The scientists called the baby “X” so no one would know if it was a boy or a girl. This way, X could grow up without being forced into certain “boy” or “girl” expectations.
The scientists needed parents who wouldn’t treat X like a boy or a girl, but most people couldn’t do that, so they weren’t chosen.
Some people thought X was strange and didn’t know how to act around X. For example, one parent called X a “Problem Child” (Gould 4), and some people “made faces and giggled behind X’s back” (Gould 3), showing that many didn’t accept X.
X’s parents were worried about school because they thought kids and teachers might treat X differently, since they were used to the usual “boy” or “girl” roles.
Other kids started acting like X because they saw that they could do new things without worrying about what boys or girls are “supposed” to do. For example, “Susie stopped wearing pink dresses” (Gould 3), and “Peggy used the lawn mower, and Joe tried the vacuum cleaner” (Gould 3).
A lot of parents were upset because their kids weren’t acting like “normal” boys or girls anymore, and that made the parents feel uncomfortable.
X’s parents read stories like “Sleeping Handsome” to show X that anyone can do anything, no matter if they’re a boy or a girl.
When the kids say, “by the time it matters which sex X is, it won’t be a secret anymore” (Gould 6), they mean that when X gets older, people will know who X really is, and gender won’t be a big deal anymore.