Uju Anya, Ph.D., is a professor of second language acquisition at Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Modern Languages. She researches applied linguistics, critical sociolinguistics, and critical discourse studies through the lenses of race, gender, sexual, and social class identities, according to her website. And in just 45 words, she exposed the hypocrisy of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law and other legislation of its ilk.
Here’s Anya’s tweet from last summer, a tweet that recently got heat on Reddit’s r/lgbt forum after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the so-called “Parental Rights in Education” bill into law last month.
Heterosexual is a sexual orientation. If a child knows a “mommy and daddy,” “husband and wife,” or “boyfriend and girlfriend,” they know something about sexual orientation. The topic of sexual orientation is in your kid’s face everywhere every day, not just when we discuss gays.
— Uju Anya (@UjuAnya) June 29, 2021
Anya tweeted that argument in June, before Florida’s bill was filed but after lawmakers other states pushed for similar measures. (We’ve been covering Don’t Say Gay bills here on Queerty for more than a decade now, sadly.)
Related: Johnny Sibilly keeps it very real explaining why ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill is so dangerous
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
As our new favorite college professor points out, though, efforts to mute discussions of sexuality in the classroom are really just efforts to mute discussions of non-straight sexualities.
“When you say sexual orientation is too mature a topic for children, what you really mean is homosexuality,” Anya explained in follow-up tweets. “Cuz you talk to kids about heterosexuality from birth. You put ‘heartbreaker’ and ‘ladies’ man’ onesies on baby boys and ask about their ‘little girlfriend’ in preschool … So don’t say sexual orientation is private or an adult topic. You publicly announce daily you’re in heterosexual relationships with the assumption of your heterosexual orientation saying ‘my’ boyfriend, wife, husband, posting pics, etc. And you do it around children.”
Related: May the force be with Mark Hamill’s response to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill
Then comes Anya’s kicker: “The minute we mention any sexual orientation that isn’t the heterosexuality shoved in our faces every day, the talk immediately becomes inappropriate. Or ‘Nobody cares you’re gay!’ Well, nobody cares you’re f—king Bob either, Susan, but we still liked his picture on your desk.”
LegionKeign
YASSS! MaMa!
BennyTheHill
This gal opposes the parental rights/anti-pedophile/anti-grooming law in Florida?
Sad.
67% of all voters – and even 51% of Democrats – support it.
It looks VERY bad for leftist Democrats who are defending pedophiles and groomers.
Republicans will wipe the floor with Democrats in November.
Democrat strategist James Carville: “November will be a political bloodbath for the Democrats.”
CNN: “Biden has the lowest approval rating of any elected President: 33%.”
LeBlevsez
BennyTheHill?
Nuh-uh.
MarcyTheMayer, I’d welcome you back, but you’re not welcome here. If you’re going to troll under a new name, you have to change your voice, not just remove your virtual lipstick.
BennyTheHill
LeBlevsez:
So, you oppose the parents’ rights law in Florida and you support pedophiles and groomers?
Even 51% of registered DEMOCRATS support it (Washington Post/NBC Poll).
You sick and demented b-a-s-t-a-r-d.
LeBlevsez
MarcyTheMayer –
Oops! I should have reminded you of Chapter Two of Trolling 101. Tailor the script sheet your working from to actually fit the post that you’re responding to. Yikes! A few weeks away and you’ve lost your MAGA mojo.
Den
67% of all voters – and even 51% of Democrats – support it.
That is a lie, and yoiu obviously a liar. Go crawl back under your rock. Nobody wants your scum soaked presence here!
Probably nobody wants it anywhere, so do the world a favor if you catch my drift, child.
Den
“you support pedophiles and groomers?”
@BennyTheTurd:
YOU, in supporting the perverted and projecting right wing, are the one supporting pedophiles, ephebophiles, and groomers. You are very likely one of them yourself. grooming young girls and boys to submit to your sick desires. Just like the politicians whose asses you lick do. We know what you are, and you are not going to get away with your crap here.
Bosch
Biden’s approval rating relates to child development how?
