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Gender? If a kid has a friend who is non binary, or has a trans friend, and asks their teachers about it you think it's inappropriate for the teacher to say, "w

Gender? If a kid has a friend who is non binary, or has a trans friend, and asks their teachers about it you think it's inappropriate for the teacher to say, "well, some people are boys, some people are girls, some people are neither, and we try to make sure we respect each other."

slowmovintarget 5y ago
The problem is, that's science-denial, so yes, it would be inappropriate for the teacher to say that. Unpacking the accurate phrase "some people feel they are neither and their views should be respected" for a five year old or even an eight year old is not reasonable territory for a primary school teacher whose only training on the matter is political.
- drewbug01 5y ago
  Teaching children to respect other's views is very much something that I want schools to do. What's the legitimate alternative? What should the teacher say there? > The problem is, that's science-denial, so yes, it would be inappropriate for the teacher to say that. So - imagine that little Timmy has religious parents, and thus believes that God created the heavens and the earth in six literal days (a not-uncommon belief held in the fundamentalist Christian community). Suppose then that little Susie overhears it and asks the teacher about why her parents told her that life evolved gradually over the course of eons. In my mind, an appropriate response could be "some people believe that the universe was created by a deity, and their views should be respected." But you've indicated that "some people believe <x> and their views should be respected" is in fact inappropriate. What would you suggest be done, otherwise?
- bendergender 5y ago
  It's not science denial. Biology has all sorts of instances of more than two sexes. Humans have at least a dozen different genetic configurations that affect their sex organs and hormonal development in a visible way. Here's a diagram of a few: https://i.redd.it/s44am9nqwes11.png https://i.redd.it/s44am9nqwes11.png And that's just a narrow view of sexes through the lens of biology. Social science, anthropology, neurology, medicine, psychology, endocrinology and basically every other science that interfaces with human bodies generally agrees that sex is not binary in humans. Once you've updated your understanding of what the science says on sex, come back and we can talk about gender, and how science agrees that gender is not only not a binary concept, it's purely a social concept.
emerged 5y ago
No, not all parents would be OK with you teaching their children that, and that is their absolute right.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- bendergender 5y ago
  Would you be uncomfortable with your school teaching that we should respect redheads, even though they aren't common? Red hair is about 1 to 2 percent of humans. This is roughly the estimate for trans and non binary folks. Pretty monstrous to teach kids anything other than "respect your neighbor", especially if they are very likely to encounter trans and non binary people. Ignoring the existence of non binary folks doesn't make them not exist, any more than ignoring red heads does.

slowmovintarget 5y ago

The problem is, that's science-denial, so yes, it would be inappropriate for the teacher to say that. Unpacking the accurate phrase "some people feel they are neither and their views should be respected" for a five year old or even an eight year old is not reasonable territory for a primary school teacher whose only training on the matter is political.

drewbug01 5y ago
Teaching children to respect other's views is very much something that I want schools to do. What's the legitimate alternative? What should the teacher say there? > The problem is, that's science-denial, so yes, it would be inappropriate for the teacher to say that. So - imagine that little Timmy has religious parents, and thus believes that God created the heavens and the earth in six literal days (a not-uncommon belief held in the fundamentalist Christian community). Suppose then that little Susie overhears it and asks the teacher about why her parents told her that life evolved gradually over the course of eons. In my mind, an appropriate response could be "some people believe that the universe was created by a deity, and their views should be respected." But you've indicated that "some people believe <x> and their views should be respected" is in fact inappropriate. What would you suggest be done, otherwise?
bendergender 5y ago
It's not science denial. Biology has all sorts of instances of more than two sexes. Humans have at least a dozen different genetic configurations that affect their sex organs and hormonal development in a visible way. Here's a diagram of a few: https://i.redd.it/s44am9nqwes11.png https://i.redd.it/s44am9nqwes11.png And that's just a narrow view of sexes through the lens of biology. Social science, anthropology, neurology, medicine, psychology, endocrinology and basically every other science that interfaces with human bodies generally agrees that sex is not binary in humans. Once you've updated your understanding of what the science says on sex, come back and we can talk about gender, and how science agrees that gender is not only not a binary concept, it's purely a social concept.

emerged 5y ago

No, not all parents would be OK with you teaching their children that, and that is their absolute right.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
bendergender 5y ago
Would you be uncomfortable with your school teaching that we should respect redheads, even though they aren't common? Red hair is about 1 to 2 percent of humans. This is roughly the estimate for trans and non binary folks. Pretty monstrous to teach kids anything other than "respect your neighbor", especially if they are very likely to encounter trans and non binary people. Ignoring the existence of non binary folks doesn't make them not exist, any more than ignoring red heads does.