I must start by saying that these topics are very personal
and can be considered controversial. There is a spectrum of values, attitudes
and beliefs that affect our opinion of each of these topics. We are all born
into the world with the biological factors of our makeup already in place,
based on the DNA of our parents. Our race, ethnicity and corresponding physical
characteristics have already been decided. Our gender was determined shortly
after conception. The person we grow up to be is determined by the environment in
which we are raised, and the values and beliefs of our culture.
In a
diverse world, it has become necessary for educators to accept the many forms
families take, while putting aside our personal beliefs. We all have the right
to our own beliefs yet we must fulfill our role in helping each child develop a
positive identity (Laureate Education Inc., n.d.). Many people have voiced
their opinion that homophobia and heterosexism permeate the worlds of young
children, through books, movies, television shows, toys and other media.
However, I would argue that these ideas are prevalent because the majority of
the population is heterosexual. Human beings, like many other mammals, naturally
reproduce heterosexually. In our modern
world, advanced reproductive medical techniques or adoption must be utilized to
help same sex couples to become parents. It could also be argued that humans
are not biologically intended to become parents if they form gay or lesbian
relationships. I struggle with including books and materials within my
classroom depicting same-gender parents. While I recognize that this occurs in
our modern world, I believe that young children should be sheltered from this
being thrown in their face if there is not a family at the center with
same-gender parents. Children have such little time to enjoy childhood
innocence before being thrust into dealing with adult situations. If such a
family enrolls at the center, then children should be taught about the
different types of families. In responding to a family who perceives or knows a
staff member to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and does not want this
staff member interacting with their child, I would seek to have a conversation
with the family about their reasons for their request. I would also support the
staff person by pointing out that their sexual orientation does not impact
their job performance.
I have not heard young children call each other homophobic
names, but I have heard older children do so. I have heard several teachers
respond to this by asking the students what they thought those names mean, and
often, they do not know. Last year, children (who did understand the meaning of
the word) reacted negatively to the word gay in a holiday song. The teacher
responded by explaining to the students that at the time the song was written,
the word was used to mean happy. Even today, the dictionary definition lists
happy, merry, and bright as additional definitions of the word.
This week we were also asked to think about and respond to
two articles that discuss how children's clothing became gendered, how colors
became assigned to each gender, and how therapists grapple with approaches to
respond to young children who feel they are transgender. It was interesting to learn how historically
boys and girls wore skirts and dresses until between ages five and seven, and
how initially boys and girls wore white. Later, boys were assigned the color
pink because it is a stronger color, while girls were assigned blue because it
was considered more dainty (Maglaty, 2011).
Gender differentiated clothing became vogue because clothing
manufacturers found that it was a way of selling more clothing as families had
more children.
I notice that as a parent, I became very upset when my son
(first and only child) was mistaken for a girl on multiple occasions because of
his full head of curly hair (present from birth), dark eyes, and long eyelashes
despite being dressed in "masculine" colors and designs. I remember
becoming very upset with this and even opted to cut his hair shorter (and lose
his beloved curls) because of this. This shows how focused our society is on
gender.
As I read the article that discussed the conflicting views
on how to approach parenting a child who struggles with gender preference and
identity, I found myself aligning with Zucker (Spiegel, 2008) because I agree
that if the child were struggling with their racial identity, we would support
his development to become more comfortable with his race, something we cannot
change. Therefore, the same approach
makes sense when approaching supporting the development of children with gender
identity issues. Simply because we can surgically change someone's gender,
should we? Is it ethical to do so simply because the technology exists to
manipulate our anatomy?
Therefore I will continue to do what I feel is morally and
ethically responsible. I will support the development of each individual child
and family, respect each child and family, and help each child become
comfortable with the anatomy they were born with.
References
Laureate Education Inc. (Producer). (n.d.) Start seeing diversity [Video file].
Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Maglaty, J. (2011). When
did girls start wearing pink?. Retrieved from
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-did-girls-start-wearing-pink-1370097/
Spiegel, A. (2008). Two families grapple with sons' gender
identity: Psychologists take radically different approaches in therapy.
Retrieved from
http:///www.npr.org/2008005/07090247842/two-families-grapple-with-sons-gender-preferences.
