Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

My response to those who believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families is exactly in line with what the teacher expressed in the video, “she knew her role was to help all children develop a positive identity, regardless of her own beliefs.” (Wolpert, Laroche & Rasmussen, 1999). People at some point have to understand, we are all human beings regardless of our differences, being human is what ties us together and out of simple respect for a human; tolerance, acceptance and respect must be taught in early childhood centers and through out a child’s entire educational experience and the perfect way to start is with books. We teach children early on to rely on books for knowledge and insight into the world. I think that it is so unfortunate that there are adults who would rather have classroom materials based off of their own feelings and opinions that have classroom materials that are inclusive to ALL types of families. The damage it does to a child who does not feel accepted or acknowledged is often times irreversible and will lead into a lifetime of not feeling worthy. In addition the video goes on to explain that the staff at the center “decided that it is still important to acknowledge the existence of families with gay and lesbian parents, so that children are prepared to be respectful when they do meet people who are lesbian or gay” (Wolpert, Laroche & Rasmussen, 1999). I agree that even if individuals think the inclusion of gay and/or lesbian books (materials) are not relevant because they believe their classroom children are not exposed to gay and/or lesbian families, this is not true in that often times children have close extended family members or family friends who are gay and/or lesbian.

My response to a parent/family member who informed me they did not want anyone who is perceived (or self-reported) homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with their child who be frank, honest, simple and to the point. I would inform the parent/family member that the center has no tolerance of prejudice of discrimination against any individual based on things such as race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc. I would let the parent/family member know that a staff members sexual orientation is the last thing that is on my mind and the first things that I look at in a staff member are their personality and ability to connect with and genuinely care for and effectively teach and enhance the lives of children. I just simply would not have tolerance for such a thing. I would let the parent/family member know there are all types of families that children are a part of and it is my job to make sure that every child feels safe, secure and confident in their families and in themselves. 

I will never understand why being gay/lesbian is such a big deal. Never.

The items I looked at when thinking about gender roles/identity were a Princess Tiana Cookbook, a picture of a little girl holding a dragon art project and a picture on the back of a box that contained sports stickers.

The Princess Tiana Cookbook shows pictures of men and women in the book but I do not think it is inclusive to boys as it is named Princess Tiana Cookbook, I think the title and cover of the cookbook would turn many boys away and I can hear parents saying “this book is for girls!” The picture of the little girl with the art project is different in that stereotypically dragons are associated with boys, so this shows girls can have a liking for dragons. The sports sticker box stereotypically shows an adult male figure and two little boys with basketball, football and baseball stickers. This can be interpreted as only boys can play sports.  

Reference 

Wolpert, E., Laroche, R., Rasmussen, N., Committee for Boston Public Housing., & Redleaf Press (Producer). (1999). Start seeing diversity: The basic guide to an anti-bias classroom. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.