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Lobby group asks US schools to stop using the words “boy” and “girl”
- notsony 11y agoTLDR: http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/four-ways-to-make-a-classroom-gender-inclusive http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/four-ways-to-make-a-classroom-... - "For example, when lining students up for lunch, rather than saying, “Girls line up first,” try saying, “Anyone wearing a green shirt can line up,” or “If your name has an ‘E’ please line up.” - instead of addressing your class using “boys” and “girls,” try something new. Words like “friends,” “students” or “scholars” allow all students to feel included - On paperwork, avoid asking students to identify as male or female unless it is absolutely necessary. If it is necessary for students and their families to do so, consider adding a third write-in option for those who have non-binary gender identities or to allow students to elaborate if neither “male” nor “female” fit. - Similarly, make sure that forms do not have specific spaces for “mother” and “father.” If a form requires the name(s) of legal caregivers(s), the form can just say “parent,” “guardian,” or “caregiver.”
- dudul 11y agoThe headline is clearly misleading and has little to do with the actual post. However, the part about kids having "non-binary gender identity" is f-ing scary. First of all, documents only offer 2 checkboxes (Boy/Girl) because this is the sex of the kid they want you to fill out and as far as I know there are only 2 sexes. I know that most documents actually use the term "gender" but this is incorrect. Kids don't have to define their gender identity, they're just kids. Can we just let them be without asking them to place themselves on a gender spectrum or whatever the F?
- DanBC 11y ago> First of all, documents only offer 2 checkboxes (Boy/Girl) because this is the sex of the kid they want you to fill out and as far as I know there are only 2 sexes. There are more than two sexes. Even if you stick to chromosonal definitions of sex there are more than XX or XY. You claim that they want to know the sex, but then say that other forms ask for gender but that those forms are wrong. The forms are asking about gender because that's the important part for most of these forms. > Kids don't have to define their gender identity, they're just kids. Can we just let them be without asking them to place themselves on a gender spectrum or whatever the F? You make the mistake of thinking that children have no clue about gender identity. From the little bits of reseach we do we know that many children have firm ideas of what they consider themselves to be. Why can't we respect that, and allow them to live their lives free of oppression?
- dudul 11y agoEspecially at school, I'm pretty sure that when they ask for "gender" they mean "sex". It makes sense for medical reasons for example. I don't see any reason for them to care about gender. Why would they care? As a side note, what are the other sexes?
- sp332 11y agoI can't think of many forms in a classroom that would deal with medical anything. And the few that do (inhalers or other drugs) are not related to sex. Gender seems much more relevant.
- sp332 11y agoCan we just let them be without asking them to place themselves on a gender spectrum or whatever the F? How is asking them to place themselves into two specific buckets less limiting than letting them pick their place?
- dudul 11y agoThey don't place themselves in buckets, nature does. Their sex is whatever they are born as, their gender is a different dimension. And as I stated, I don't see any reason why a teacher should care what gender they identify as.