14 Stars That Don’t Care About the Criticism for Their Gender-Neutral Parenting Approach

Gender-neutral parenting has been a thing for many years now. More and more parents don’t see toys, hobbies, and even clothes as “for boys” and “for girls.” They give their children the freedom of choice and self-expression. But when stars do it, they still have to deal with negative comments.

We at CHEERY also agree that there’s no room for stereotypes in the modern world, so we want to tell you about celebrity parents that raise their children without any gender limitations.

Madonna

On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the star shared that her 16-year-old adopted son wears her clothes, and he does it really well, “He can put on any outfit and look swag as you know what. It’s really irritating. He wears my clothes and looks better in them. He can even wear a dress and look butch.”

Candice Swanepoel

The South-African model Candice Swanepoel has 2 sons. She gave her younger son a gender-neutral name Ariel. She explains her choice by saying that Ariel is a traditionally male name in Hebrew and internationally, but in the U.S. it has become more associated with girls thanks to a Disney mermaid.

Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green

Megan Fox and her ex-husband Brian Austin Green had a lot of disagreements, but not about how to raise kids. Both of them support the gender-neutral approach. Once, their little son Noah was photographed in a dress with princesses, and Megan was criticized for that.

“If a boy loves princesses and a girl loves baseball, that’s not indicative of their sexuality. It’s indicative of their communication and creative expression”, — she replied. Her ex supported her: “I’ve heard from some people that they don’t agree with him wearing dresses. He’s 4 and if he wants to wear it then he wears it. It’s his life, they’re not my clothes. That’s a time when he should be having fun. He’s not harming anyone wearing a dress. So if he wants to wear a dress, good on him.”

Adele

The singer and songwriter haven’t set any limits for her son Angelo and never told him how to dress. When he wanted to wear a princess dress for his trip to Disneyland, Adele didn’t mind, even though she was criticized for it.

She says, “I’m so proud of myself that I made him in my belly. Cooked him in my belly, and then he came out of me! This human who’s suddenly walking around and doing his own thing. I can’t wait to know who his best friends are going to be, who his girlfriend or his boyfriend is going to be or what movies he likes... Whatever my kid wants to do or be I will always support him no matter what.”

Pink

Pink is an example of having no stereotypes, so she understands what kind of pressure people might have to deal with if they don’t match the standards. She said she’s raising children without any labels but tries to avoid the term, “gender-neutral.”

The singer thinks that gender shouldn’t affect her children’s hobbies, “So I have boys that flip dirt bags and I have boyfriends that wear dresses. It’s all OK to me. It’s whatever floats your boat. So that’s the kind of house that we live in.”

Bryce Dallas Howard

Bryce Dallas Howard didn’t have any clear plans for a gender-neutral upbringing. She didn’t think it was anything special when her daughter would wear her older brother’s clothes. Besides, the girl was bald for a long time, and it wasn’t obvious what her gender was.

The actress says, “I think it’s about just tapping into each child and revealing that it is possible, that there is a future, and the future can be bright and extraordinary and all we have to do is not be afraid and not hide.”

Amber Rose

On her social media, Amber Rose is quite honest about raising her children. She is against all types of shaming, and she defends her personal lines. Later, the actress and model were ready to deal with haters, when she posted a video on her Instagram page where she was going to give manicures and pedicures to her son, who was just 3 years old at the time.

She replied to the haters, “We encourage our children to paint, draw, and be creative, so why block them from their creativity when it comes to self-expression? [Expletive] standards and gender roles! Let your children be great!”

Zoe Saldana

Zoe Saldana is a mother of 3 boys, and they have also wanted to wear dresses or paint their nails. The actress and her husband Marco Perego don’t see anything wrong with it. They don’t divide their house chores and hobbies into men’s and women’s.

The actress said in an interview, “When you look at parenting, the whole thing about matriarchy and patriarchy, and Daddy’s little girl and Mama’s boys — my husband and I find that completely ludicrous and absolutely unhealthy for the upbringing of a child.”

Katie Lowes

The star of the series Scandal and her husband Adam Shapiro are trying to be the best parents for their son Albee and daughter Vera. They let their parents be whatever they want, even choose their own genders.

After they had their first child, the actress said, “I wish, now more than ever, to just please let my son be healthy and happy and safe. That’s all that matters.”

Gwen Stefani

The singer calls her parenting style “monkey see, monkey do.” The kids just use the example of their parents that don’t comply with any standards. Once, Gwen was asked about her attitude to the fact that her sons painted their nails and wore tutus.

She said, “It’s one of those things where, it’s not like I don’t think about it, but they’re used to being around me, and I’m always doing my hair, makeup, nails. It’s just normal for them. What I like to say is that being unique and original is what makes me happy, and I think that rubs off on them.”

Russell Brand

On stage, Russell Brand is a sharp-tongued comedian, and in real life, he’s a tender father of 2 daughters. When he had his first daughter Mabel, he said, “I may not even impose a gender upon it, let the child grow up and be whatever the hell it is. I have re-evaluated the way that I unconsciously looked at gender because now I’ve got a daughter I think ’wow, I don’t necessarily need to dress her in clothes that are indicative of her gender.”

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez uses gender-neutral pronouns, talking about the child of her sister, and her own daughter Emma. Not a long time ago, they performed at a charity concert together, and, when presenting Emma to the audience, she referred to Emma as “they.”

It caused a lot of controversies online. There were people that criticized Jennifer and accused her of child abuse, but most fans supported her and praised her for respecting the choice of her child.

Kate Hudson

The actress told that she’s raising 2 sons and a daughter without any gender stereotypes, “[Having a daughter] doesn’t really change my approach, but there’s definitely a difference. I think you just raise your kids individually regardless — like a genderless [approach]. We still don’t know what she’s going to identify as.”

Olivia Wilde

Olivia Wilde is raising her children with equality. Raising a boy and a girl, the actress sees that social institutions impose gender roles on children, and she tries to battle it. For example, when she sees her daughter wanting to wash the plate after her son, she stops her.

Also, the actress and the father of her children Jason Sudeikis don’t limit their kids in their hobbies, even if they seem inappropriate for their gender. They hope to keep this approach for as long as possible, “That’s so great because at a certain age [Otis] is going to be like, ‘Well, I can’t, that’s...’ you know, and he still doesn’t judge things like pink, or dance, or gymnastics. I don’t know why at a certain point we tell them that’s for boys and that’s for girls, but I’m going to do my best to not force that delineation.”

How do you raise your kids? Have you ever not let them do something because it was a “girl” or a “boy” thing?