AntiRepubliQueer
Heterosexuals groom children to heterosexuality all the time and they do so right from birth! The grooming by most heterosexuals toward heterosexuality goes from the cradle to the grave, happens every day, many times a day, in subtle and brash ways and it’s relentless. But the mere mention of a same-sex “gay” relationship (and heaven forbid mentioned in a positive light) has too many heterosexuals using their children as an excuse to keep up their relentless discrimination and hate! And to pass that hatred on to yet another generation. It’s disgusting when people use their children as an excuse for perpetrating their bigotry. It’s child abuse!
BunnyTheHill
81% of rightwing voters are anomalous, showing how dim their headlights are in the reign. Poles show voters are donkeys in much of Arizona, and straw polls get eaten daily by comunistas en verano. Still, democrats are slated to succeed at shirtless vogue balls WEST of the jason mixman line.
GlobeTrotter
The more I look into this issue, the more I’m convinced that a lot of this outrage is manufactured and disingenuous. When you take an impartial and unbiased look at the law, all it says is that the state should not have a role in defining gender or sexuality to children between the ages of 6 and 9. All such inquiries should be referred to the parents, i.e. it’s the job of the parent, and not the state, to explain gender and sexuality to their children. That’s it!
I would have a lot more sympathy for the detractors of this law if their arguments were grounded in facts, but all I’ve seen so far are emotional outbursts and attempts to skew the reality of what the law actually sets out to achieve. If the left continues on this trajectory, none of us should be surprised when Trump gets reelected as next president. As the recent gubernatorial election in Virginia has made crystal clear, the majority of parents do not think it’s the role of the state to explain sexuality to their young children. The state’s job, especially when it comes to 6 to 9 year olds, is to teach reading, writing and arithmetic. Sensitive topics such as sexuality should be the purview of the parents.
Just saying…
Doug
In re: to: “Sensitive topics such as sexuality should be the purview of the parents.”
How is simply mentioning in class that a child spent the weekend with their two dads or their two mothers a sensitive topic? It’s not allowed under this law. Of course, a child stating they have a mom and dad is perfectly fine…
GlobeTrotter
@Doug: “How is simply mentioning in class that a child spent the weekend with their two dads or their two mothers a sensitive topic?”
This is why I think a lot of the reaction to the law is simply based on emotion. As I understand it, the law does not forbid anyone from saying they spent the weekend with their two dads or two moms. When it comes to a discussion, however, on the sexuality of two moms or two dads or a mom and dad, the law requires teachers to refer the students to their parents. Again, it’s important to emphasize that this is ONLY for kids between the ages of 6 to 9.
Eternal.Cowboy
You don’t understand the law. And that you see sexuality and gender are “sensitive subjects” pretty much says it all. You are already coming from the standpoint that bigotry based on these thing is okay. It’s isn’t.
BennyTheHill
The leftist educrats believe in interfering with one of the most basic of human rights: The right of a parent to teach their children moral values.
School children do not belong to the State – as communists claim – they belong to their parents.
LeBlevsez
GlobeTrotter –
This law is purposefully vague. It is designed to force school personnel to quash any mention, by anyone including other students, from making any mention of LGBTQ+ people regardless of circumstance or context. The law forbids “instruction” (rather than “curriculum”) by “third parties” (vague enough to include 4-year old Janie). Since parents are suing the schools, the school would have to waste their finite money on defending crap lawsuits. So the law does double-duty: quash all mention of anything queer-adjacent *and* make public schools less effective, therefore making more parents choose private schools, reducing the public school population, thus reducing the funding even further.
This law is an example of “legal trolling” efforts that are now being employed by conservatives. These efforts will eventually fail, but it will take years and cause immeasurable strife in the meantime.
But you know this already, don’t you, GlobeTroller.
Frbernie
Mr Globetrotter, I agree with your stance in theory but the reality is quite different. In discussions with children of those ages, family life is always mentioned. The books they read are always about mommy and daddy. Thats going to be all right but what can’t be discussed is mommy and mommy. Wake up and face the reality of bills like this. I have lived 75 years and found the pendalum swing both ways!
GlobeTrotter
I would agree with you, were it not for the fact that at the age of 6 to 9, sexuality was the furthest thing on my mind. The books we read in school at that time were about Jack and Jill, not about mommy and daddy or where kids came from. We were learning things like cultures around the world, their dress, their languages, etc., not gender or sexuality. We sang songs like “She’ll be coming ’round the mountain” and during playtime we held hands outside and played “Ring o’ roses” (or something to that effect, I can’t remember). At no time did we ever have discussion about mommies or daddies or gender or sexuality, and to be quite honest, I don’t believe I’ve been in any way stunted in my development because of this.
