So your three year old son wants to dress like a pink unicorn, what do you do? Well, I am not really qualified as a parent and am admittedly way out of my pay grade here but I think the one thing you don't do is immediately cut his wee wee off. Give him a few years, he might find a use for it.
I do not know the author but she seems positively giddy about the whole experience. I would not be surprised if she was providing junior with lots of unconscious reinforcement and shaping regarding his chromatic color choices.
She certainly sounds like she has her own agenda here.
I am not daft about the realities of a society that has thrived on categorization. Recent attacks on transgender rights at schools and legislation discouraging any education on gender identity until fourth grade, as adopted in Florida, represent an increasingly fervent backlash to broadening gender labels and norms. The idea we should stick to our own corners, like 1950s segregation, is one as old as human existence, but one that’s been proved to hinder society from thriving.
My suggestion is, let little Johnny have some time to think about whatever lies ahead. If he enters his late teens and still wants to dress like tinkerbell or even make anatomical corrections, god bless, him/her/ they. But who knows, it might be a temporary color choice, he may be in his blue, macho period by then, hope mom can handle that possibility.
Hominids have been evolving for about 6 million years, male/female attraction is not necessarily abnormal either and those that follow that paradigm should not be ostracized or otherwise persecuted. If the child turns out to be a heterosexual who favors traditional male attire, I hope that she can come to accept him in time.
1 comment:
Transgender people have been around as long as Homo sapiens but it was handled much differently. The need to conceal what one is creates problems that are really difficult. As tough as that was, it looks like the current approach is backfiring. The transgender thing sets off big probably unconscious reactions in people and these days politicians are harnessing that energy toward their own end of acquiring power.
The politicians will probably carry the day and the only answer for transgender adults may be to go underground as they have throughout history.
This mess resembles a lot of social change that is taking place, that is it popped up pretty quickly and became threatening to people who may not buy it. Not having any good ideas about what to do, all I can think of is that a go slow approach to social change may be safer that sudden changes that create backlash.
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