Zoe Saldaña with her husband, Marco Perego and their children.Photo: Michael Tran/FilmMagic
Parenting is all about raising your kids to be the happiest, healthiest versions of themselves. For these celebrity parents, that means not tethering their children to any specific gender expectations — and defending their kids from critics of their choices.From getting manicures with their sons to letting their daughters play with all kinds of toys, here’s whatZoe Saldaña,Megan Fox,Dean McDermottand more stars had to say about raising their children without gender stereotypes.
Parenting is all about raising your kids to be the happiest, healthiest versions of themselves. For these celebrity parents, that means not tethering their children to any specific gender expectations — and defending their kids from critics of their choices.
From getting manicures with their sons to letting their daughters play with all kinds of toys, here’s whatZoe Saldaña,Megan Fox,Dean McDermottand more stars had to say about raising their children without gender stereotypes.
01of 09Zoe SaldañaSteve Granitz/WireImage"When you look at parenting, the whole thing about matriarchy and patriarchy, and Daddy’s little girl and Mama’s boys — my husband [Marco Perego-Saldaña] and I find that completely ludicrous and absolutely unhealthy for the upbringing of a child,“Zoe Saldaña told PEOPLEof raising her three sons,Zen Anton Hilario and twins Cy Aridio and Bowie Ezio.“You’re giving them a very distorted and limited view onwhat a female role is supposed to bein a family and what a male role is supposed to be,” she added.To combat these stereotypes, Saldaña and her husband are “raising our kids in a very gender-fluid environment, where our roles are, we swap back and forth,” she explained. “He’s the bad cop, I’m the good cop and vice versa. There’s no such thing as, ‘Mom’s the boss, listen to your mother.’ No, listen to your father as much as your mother because we stand as a unit.“Ina recent interview with PEOPLE,Saldaña added that she and her husband are “teaching our little boys to honor women and to celebrate women,” as well as teaching them to “honor themselves, their femininity, to celebrate their feminine self as well,” which she calls “very important.““Boys are encouraged to be strong and to suppress their emotions. And then once you learn to do that so much for so long, you become completely excommunicated from your feelings,” she said, explaining why it was important to emphasize more their feminine nature.
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Zoe Saldaña
Steve Granitz/WireImage
“When you look at parenting, the whole thing about matriarchy and patriarchy, and Daddy’s little girl and Mama’s boys — my husband [Marco Perego-Saldaña] and I find that completely ludicrous and absolutely unhealthy for the upbringing of a child,“Zoe Saldaña told PEOPLEof raising her three sons,Zen Anton Hilario and twins Cy Aridio and Bowie Ezio.
“You’re giving them a very distorted and limited view onwhat a female role is supposed to bein a family and what a male role is supposed to be,” she added.
To combat these stereotypes, Saldaña and her husband are “raising our kids in a very gender-fluid environment, where our roles are, we swap back and forth,” she explained. “He’s the bad cop, I’m the good cop and vice versa. There’s no such thing as, ‘Mom’s the boss, listen to your mother.’ No, listen to your father as much as your mother because we stand as a unit.”
Ina recent interview with PEOPLE,Saldaña added that she and her husband are “teaching our little boys to honor women and to celebrate women,” as well as teaching them to “honor themselves, their femininity, to celebrate their feminine self as well,” which she calls “very important.”
“Boys are encouraged to be strong and to suppress their emotions. And then once you learn to do that so much for so long, you become completely excommunicated from your feelings,” she said, explaining why it was important to emphasize more their feminine nature.
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Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde with her kids.Olivia Wilde/Instagram
In a heartfelt essay penned back in 2018, Olivia Wilde opened up about the intentional ways she is raisingher kids— sonOtis Alexander, 9, and daughterDaisy Josephine, 7, — whom she shares with exJason Sudeikis.
“I encourage my daughter to embrace her love of Spiderman and the blue Power Ranger instead of the pink Power Ranger,” Wilde wrote onNBC’s THINK.
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Megan Fox
meganfox/Instagram
In an April 2022interview withGlamour U.K., the actress opened up about how she teaches her children,Journey River,Bodhi RansomandNoah Shannon,about gender identity and encourages them to be confident in who they are. (Dad is ex Brian Austin Green.)
“I know I can’t protect them forever, though I do have a child that suffers,” she shared of Noah. “My child is so brave and I know that they’ve chosen this journey for a reason. It’s just hard as a mom.”
Fox, who has previously spoken aboutNoah’s desire to wear dresses, shared that her son “started wearing dresses when he was about 2.” Soon after that, the actress said she “bought a bunch of books that sort of addressed these things and addressed a full spectrum of what this is.”
