Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker reveals parents raised her ‘gender neutral before it was even considered a thing’

Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker has discussed her childhood and family life in a new interview, saying her parents raised her and her brother gender neutral before it was even considered ‘a thing’.

They sound like cool parents!

The star told The Times that this approach to parenting meant she and her sibling were given the same ‘opportunities’ growing up.

‘My brother and I were raised gender neutral before it was even considered a thing,’ the 38-year-old told the publication.

‘We were given equal opportunities and thrown into the same activities. Our parents told us that our social skills and sports were just as important as our academic results.

‘They wanted me to be well rounded, able to have a proper conversation and have an inquisitive mind.’

Gender neutral parenting is when parents do not enforce cues and items stereotypically considered as ‘for boys’ or ‘for girls’ on their kids.

It can also involve allowing a child to choose the clothes they want to wear and the toys they want to play with.

In the past, celebrities such as P!nk have said they are raising their kids gender neutral.

Jodie became Doctor Who in 2017: the first woman to take the role since its debut in 1963.

That said, she has previously explained she isn’t playing the role with a defined gender.

She told Marie Claire in 2018: ‘I’m playing a Time Lord who’s essentially an alien and inhabits different bodies and this one is female.

‘The best thing for me though is that, for the first time in my life, I am not playing a stereotypical woman because as much as I approach everything as an actor, I am continually labelled by the female version of that character.

‘I recently had someone ask me, “Are you playing it [the Doctor] as a girl or a boy?” I replied, “I’m just playing it.” This is the most freeing role because there are no rules.’

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