Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual
Orientation
Q: 4 Yes, I have heard people used some of the homophobic terms fag, gay,
or sissy. When I was about 7th
and 8th grade there were a couple of people who weren’t quite like
the rest of the class. And the class mates treated them different from other
because they acted differently. They would make fun of them because of what
they wore. These were two young men but
basically they wore girl pants and tops, and started to wear makeup. And back
then when I was in grade school a lot of children new that fag and sissy meant
that you are a boy acting like a girl, or vice versa. I was in the group where
we would always take up for them, and wonder why do people hate people who act
different? I think people should have their own opinion to like people they
don't like. I think that prejudice in general often come down to some sort
of fear of your own. So if someone picks on a gay kid, they have insecurities
or problems in their own life, where I think that bullies will bully to make
themselves feel better. Homophobic will bring someone else down to make they
feel on a higher level than everyone else. When things get better in their
lives, they have no
Q: 5 I don't understand why
people react to homophobic people when there are so many more important things
such as children dying with no money. I think it is really unfair to force your
opinions on people, if you can't like people who are different from the
majority of us than don’t try and get others who are okay with it to dislike
because you do. Everyone is allowed their own opinion, and you're allowed
yours, but, I hate it where when someone does not like gays, they got bullied
about it. Let people like or not like whom they want and instead of thinking
about gays, you should think of people who actually need help such as the poor,
and children dying without a penny to their name.
Hi Gloria,
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to see people treated differently than others. I had a childhood friend who grew up with her grandparents, as her parents divorce. No one really wanted her, so she only could live with her grandparents. It was sad, as she was picked on by peers, neighbors, and sometimes even by teachers. Back then, growing in a divorced family was something unusual or unacceptable in China. When I thought back, I should say the way teachers treated her set an example for children to follow. I do not think teachers back then did a good job to be inclusive. As Pelo (2008) stated that children can understand the attitudes at school. We are still friends, but I did not brave enough to stop others bullying or making fun of her when we were kids. I feel I learned a great lesson from her experience. I should be the positive model for children in my class and of my own to be inclusive and acceptive to the diversity in the world. I witnessed how painful it was for my friend to live up to the mean words and negative comments on her. I hope I can prevent it in my class and in the community that I live at too.
References
Pelo.A. (Ed)(2008). Rethinking early childhood education
Gloria, the ideas that you shared demonstrate the amazing contributions that you are bringing to the field of early childhood; you are a real advocate for children.
ReplyDeleteI think your idea of not sharing our dislikes is extremely important when discussing early childhood, especially because parents share everything. This reminds me of an amazing, bright little girl in our preschool, Cara. She was actually in my class. She wore jeans and t-shirts. She played with dolls, loved to dress up as a Princess, and played ball games with the boys. When we dressed up for holiday parties or ceremonies, Cara wore jeans and a nice shirt; she never wanted to wear a dress. Other parents openly teased her parents ALL the time; her parents just laughed it off. I wonder, now, if their remarks hurt. Derman-Sparks and Olsen Edwards (2010) shared that "while gender anatomy is universal, the behaviors and attitudes considered to be typical and acceptive for each gender differ from culture to culture" (p. 90). I think that they, also, differ from person to person.
Thanks for sharing, Gloria. Great post.
Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.
Hi Gloria,
ReplyDeleteI had often held the same belief you mentioned. Just as bullies are individuals who were bullied as youths, I had imagined that those individuals who were strongly homophobic would have some homosexual tendencies too. However, we cannot assume that this is the case.
Often I have heard remarks such that it goes against religion. Whilst I may compeltely disagree with that opinion, some conservative and religious people may feel that is the case. As a result, being gay defies God and therefore it is bad.
The other view I have witnessed is that being gay goes against evolution. This man had actually called a radio station and said that being gay defied evolution and as a result, these homosexual individuals were not fit to pass on their genes. (This conversation appeared on a Kourtney and Kim take Miami episode). This argument is full of loopholes and completely ignores that gay and lesbian familes can still have biological children from within or a prior relationship.
As you mentioned, there are definitely other important aspects that communities can worry about. However, it is important that we address the needs of our community members as well. By that, I mean that we need to work to reduce the biased attitudes. As Brooker and Woodhead mentioned, we need to ensure that children are able to develop their identities which do not conflict with their family identity and cultural identity.
Brooker, L., & Woodhead, M. (2008). Early childhood in focus 3: Developing positive identities: Diversity and young children. Retrieved from http://www.bernardvanleer.org/Developing_Positive_Identities_Diversity_and_Young_Children?pubnr=523&download=1
Hey Gloria,
ReplyDeleteJust some feed back on question 4...I hate will use the words sissy and fag. I would rather for people to use professional words such as homosexual or even bisexual. The words sissy and fag are so disrespectful. People called my gay when I was younger only because I had a high pitch voice.