Episode 37 - Not Telling

He/she is adorable.

And far too young to grasp the concept of gender let alone be defined by it. So why has there been such an eruption of vitriol in the case of baby Storm and the parents who have chosen not to disclose her/his gender?

Here are some comments from a newspaper story on Friday:

"It's pretty clear the parents have an issue with their own sexuality."

"The parents should be declared unfit."

"If this charade keeps up, puberty will be a very challenging experience ..."

The media and the public have not been kind to Storm's parents. But why should the gender of a toddler or infant matter to anyone? And why is gender signalled in clothing and colours and toys and cohorts when it makes no difference to the little person having all these choices made on their behalf?

Not long ago all babies wore dresses, usually white ones. And then around a century ago, blue was deemed to be a girl's colour and boys wore pink. Marketing has a lot to do with what we assume to be innate signifiers of gender. We talk to an historian about how and when kids identities got tied up in their clothes.

Game over. But is it art?

Video games become more complex and more psychologically engaging by the day. There's a clear and deep talent pool of creative energy constructing these worlds, but the games are still seen largely as diversions and entertainment, not art.

Then, in the U.S. the National Endowment for the Arts signalled a shift in their media arts funding which seems to indicate the NEA recognizes in video games at least the potential to be art.

Gamers say there are games already out there that go way beyond the kind of arcade experiences people associate with the video game genre. We'll talk about a genre at the crossroads and tell you about the games that some consider to be art.

Three strikes and you're in... and out.

California prisons were ordered by the Supreme Court to decrease their population by about 20%. The facilities became over-stuffed in part because of changes in sentencing laws like the Three Strikes rule. But another factor has been the powerful and politically active prison guards union, the CCPOA.

The CCPOA lobbies against most initiatives that would mean lighter sentencing or changes to the parole system. It seems to have a vested interest in keeping the prisons as full as possible. We'll see how they feel about the mandated release of 30,000 prisoners over the next 2 years.

Stephen Colbert wants a super PAC.

But when he explains it, it sounds a lot funnier. The TV comedian went to the Federal Election Commission in Washington last week seeking permission to use his show to promote his Political Action Committee. He's not clear what he's going to do with his PAC, but that might not be the point.

What Colbert seems to be arguing is, in part, that players like Karl Rove and Sarah Palin have been able to promote their fundraising PACs when they appear on Fox news as pundits and analysts, and if they can do it, he should too. But he's also drawing attention to how the new laws governing corporate money and freedom of speech play out for powerful interests in the U.S.

Colbert says it's the American dream. "And that dream is simple. That anyone, no matter who they are, if they are determined, if they are willing to work hard enough, someday they could grow up to create a legal entity which could then receive unlimited corporate funds, which could be used to influence our elections."

Kenneth Vogel of Politico weighs in.

Lance Armstrong faces an uphill climb.

He was the subject of a 60 Minutes doc that had some of his closest team-mates piling on allegations of drug use. This as a federal inquiry winds up a wide-ranging investigation. Indictments could be next. It looks bleak for the 7 times Tour de France champ and cancer survivor.

On the other hand, if anyone can beat the odds, it's Armstrong. Dave Zirin says Armstrong's legacy is no longer tethered exclusively to the sports world. The Live Strong army sees their guy not as a sports hero, but as a humanitarian. Dave says he expects Armstrong's legacy to withstand the worst.

From monster to preacher.

Joshua Milton Blahyee is a giant of a man.

In Liberia he's a preacher, he's the President of the End Time Train Evangelistic Ministries. But he used to be a warlord, the leader of a brigade that terrorized Liberia, leading his troops naked into battle except for shoes and a gun. They called him General Butt Naked.

The list of their brutal crimes is long and shocking. Joseph himself lays claim to the slaughter of some 20,000 people.

His strange and complex story is told in the movie The Redemption of General Butt Naked. We talk to co-director Eric Strauss.

And the Canucks have kept Vancouver waiting for a long time.

But gosh Vancouver, they might be about to make an honest woman out of you.

Beating the Sharks in double overtime on Tuesday night won them the Clarence Campbell Bowl  (Sedin didn't touch it) and silenced most of the critics who didn't think they had the grit.

Now lots of us are asking "Hey Vancouver, will you be our team?"

We get a heads-up from a longtime fan on what's required to love the Canucks.

We're back next week to watch the finals. And then everyone will be on the golf course.

Have a great weekend.  

Brent Bambury @CBCDay6

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