The first time we ever discussed sex was in 9th or 10th grade in Health class, i.e. in high school. I remember we had a very open teacher (young, Italian descent, who wore tight clothes!), who held nothing back as we discussed sex and sexuality. We all had questions, and she answered them honestly and frankly in great detail. Then came the infamous birthing video where we saw a woman give birth live on video. All us boys lost our hard-ons after watching that video…
My point is, there’s a place and time for everything, and I’m not convinced that 6 to 9 year olds should be taught about sex, sexuality or gender by the state. It’s completely different however with 13 or 14 year olds. They’ve seen enough to know that there are different types of families, different types of sexualities and different types of genders. In that case I support sex-ed in schools, because the kids are old enough to understand.
Bosch
@globetrotter
“The first time we ever discussed sex was in 9th or 10th grade in Health class”
The word “sex” in sexual orientation refers to the sexes, not the act of sex. Acknowledging the existence of same-sex couples has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with sexual activity. No one is trying to teach children about sexual activity.
I, like many others, was aware that I was gay when I was around 5. And I was also very aware of the fact that society was telling me I was broken.
Politicians have a lot of opinions about this, don’t they? But what do politicians know about education and child psychology? Why are we not looking to educators and psychologists to enlighten us on the subject?
Bosch
“The books we read in school at that time were about Jack and Jill”
You are forgetting about every fairy tale that ended with a prince and a princess living happily ever after. You think it would be inappropriate or offensive if 1 out of 10 fairytales ended with 2 princes or 2 princesses?
GlobeTrotter
@Bosch: But why is it the job of politicians or the state to explain sexuality to a 5 year old? I would imagine that the child’s parents are better suited to do so than the state.
Furthermore the story about Jack and Jill had nothing to do with sexuality, i.e. living (together) happily ever after. My point is, can we please just allow 6 to 9 year olds to be KIDS?? Can we just allow them to play, get in trouble, fall down and bruise their knees, explore the world, etc., just like we all did at that age? This push to politicize and sexualize children at such a very young age is very disturbing and doesn’t bode well for society. Just let the kids have a childhood free of identity politics. As they approach puberty, they WILL start to have questions about sexuality – that’s the appropriate time to start introducing them to the topic, and this is what happens for the most part in most states. I don’t see the value, however, in preoccupying the minds of 6 to 9 year olds with such a mature topic they can’t possibly comprehend.
Eternal.Cowboy
“But why is it the job of politicians or the state to explain sexuality to a 5 year old? I would imagine that the child’s parents are better suited to do so than the state.“
Educators educate. So they explain many things to students. It’s their job. Science is taught to kids and anatomy, reproduction and sexuality all fall under science. So it should be no more controversial than teaching about gravity.
Why do you think parents are better suited to teach kids about science than educators? That seems someone ridiculous.
GlobeTrotter
@Eternal.Cowboy: “Why do you think parents are better suited to teach kids about science than educators? That seems someone ridiculous.”
First of all, I never said that parents were better suited to teach SCIENCE – I distinctly said GENDER and SEXUALITY. Apparently most parents seem to labor under the mistaken assumption that they have the right to raise their children as they see fit according to their own beliefs and traditions. Just as you have the right to explain sexuality and gender to your kids according to your own world view, so do other parents, even if their world view runs contrary to yours. Surprise, surprise…we live in a liberal democracy with individual rights!
Eternal.Cowboy
“First of all, I never said that parents were better suited to teach SCIENCE – I distinctly said GENDER and SEXUALITY.“
Sexuality falls under science, gender falls under science. That you don’t know that is absolutely astounding. You have successfully made the case for why educators should be able to talk about things like this. It’s far bette that children learn from people that know what they are talking about rather than folks like you.
GlobeTrotter
@Eternal.Cowboy: “It’s far bette that children learn from people that know what they are talking about rather than folks like you.”
