It seems no generation can escape the horrors of bullying. If you look at any historical period, there is always a group of “haves” who feel justified in mistreating a minority.
In this modern era, that unfortunate minority who have become the designated targets are the LGBTQ2S+ community, particularly people who are gender-fluid.
As someone who takes the ethos “mind my own business” when it comes to other people’s sexuality, I continue to be flabbergasted by the level of vitriol levelled at people who are transgender. Entire election campaigns have been run and won promising adults they will combat this “woke mind-virus,” which only demonstrates the voters who fall into this category don’t have the wherewithal to bother Googling what “woke” actually means. Many of these politicians and commentators can’t — or won’t — even define “woke” themselves when pressed by reporters.
The level of paranoia is particularly baffling among older generations, who grew up watching Bugs Bunny put on makeup, dress in drag and kiss Elmer Fudd repeatedly, and yet somehow largely came out straight. Growing up, I remember girls dressing as boys, calling themselves tomboys and playing with other boys. No one seemed to have a problem then.
Now, a spate of legislation is being rolled out by reactionary governments across the country restricting how children can express themselves. The extent of these laws varies, but they all have the same underlying intent of trying to force children into the mold their parents envisioned for them instead of letting the children figure out who they are for themselves.
Defenders of these policies say they’re worried about the developing psychology of these potentially nonbinary youth, but this doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. If someone’s mental health is at risk then broadcasting their issues across the entire country, holding rallies to express dislike of said person, and running political campaigns promising to eliminate said mental health or protect other people from it is not going to do the person in question’s mental health any favours. If anything, the realization that not only do Grandma and Grandpa not like you because you’re different, but also you will never be able to go anywhere in this country without being looked at as an outcast, will likely lead to more serious mental health problems, culminating in either a dysfunctional adult, addictions or potentially even suicide.
Here’s a sad but real fact: If a child doesn’t want their parents to know they don’t think of themselves as “he” or “she” anymore, there’s probably a legitimate reason for that. They could be afraid of rejection by their parents or extended family. Maybe they’ve tried to talk to their family about it and already felt rejected and don’t want to risk having their self-esteem shaken further.
I’m drawing on family experience with this. My aunt was adopted, which historically in my colonist English heritage was very taboo. Her grandparents refused to acknowledge her as their granddaughter. She grew up angry, ultimately estranging herself from the family. If you can’t count on your family to love you for who you are, where else can you turn?
There is, of course, one other constant in most children’s day-to-day life: their teachers. Teachers don’t typically get to choose which kids enter their classroom, they’re simply expected to make sure each and every one of them succeeds. Getting kids to do their schoolwork takes a multitude of different tactics, and if a child feels they don’t have a stable home, that often involves building trust. This trust is extremely fragile; most kids whose minds are developed enough to question the gender they were assigned at birth are usually savvy enough to pick up on when they’re being spied upon.
So it’s no big surprise supporters of these bizarre anti-transgender laws often target school teachers, claiming they’re trying to force some sort of ideology on children. Again, if you press these folks as to what this “ideology” is, they come up with the same nonsense as if you try to get them to define “woke,” but it’s a fancy word so politicians keep using it.
People who are worried about teachers pushing ideologies on children obviously don’t spend any actual time in schools. Teachers aren’t pushing political ideologies — they’re pushing long division, literacy, geometry, the scientific method, critical thinking skills and the importance of treating one another with respect, regardless of how different someone might appear.
If you seriously think telling kids that things like bigotry and bullying peers who are different is bad, and things like teamwork and accepting one another are good counts as ideology, the problem isn’t the schools, the education system, the teachers or “wokeness.”
The problem is you.