Some pretty excellent promotional material for Labor and the Greens, in my opinion.
I actually thought this was satire at first.
Few thoughts. One, where else should kids learn about these ‘extreme’ identities? The internet? That’s going to end well. No kid was ever confused by information on the internet. Parents, yes—but if we can have someone who is trained in dealing with the tricky questions that children are going to ask of themselves in the most confusing period of their lives, I think that’s a pretty good support for parents to have.
Also, how exactly does any of this give schools the ability to ‘decide’ that parental consent isn’t required for -medical- things? That’s just out-and-out scare mongering.
‘Transgender boys can use girls’ toilets’ is an odd statement, when you think about it. Which identity are we talking about? The one they feel, or the one they were born with? Cause ‘transgender boys’ meaning someone who is male-to-female is actually a ‘transgender girl’ and it’s mis-gendering someone. But then if it’s meaning someone who is female-to-male using the girl’s toilets, the people who wrote this are probably perfectly okay with that.
Why does it matter, and why does it matter to me?
Because the concept of gender is a ridiculous social construct that traditionally defines two very separate expectations based on a single piece of anatomy. We don’t expect things from people based on the look of their ankles or the straightness of their nose—why should any other body part define what someone else expects from you?
Favourite colours, careers, toy preferences, interests, behaviours, and so much more are defined by ‘boy’ or ‘girl’. Blue or pink? Transgender and other gender identities challenge that concept, and the more they are accepted the more freedom those who do identify with their born gender will experience too. It won’t be weird for a young boy to love playing with a toy vacuum. Or for a grown man to cry when he’s upset.
Yes, it is confusing. It’s a deeply confusing subject that adults find difficult to comprehend—it was something we were sheltered from, something that we learned about when there was no longer someone there to guide us through comprehension.
You know. Like a school would do.
No one is setting out to ‘confuse’ or ‘befuddle’ children into an alternate gender identity. The goal is to ensure that all kids are aware of the multitude of options and people that are out there, to understand their own minds and bodies better, and to gain respect and understanding for those who are not the same as they are.
It’s about helping kids be comfortable with who they are (and they know themselves better than anyone), and with those around them. Education is key to growing respectful citizens for the future.
This pamphlet? In my opinion, absolute trash.
inshiftingcolour 