Finally something we both agree on! It is indeed far better for children to learn about sexuality from their PARENTS than from folks like me, or from folks like you for that matter. That’s what parents are there for, and they have a right to raise their children as they see fit. Not as I see fit, not as you see fit, but as the PARENTS see fit. Even if they’re the stupidest idiots, it’s still THEIR RIGHT and THEIR PRIVILEGE to instruct THEIR children on the topic of sexuality as THEY see fit. You get to raise YOUR kids according to YOUR worldview and they likewise get to raise THEIR kids according to THEIR own worldview.
See, that’s the beauty of living in a democracy…my rights end where yours begin, and vice versa. Hallelujah and Amen!
Bosch
@globetrotter
Being a parent doesn’t automatically make someone knowledgeable, ethical, or pious. All it takes is sticking a paningo in a vajingo.
GlobeTrotter
@Bosch: I’m not aware of anyone who claims that being a parent makes anyone somehow “knowledgeable, ethical or pious”. In fact, I’d whole-heartedly support criminalizing the unintelligent from ever spawning offspring. This does nothing to change the reality, however, that parents, even stupid ones, have a right to raise their children as they see fit.
Bosch
Schools are not required to withhold education just because a parent doesn’t “believe” in it. You don’t teach racism just because a parents wants you to, you don’t teach homophobia just because a parent wants you to, you don’t teach anti-vaccination sentiment just because a parents wants you to, you don’t teach flat earth theory just because a parent wants you to, you don’t teach that dinosaurs were made by Jesus 2000 years ago just because a parent wants you to.
You don’t care about preventing homophobia in children, you don’t care about preventing psychological damage to little gay and lesbian children. You just care about protecting bigots from having smart children.
Bosch
Hey globe. I’m going to give you a chance to prive your point with logic instead of politics. Like a smart person.
Let’s say you have two fairy tales. One fairy tale ends with a prince and a princess living happily ever after. The other fairy tale ends with two princes living happily ever after.
Explain why the second fairy tale “sexualizes children”, but the first does not.
DarkZephyr
@GlobeTrotter
My father eventually became supportive of my sexual orientation in my adult years, which was great and all, but when I was a child and he taught me about the birds and the bees, he told me that it was ONLY acceptable to have relations with the opposite sex and only after marriage. And the worst thing that I could possibly do was have relations with another male. Then he explained that it was an instant ticket to Hell. I spent years thinking that I was going to go straight to hell when I died. If I had been told by a teacher that being gay was perfectly normal it would have gone a LONG way to save me from YEARS of depression and fear and suicidal tendencies.
I can’t imagine what it is about gender or being gay that makes you think its far too mature a topic for kids to handle. And please note that I am NOT talking about sexual intercourse. Kids in schools are often told to get in lines based on gender, for crying out loud. Is that too mature for them? What is so dirty about being gay or having a gender? Also, you’re wrong about the age range. It doesn’t stop at 9 if they decide that its still too mature for even older kids to handle. It could potentially go on far beyond the age of nine.
GlobeTrotter, and have you researched the people who have promulgated this law? They have histories of homophobia. You you TRULY believe that homophobia and transphobia in no way are motives for this law? These guys have SUDDENLY stopped being transphobic and homophobic and are just addressing some apparent epidemic of adults in Florida trying to teach 5 year olds about sexual intercourse as if talking that way to underage minors isn’t already illegal?
gregg2010
This is all just another ploy from the Right to demonize homosexuality. Our rights are being slowly chipped away.
BennyTheHill
Abhorrently, you side with the people who oppose this parental rights/anti-pedophile/anti-grooming law.
According to ALL of the polls, you are in a distinct minority. Even 51% of registered Democrats support this law (Washington Post/NBC poll).
Den
“Even 51% of registered Democrats support this law (Washington Post/NBC poll).”
@BennyTheTwit:
Post a link or be seen as undeniably the liar and idiot (and far right anti-American) we already know you are.
Bosch
@ Benny
Nothing in the law prevents grooming, nothing in the law prevents pedophilia. Way to regurgitate some brainwashing.
Do you think we haven’t noticed that the GOP is overflowing with pedophile politicians?
BGreen1963
When I was 8 I was “In love” with my 4th grade teacher, I didn’t understand physical love and didn’t need to. But I sure could have used an explanation as to what I was feeling. And although it wasn’t the case here, he was a good man, another adult could have taken advantage of infatuations because I didn’t know what gay was. How many kids are going to get raped because we can’t teach relationships in school? We can probably look to religious schools for the answer, as this has been their policy for 100’s of years.
