"Don't Use Boys' Names for Girls... It Creates Complexes" The 'I Nara' That Enforces This

Russian Lower House Member Proposes Related Bill
"If Name Doesn't Match Gender, It's a Complex Trigger"
"Gender Distinction in All Names Is Ambiguous" Rebuttal Also

Russia is pushing a bill that prohibits giving names that do not match the child's gender.

Banning male names for girls and female names for boys... "To prevent abnormal development of children"

[Image source=Pixabay]

According to the Russian daily Izvestia on the 6th (local time), Tatyana Butskaya (United Russia Party), a member of the Russian State Duma, stated that there has been an increase in cases where girls are given male names such as 'Mikhail,' and she is preparing a draft of such a bill.

Currently in Russia, it is prohibited to include numbers, symbols, profanity, titles, or ranks in a child's name. If this bill is adopted, registration offices will have the right to refuse names that do not match the child's gender.

For example, if this bill is adopted, girls will not be allowed to be named the male name 'Misha.' Only female names like 'Masha' will be permitted, and if parents try to name their daughter 'Misha,' the registration office will be able to reject it.

Butskaya pointed out, "Registration offices currently do not have the right to refuse registration if parents intentionally give a boy a girl's name or a girl a boy's name."

She also claims, "By giving names that match the gender, abnormal development of children can be prevented."

The logic is that boys with female names or girls with male names may suffer serious psychological effects, experience certain complexes, or exhibit inappropriate behavior in society.

"Naming children is an independent domain of parents"... Gender classification of all names is also ambiguous

The photo is not directly related to the content of the article. [Image source=Pixabay]

However, Ilya Slobodchikov, a psychology PhD from the Russian University of Peoples' Friendship (RUDN), criticized, "Names are an area of spontaneous and independent choice by parents," and "The state should not intervene in this area of responsibility."

There was also a counterargument that it is difficult to clearly distinguish the gender of all names.

For example, 'Nikita' is a male name in Russia but is used as a female name in Bulgaria. 'Pavel' is considered a male name in Russia but is often given to females in Eastern Europe.

It is also not easy to clearly distinguish gender when using names from other regions such as Asia or words that have not traditionally been used as names.

Recently in Russia, there has been a trend of naming children after nature or seasons, such as Moon (Luna), Winter (Zima), and March (Mart). These names are often chosen regardless of the gender associated with the Russian words.

In response, Butskaya said, "The draft bill is in progress," and added, "We are conducting research with professors to establish sources that accurately determine the gender of names."

Meanwhile, Russia currently prohibits the use of numbers, symbols, profanity, titles, or ranks in children's names.