“So from the time they were very young, I’ve incorporated those things into their daily lives so that nobody feels like they are weird or strange or different,” says Fox. “I can’t control the things that other children – that they go to school with – have been taught and then repeat to them.” But, she added, “I’m so proud of my kids.”
04of 09Brian Austin GreenJB Lacroix/WireImage; Brian Austin Green/InstagramTheBeverly Hills, 90210alumnus spoke out in a series of candid interviews withHollywood Pipeline’sStraight from the Source, opening up about the way his eldest child chooses to express himself. Noah — one of four of Green’s sons, three of whom he shares with ex-wifeMegan Fox— has often been seen out and about with his parents wearing a dress.“Does it affect you guys if you see people talking crap on it?” host Dax Holt wondered in a video posted in September.Green didn’t skip a beat.“My son, he’s 4,” he explained. “I’ve heard from some people that they don’t agree with him wearing dresses. To them I say, I don’t care. He’s 4 and if he wants to wear it then he wears it.““And it’s dresses or goggles or slippers or whatever,” Green continued. “It’s his life, they’re not my clothes. … I feel like at 4 at 5, 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.”
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Brian Austin Green
JB Lacroix/WireImage; Brian Austin Green/Instagram
TheBeverly Hills, 90210alumnus spoke out in a series of candid interviews withHollywood Pipeline’sStraight from the Source, opening up about the way his eldest child chooses to express himself. Noah — one of four of Green’s sons, three of whom he shares with ex-wifeMegan Fox— has often been seen out and about with his parents wearing a dress.
“Does it affect you guys if you see people talking crap on it?” host Dax Holt wondered in a video posted in September.Green didn’t skip a beat.“My son, he’s 4,” he explained. “I’ve heard from some people that they don’t agree with him wearing dresses. To them I say, I don’t care. He’s 4 and if he wants to wear it then he wears it.”
“And it’s dresses or goggles or slippers or whatever,” Green continued. “It’s his life, they’re not my clothes. … I feel like at 4 at 5, 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.”
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Kate Hudson
Kate Hudson/Instagram
“[Having a daughter] doesn’t really change my approach, but there’s definitely a difference,” she told the outlet. “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.”
“I will say that, right now, she is incredibly feminine in her energy, her sounds and her way,” Hudson explained. “It’svery different from the boys, and it’s really fun to actually want to buy kids' clothes.”
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Gwen Stefani
In a 2015 interview withEntertainment Tonight, the singer responded to questions on how she feels about her sons sometimes painting their nails or wearing tutus.
“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,” she shared. “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.
“My sons did nails just the other day, and the only reason was because their nails were so disgusting!” she added. “We really played ‘Salon’ and we did tiger stripe nails. I said to Kingston, ‘Are you sure you wanna do pink, because you’re gonna go to school tomorrow? Are you sure you’re not gonna be embarrassed?’ He said, ‘No, I don’t care; it’s a cool color.’
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Dean McDermott
In 2012, McDermott got his own wave of criticism after posting a pic of the pedicure he got with daughter Stella. He laughed off commenters — mentioning he’d been getting pedicures for years with wife Tori Spelling — and said he encourages his oldest son, Liam, to follow suit (and even touts spa time as a bonding activity).
“It’s a fun way to express yourself as well as getting your nails trimmed, buffed, and all the nasty bits removed from under your nails. Bleck!!“he wrote on his blog. “My son Liam asked if he could get his nails done like dad, and I was thrilled. I want him to try things; I want him to think outside the box. I want him to be an individual, and a free thinker.
08of 09Amber RoseAlbert L. Ortega/GettyNever one to let critics get her down,Rose clapped backafter followers questioned her decision to take son Sebastian for a mani/pedi in 2016.“We encourage our children to paint, draw and be creative so why block them from their creativity when it comes to self expression? F**standards and gender roles! Let your children be great!” she wrote on Instagram.
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Amber Rose
Albert L. Ortega/Getty
Never one to let critics get her down,Rose clapped backafter followers questioned her decision to take son Sebastian for a mani/pedi in 2016.
“We encourage our children to paint, draw and be creative so why block them from their creativity when it comes to self expression? F**standards and gender roles! Let your children be great!” she wrote on Instagram.
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Katie Lowes
John Salangsang/Invision/AP
When theScandalstarwelcomed son Albeewith husband Adam Shapiro, she was adamant she wouldn’t raise him within the customary gender roles.
source: people.com