Bosch
“another adult could have taken advantage of infatuations because I didn’t know what gay was.”
This is a very, very important point. Ignorance, shame, and secrecy make a child an easy target for predators. Predators need a secretive, shame-filled child; that’s exactly why abuse in the church goes undiscovered.
GlobeTrotter
@Bosch: “Ignorance, shame, and secrecy make a child an easy target for predators.”
Again, I think you’re assuming the worse here. How does referring the discussion of sex and sexuality in 1 to 3 grades to the parents fill a child with “ignorance” and “shame” and make him/her an easy target for predators? The law doesn’t say that children are to be kept in ignorance, it says that it’s the job of the PARENTS to instruct children between the ages of 6 and 9 on the top of sex and sexuality. It’s the job of the PARENTS to teach their children about predators and it’s the job of the PARENTS explain to them what they’re feeling and how to cope with those feelings. No one is denying children the right to feel the way they do or to have questions. The only thing the law stipulates is that it’s the role of the PARENTS to assume this responsibility and NOT the state.
Bosch
Hey globetrotter, we’ve already covered that NO ONE is teaching children about sex. Stop saying “sex and sexuality”, as if same-sex couples need to be sexualized to be understood.
GlobeTrotter
@Bosch: “Hey globetrotter, we’ve already covered that NO ONE is teaching children about sex.”
No, we have not. Please see my post below regarding the recent events in Massachusetts.
Bosch
Globe, I said no one is teaching children about SEX.
If you don’t know the difference between sex and gender identity, then your opinion on this matter is worth very little.
theaterbloke
But if parents don’t, (and my parents certainly didn’t) where do kids learn but “out on the street?” I was curious at an early age. I certainly knew about the subject of being gay before I realized I was gay. But that did happen in elementary school just in time to set a pattern of being bullied throughout my junior high and HS years. And kids have so much more information available to them nowadays, out on the street is social media and right on their phones. And the bullying is worse.
Whether “don’t say gay” is in the actual bill is irrelevant. People, that is, educators will err on the side of caution to avoid losing their jobs and being sued. And kids will suffer.
jake67
I can’t believe anyone here even knows what they are talking about in comments.
The big point of all this drama is that no school anywhere in the US nor any teachers, teach sex Ed to kindergartners None Nadda 0. This is the point of the law being hateful and unnecessary.
Huron132
I agree with jake. I want to know why the “DSG” bill was needed. There was never an actual incident for this. It is clear and concise that one group of people who are discriminatory against another group. The bill has no teeth to attach it to something. This just pure Hate. I have a large family, and there was only 2 times in our schooling that had to do with sexuality ofany kind. In our 6th grade we had the biology talked of male and female. Then in 9th or 10th grade we had the health talk of sex. That was it. Everything else came from parents siblings and cousins.
jake67
Can anyone know name any sex education program in a Florida kindergarten that would justify the state’s new “Don’t Say Gay” law. I think that’s a relevant question” because the law is nothing more than a “politically charged, harsh law that is putting parents and LGBTQ+ kids in a very difficult, heartbreaking circumstance.”
SammySeattle
There is none. This type of legislation has one goal, to generate hate. Republicans have been depending on ginning up hate in each election cycle over the past 40 or so years to distract from the fact that they have no meaningful policy to help their constituents. Hate brings the incurious to the polls.
GlobeTrotter
It would be great if you were right, but there are many examples of school districts across the country overstepping their boundaries and indoctrinating school kids against the express wishes of their parents. The latest case comes to us from a middle school in Massachusetts:
w w w . dailymail . co . uk / news / article-10722469/Parents-sue-Massachusetts-school-district-gender-identity-policy . html (remove the empty spaces)
In this case an 11 year old school kid was being instructed by its teachers to adopt a genderqueer identity and pronouns, against the express wishes of the child’s parents, who had retained a therapist to help their child and who had also instructed the school not to have private discussions with their child on this topic. The guidance counselor and teachers ignored the parents’ instructions and proceeded to secretly engage the student on transitioning to another gender. They then purposefully withheld this information from the parents.
