Radical Parents?

So the other day I caught a taping of a show called Radical Parenting. It was a show that explored several different types of parenting from attached parenting, to raising a child without consequences, to raising a child in a gender neutral world. Doing the attached parenting and raising a child without consequences CERTAINLY would not be my cup of tea, but I was shocked that a form of my parenting is considered radical. Really?

The set of parents that were raising their child in a gender neutral household showed how the Mom and Dad don't necessarily perform gender biased roles in the house. It showed the husband cooking and the Mom putting together some bathroom cabinet. Check...thats us. Hubby rocks at cooking and I have more patience to put a thousand piece project together. We also switch it up and I'll cook some and he'll do things like hang pictures. The parents in this show buy their sons a variety of toys from cars to dollhouses (see post below). Check...done that. What we don't do is follow their clothing guideline of not dressing their children in typical boy clothes. I think its fun dressing up a little boy themed clothing. However if I had a daughter would she be wearing a Capitals jersey? You're damn right she would. Would she wear monster trucks? Probably not. Then again their "non boy themed clothing" confused me because they were wearing what I see most boys wearing minus clothing with pictures on them. So I was a bit confused about that.

I am just surprised that my parenting is deemed somewhat "radical". I don't follow the overly strict guidelines (nor did these people really), but the jest of it is the same. I didn't think it was radical though. So do other households really push their kids in one or another direction? Are little girls not allowed to play with things like tool benches, cars, and sports equipment? Are little boys not allowed to play with kitchen sets, wear their Moms shoes or pretend to play babies? I got to put a call into my Mom and tell her she must of been a pioneer or something in this radical parenting style, because I grew up playing with whatever. I had pretty dolls, barbies and my little ponies, but I also had a REAL working tool bench (the saws actually worked...my Mom was brave giving this to me at three...I'm surprised the kitchen table legs weren't sawed off), cars and various sporting equipment. I'm just shocked. Please tell me that my parenting isn't radical and these people just needed to put in a extra 15 minute to show something. Anybody?