let me borrow your instruction manual. You’ve done a fine job raising your child.” And they began packing up.

36. “But wait!” the parents shouted… “We still need to know what it is…” The experts smiled and said, “Don’t worry. You’ll all know soon enough. And when the time comes, you won’t need us to tell you.” With that they walked out the door. “What?! What do you mean?!” A parent asked in confusion. “They mean that by the time it matters what sex X is, it won’t be a secret anymore.” Said the principal smiling.

37. The Joneses were thrilled… They had raised a beautiful child who knew exactly who it was and wasn’t restricted by any gender rules. The scientists were relieved their ideas were correct. The students were glad their friend wasn’t “mixed up” in any way because they liked X just the way X was. The parents eventually came around and promised not to make any more trouble. They even allowed their children to go to X’s birthday party that year.

38. At X’s birthday party… They walked into the backyard and found X playing with a tiny baby that none of them had seen before. The baby was wearing a yellow shirt and tiny overalls. “How do you like our new baby?” X asked proudly. “Its got cute dimples,” Joe said smiling. “Its got husky biceps too,” Suzie laughed. “What kind of baby is it?” Peggy asked. X frowned at them. “Cant you tell?!” X broke into a mischievous grin, “It’s a Y!”

39. Questions to discuss: • Why were parents hesitant to raise their child as an X? Think about this: What do parents hope for when they are pregnant? • Why might people have issues with not knowing what gender baby X was? • How did baby X learn how to behave and what it should/shouldn’t play with? • Why did children find it difficult to play with X at school? • Why did other parents not like their child playing with X? • Do you think X knew what sex it was? Why/how? • Do you think raising a child this way is ok? Why?