After months of secret discussions with teachers, the child then sent the following email to the school:
“I am genderqueer. Basically, it means I use any pronouns (other than it/its). This also means I have a name change. My new name will be R****. Please call me by that name. If you deadname me or use any pronouns I am not comfortable with I will politely tell you. I am telling you this because I feel like I can trust you.”
This was carried on for months despite the parents requesting to be allowed to address this issue as a family and with the proper professionals. Let’s not forget, we’re talking about an 11 year old child. Instead of learning reading, writing and arithmetic, this child was being instructed by its teachers on gender identity and which pronouns to use.
Now I consider myself left of center on the political scale, and I believe people should be allowed to live their lives as they see fit, as long as they don’t harm anyone in the process. But this is just going TOO FAR. Parents have a right to raise their children as they see fit and teachers have no right to defy the wishes of a child’s parents and indoctrinate that child in gender identity and gender pronouns. It’s also not as if the parents were clueless or indifferent to their child’s situation – they had retained a therapist and the child was attending therapy sessions. All they asked for was the chance to address this issue AS A FAMILY.
This is just one of several cases I’ve heard of over the past few months of schools overstepping their authority and indoctrinating young kids against the wishes of their parents. I don’t know about you, but I’d be FURIOUS if I found out my kid’s teachers were talking him/her into changing genders and pronouns behind my back!
Bosch
@globe
“indoctrinating school kids”
Dumbass. A child who is aware of the existence of same sex love is not indoctrinated.
A child who is taught that gay people are inappropriate is indoctrinated.
Get your information on child development from PSYCHOLOGISTS, not from the hypocritical GOP pedophiles.
GlobeTrotter
@Bosch: This is an excellent example of how not to make a fool of oneself.
“Get your information on child development from PSYCHOLOGISTS, not from the hypocritical GOP pedophiles.”
Well, as a clinical psychologist with 17 to 18 years of experience, I do have some idea of what I’m talking about. Most people suffering from gender dysphoria (transgenderism) actually require no treatment at all. About 75% to 80% of those affected will naturally grow out of gender dysphoria after puberty and go on to lead perfectly happy and productive lives. Of the rest that don’t, most will become homosexuals, and an even smaller percentage will become transgender individuals requiring counselling and gender affirmation measures.
This is why gender affirmation measures for children, such as gender pronouns, hormone therapy and in some cases gender reassignment surgery, is so controversial among mental health practitioners. The current wave of transgenderism, affecting mostly adolescent females, doesn’t fit the clinical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, and to many practitioners, myself included, there’s a strong suspicion of mass delusion at play, similar to the child abuse hysteria from the 80’s and 90’s. I personally find it unconscionable for those entrusted with the care of our children, teachers and guidance counselors, leading the charge to convince impressionable children that they need to change their gender and pronouns because a prepubescent boy might be a bit effeminate or a prepubescent girl might act like a tomboy. These are all normal behavioral patterns for children that in no way indicate that they might be suffering from gender dysphoria. It is highly irresponsible for teachers to suggest otherwise!
Furthermore there are very disturbing statistics from the UK, where gender affirmation treatment for adolescents is all the rage, that show a significant percentage (I’m too lazy to look up the stats right now) of young adults who underwent hormone therapy now regret that decision and are suing their doctors for prematurely prescribing irreversible, life-changing procedures. Many of these individuals now claim to no longer suffer from gender dysphoria and are now permanently unable to have children thanks to hormone blockers. The suicide rate among transgender teens in the UK, both before and after treatment, remain the same (I think something like 35%), meaning if these teens were simply left alone to naturally outgrow their gender dysphoria, they’d be in a much healthier position today, both mentally and physically.
Hope that clarifies my position.
Bosch
@globe I don’t believe for one second that you’re a clinical psychologist. You would have to know the developmental theories of Piaget, Erikson, and Freud, and be more aware of a child’s cogntive abilities. Because guess what I am, globe. Guess.
You are continuously avoiding the point of sexual orientation by bringing up trans issues. This law isn’t just about trans issues. You would ruin gay and lesbian children because of your stance on gender identity?
You would have known the difference between gender identity and the act of sex.
You would have known that the word “sex” in sexual orientation refers to the sexes, not to the act of sex.
You would have known that telling a child about same-sex relationships has nothing to do with teaching children about sex.
