On a recent outing with the students, the man in question wore a sweater, jeans, makeup and 'woman's hairstyle'. Parents of the child's classmates say that they have a right to decide what their children are exposed to, and that they don't want them exposed to a cross-dresser.

One of the parents...

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Patti Hight, 44, whose daughter went on the field trip, said she didn't want the school district to teach her children about sex and gender without her permission. Who would answer questions from children who might ask why a man was dressed as a woman?

"That sexual education is mine and my husband's responsibility, not the school's," Hight said.

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Now, I can understand parents being concerned with having to put their kids' education into the hands of others, but why is it always issues like this that raise their hackles? Why aren't parents getting upset when they find out that their kids are graduating without being able to find Israel on a map, and such?

An important point is made near the bottom of the article:

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Aiken said that while parents have the right to pull their children out of activities, a list of who would be chaperoning a trip might present legal problems if its purpose was discriminatory. The question leaves room for debate, she said.

A list made with the intention of letting parents know that an African-American would be a chaperone would be deemed intentional discrimination. But transgender people are not a protected class in the way that people of different races, sexes and creeds are.

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Transgender people shouldbe protected in the way that these other groups are. I live in the only Canadian province where there is no legal grounds to discriminate on the basis of political beliefs. This covers a lot of ground and could potentially cover transgendered people, as well. I'd like to see it in more places.

There are a lot of issues here. Dig in.

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"That sexual education is mine and my husband's responsibility, not the school's," Hight said.

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Especially considering that, according to study after study, parents are not educating their children sexually, at least not to the fullest.

I'm in agreement that transgendered people -- GLBT people in general, for that matter -- should be protected under the law from discrimination, especially when you consider that, at least with my experience, this type of discrimination continues fairly unchecked.

What you ultimately have to examine, I think, is what motivates this type of outrage: fear and unfimiliarity, nothing more, and nothing less. Which, ultimately is caused by the fact that there still is a huge chunk of the population that isn't exposed, let alone educated, on transgenderism, homosexuality, bisexuality, and a treasure trove of other minor things that make people even slightly different from the so-called "norm." It's a vicious cycle, honestly, because it all stems back to a lack of eduaction and exposure.

The "who would answer questions from children who might ask why a man was dressed as a woman?" really bugs me. Why do these parents feel that they can trust a thrid party to inform their children about the history, language, and math, yet information about sexuality and the differences between people that these children are going to encounter in the real world is something that only they can teach?

[Edited for clarity]
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Tim,
Scarleteen Advocate

"Don't get strung out by the way I look, don't judge a book by its cover..." -- Sweet Transvestite, Rocky Horror.

""This individual made time to support our district and made the education of his and other children a top priority ahead of other personal activities," Hodits said. "This is more than I can say for some of the individuals that are now trying to persecute this individual." "

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Patti Hight, 44, whose daughter went on the field trip, said she didn't want the school district to teach her children about sex and gender without her permission. Who would answer questions from children who might ask why a man was dressed as a woman?

"That sexual education is mine and my husband's responsibility, not the school's," Hight said.

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Originally posted by Beppie:
I think that what this parent is actually saying is that she doesn't want people teaching her child about gender when it doesn't conform to the arbitrary norm.

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Or, more likely, HER norm. Parents seem very edgy about people teaching their children anything they personally don't agree with, whether it be religion, sexuality, morality.

I find it interesting that in this case they state that it's the parents' job to educate their children about sexuality, but how many parents say absolutely nothing to their children about sex, and expect the school "sex ed" to fill them in? I know I was one of those students who sat there in grade 5 going "Oohhh, NOW it makes sense!"

i don't find the cross-dressing itself objectionable, but the point should be that it's not the cross-dressing itself, but the disruption it caused the students during an otherwise educational experience. isn't disruption (and its prevention) the basis for many dress codes anyway?

As for Ms. Hight, parents have the right to educate their children. it's called "home-schooling." I'm all in favor of home schools, alternative education and the like as long as it's done properly. but also consider what else can go wrong if parents object to material being taught in school...

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Correlation does not equal causation.

I wish parents would stop being so over-protective. I guess that's easy for me to say, because I'm not a parent, but I hope that when/if I am, I'll have faith in my child's own judgement.

"Still, Aiken said, such a policy could offend the Constitution. And if the district developed a dress code that demanded that men and women wear gender-appropriate clothing, could women wear pants?"

A lot of people -- maybe even most people -- are VERY tied up with gender identity, especially biological gender identity, because it's something they can cling to and claim to which no one can argue. So, when you have people standing in th face of typical gender identities, breaking what was, for a long time, the very firm border of biological gender, many people tend to get insanely insecure because it makes them feel as if a part of them which was a given (or they thought was) is far more tenuous.

I'd be willing to wager that's a lot of what we're seeing here.

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Heather Corinna
Editor and Founder, Scarleteen

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Originally posted by Dude_who_writes:
Hmmmm

What you ultimately have to examine, I think, is what motivates this type of outrage: fear and unfimiliarity, nothing more, and nothing less. Which, ultimately is caused by the fact that there still is a huge chunk of the population that isn't exposed, let alone educated, on transgenderism, homosexuality, bisexuality, and a treasure trove of other minor things that make people even slightly different from the so-called "norm."
[Edited for clarity]

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The question is then, how do you get people to overcome their "fear" and better understand the GLBT population, when said population itself is afraid? A lot of people still believe that the "norm" is just and CAN apply to everyone. Nobody seems to really listen in gradeschool when they say that no two people are the same. People replace fear with hate...Why else would so many GLBT be hiding their true selves? To get rid of such outrage that comes with something as (in my opinion) normal as a crossdressing parent would mean reshaping the thinking of all of today's society. We're a very insecure people and the tiniest differences scare us. We've always been like this; way back with Anne Hutchison to treating African Americans equally to (now)sexual orientation. It will take decades before society truly respects the GLBT population and gives them the rights they are entitled to, and by then we'll have found someone new to fear. No matter what happens, this cycle of fearing, hating, and oppressing will continue in one way or another.It's wrong and unjust, but I guess that's just the way society is.

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"...we're a country that adores 'Jerry Springer' and taking children to gun shows, but thinks that allowing gay people to build a life together is perverted. Go figure."
-"Kiss My Tiara" by Susan Jane Gilman

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Milke, SSBD, RATS, TMNTP