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Why Trans Kids Matter More Than Ever
The fight for trans rights affects everybody
Picture this:
You are chaperoning your third-grade grandchild’s class’s visit to an environmental learning center. After they all get off the bus and go to the bathroom, they circle up at the campfire circle for the welcome. The instructor invites each child to share their name, their favorite bird, and their preferred pronouns. This is normal to the children, and most say pronouns that match what seems like their biological gender to you. But some ask to be addressed as “they/them” and there is one child who you know was a “he/him” two years ago and now is wearing all pink and going by a different name and asking for “she/her.” The teachers are perfectly ok with all of this.
These are third graders! Are you shocked? Doesn’t it seem too young to you for the children to be asked what gender they want to identify as? Don’t you think asking a third grader to choose a gender might lead them to make a choice they might regret later? THESE ARE CHILDREN!
Actually, it doesn’t shock me at all. And I think using gender-affirming pronouns and names for children who choose them is saving a lot of lives and leading to many happy adults.
As an educator, I have seen many examples of families who have affirmed a child’s…