You would also know that gender dysphoria and transgenderism are not the same thing. You would have known that transgenderism is the result of a mismatch between the sex of the brain and the sex of the genitals, and that since the genitals control sex-specific hormones, they also control secondary sexual characteristics.
You may have even known that this phenomenon can be measured by the saturation of oestrogen signalling pathways in the brain.
You would also know what kind of psychological damage it causes to children who learn that their romantic feelings are “wrong”.
You also would have known that children have an awareness of their orientation at a very young age, as this is configured in the hypothalamus.
You would know that hormone therapy is reversible, so I’d like to see your statistics about the British teens.
You would know that gender dysphoria as a result of sexual confusion is caused by lack of knowledge about sexual orientations. Hmmm how does one fix that?
You would know that children do not get reassignment surgery.
You would know that no one is giving third graders puberty blockers.
You would not invent an issue about gender dysphoria which is completely untrue: the only gender confusion experienced by non-trans children is during the stage when boys decouple their identity from their mother and move to their father. It has nothing to do with gender dysphoria.
You would also know that psychologists are perfectly aware that teenagers experience an identity crisis and a moratorium, which is why there is no motivation in the field to transition teenagers. That’s the whole purpose of delaying physical puberty in girls, it lets them postpone the decision until they are considered old enough.
The only thing you clarified is that you approach a psychological issue from a political perspective.
DarkZephyr
Gonna have to side with Bosch on this one. Any true psychologist would know that being transgender and gender dysphoria are not synonymous. Many transgender people never even experience gender dysphoria but they are still trans.
GlobeTrotter
@Bosch: After perusing your posts on this thread, I can’t escape the impression that we’re motivated by two very different set of values. Instead of just presenting arguments, you seem to have a need to publicly denigrate others that don’t share your point of view. To each his own I guess, but I simply don’t feel the need to follow you down that dark path. As to what I do professionally, you’ll forgive me for not posting lengthy treatises on human sexuality on an anonymous forum to impress individuals I will never know or never meet. You make bold statements about my supposed lack of knowledge, inferring that as a psychologist I should this and I should know that…has it ever occurred to you that for some us, entertaining anonymous individuals on a internet forum might not be the central focus of their lives? Some of us have families to attend to, holidays to celebrate, dinners to plan…some of us aren’t even located in the United States, and some of us might not speak English as a first language. Some of us have more important things to do than to write lengthy academic papers online to prove that yes, they know the difference between sex and sexuality. Do I have to include all my lectures on the subject to high school students? Would that be enough for you? Would you be satisfied with the articles I’ve published on the subject? If so, I hope you read and understand German!
Bosch
Suddenly you’ve published articles on sex and sexuality, and given high school lectures on the subject? And yet you conflate sex and sexuality with sexual orientation and gender identity?
Mhm.
GlobeTrotter
When have I ever conflated sex and sexuality with gender and gender identity? Just because I don’t have the time to individually correct each of your many misrepresentations and assumptions concerning my posts, doesn’t mean that I’m not fully aware of the differences. As I’ve pointed out before, your purpose here seems to be to denigrate and sow divisions. I will not be following you down that dark path.
GlobeTrotter
@Bosch: And yes, I’ve held lectures and talks with teenagers (Maturanten in German) about sex and sexuality since about 2002. I’ve even mentored a few, the longest mentorship lasted 3 years. I’ve spoken at global companies on the topic of sexual harassment, held workshops, etc. So YES, I do know what I’m talking about!
DarkZephyr
@GlobeTrotter
You know what you’re talking about, eh? And yet you think that treating the existence of gay and trans people as somehow too pornographic for kids to hear about is perfectly fine. AND gender dysphoria and being transgender still aren’t synonymous.
Bosch
@globe I’m here to sow division?
I went and read the daily mail article you linked to, even though I don’t think the daily mail should be considered a valid news source by someone who claims to have a doctorate.
You completely misrepresented that story. You even made up bits about teachers forcing a student to “transition”, using all kinds of rhetoric common to the fearmongwring of the right.
A 6th grader struggling with their gender identity, clearly from a transphobic environment, looking for a safe place at school, and you try to make the teachers sound like evil baby snatchers.
How could a psychologist not be aware of problems LGBT teenagers fave when they have homophobic or transphobic parents? You are supposed to know that LGBT teenagers with unsupportive families have a much higher Rick of suicide. And yet you throw around a constantly capitalized “PARENTS” as if they are somehow free of judgement.
Supportive teachers and supportive schools save lives.
Even the often-sensationalist tabloid Daily Mail manages to present that story with more neutrality than you did.
Bosch
“When have I ever conflated sex and sexuality with gender and gender identity?”
Multiple times in these comments you’ve suggested that people are trying to teach children about sex and sexuality.
GayVeteranOfcr
Let the lawsuits flow now whenever ANY mention of gender is done in school, as that is, according to the Florida state law, “inappropriate” for that age group.
Slap the state with the obvious objections that the state has now made it illegal to discuss ALL sexual gender identities, not just non-traditional ones, but ALL.
Let the state try to defend its law.
By the way, just speaking of SCOTUS:
Any law that identifies a group of persons and then treats that group of persons unequally is unconstitutional, especially if it was passed with animus toward that group of persons, and the legislative debate about the law includes just that, exactly, specifically making the law about non-traditional gender, which identifies a group of persons, and then it treats that group unequally. Q.E.D.
BennyTheHill
The SCOTUS is now controlled by staunch conservatives. This opinion will have no weight in the future.
Den
“The SCOTUS is now controlled by staunch conservatives.”
@BennyTheTwit:
These conservatives are, for the most part not as traitorous and anti-Democracy as you are (well, perhaps Thomas is). Noir are they quite as mendacious as you show yourself to be. Perhaps as mendacious as Trump himself…possibly as a result of licking his ass too much.
GayEGO
Very well said! Any word containing or relating to the word sex should be changed to gender and kids should be taught about relationships. The religious bigots should be reminded about the phrase religion claims God said – Know thyself and to thine self be true or the modern phrase is know who you are and be that person!
BennyTheHill
GayEGO: You are a twit.
I can’t believe that you’re so dumb!
“To thine own self be true.”
That quote comes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, not the Bible.
Bosch
Yeah GayEGO! Clearly Christians are not the least bit interested in self-awareness. It’s too hard to be hypocritical bigot if you’re self aware.
Right, Benny?
silkspun1
To BennyThe Hill;
Hon, you need to do some research. The vast majority of pedophiles are straight, white, men. NOT gay people. As a teacher, my class will no longer refer to people as man/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, he/she. This could be confusing to the child and should be left up to the parents to determine what pronouns are appropriate. No, our class will refer to people as they/them starting this coming school year.
Den
Asking BennyTheTwit to “do some research,” “think,” or appealing to empathy is kind of like asking a snail to read about string theory.
This is a person who is almost completely lacking in critical faculties, empathy or ethics.
Essentially a stupid, traitorous, heterosexual tool of the far right.
Creamsicle
Back in my day trolling used to mean something
Old Prude
This vile “groomer” insult and nonsense has never had any credibility! Because it comes from heinous people that are calculated and deliberate hypocrites! When a heterosexual male teacher tells a female child about his sexuality, he is being a groomer! When a heterosexual female teacher tells a male child about her sexuality, she too is being a groomer! It works both ways, morons!
Bosch
The party of Mike Huckabee, Jim Jordan, Josh Duggar, Matt Gaetz, George Nader, Ruben Verastigui, Tim Nolan, Ralph Shortey, Ben Gibson, Adam Hageman, Mark Foley, Roy Moore, Dennis Haster, and Anton Lazzaro, pretending they want to protect children.
Rarely will you see a more clear-cut case of projection.
powersthatbe
Love it. This woman is not only smart but hilarious. My new best friend. Call me every five minutes.
Crayonap
@Bennythehill Good luck pulling out the oldest homophobic shit every Gay man has to deal with and expecting good results. LMFAO!! You have no power here. Begone!
strap2900
Statistics show that pedophiles are predominately religious heterosexuals. Look it up.
bluewindboy
I was 8 the first time I was called queer. I had no idea what it meant, but I felt it was somehow true, and that it would be a bad thing if I owned up to it.
It took YEARS to accept the truth of it, and even longer to overcome my shame and internalized homophobia. And still longer to come out to friends and family.
I really would have appreciated an open conversation, or maybe just some “Jack and Jack” stories in grade school.
gaym50ish
Discussions about gay relationships are no more “sexual” than the Cinderella story.