Posted on 12/01/2006 9:29:24 PM PST by fgoodwin
Until recently, many children who did not conform to gender norms in their clothing or behavior and identified intensely with the opposite sex were steered to psychoanalysis or behavior modification.
But as advocates gain ground for what they call gender-identity rights, evidenced most recently by New York City’s decision to let people alter the sex listed on their birth certificates, a major change is taking place among schools and families. Children as young as 5 who display predispositions to dress like the opposite sex are being supported by a growing number of young parents, educators and mental health professionals.
Doctors, some of them from the top pediatric hospitals, have begun to advise families to let these children be “who they are” to foster a sense of security and self-esteem. They are motivated, in part, by the high incidence of depression, suicidal feelings and self-mutilation that has been common in past generations of transgender children. Legal trends suggest that schools are now required to respect parents’ decisions.
“First we became sensitive to two mommies and two daddies,” said Reynaldo Almeida, the director of the Aurora School, a progressive private school in Oakland. “Now it’s kids who come to school who aren’t gender typical.”
The supportive attitudes are far easier to find in traditionally tolerant areas of the country like San Francisco than in other parts, but even in those places there is fierce debate over how best to handle the children.
Cassandra Reese, a first-grade teacher outside Boston, recalled that fellow teachers were unnerved when a young boy showed up in a skirt. “They said, ‘This is not normal,’ and, ‘It’s the parents’ fault,’ ” Ms. Reese said. “They didn’t see children as sophisticated enough to verbalize their feelings.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
And the good news is, you don't even have to slice off your pee-pee in NYC -- just put on a skirt and say you're a girl and they'll let you into the girls locker room, and the women's bathroom in public places, and after two years you can change your birth certificate gender.
Where were these Brave New Rules when I was a teenager???
So young boys with no male role models want to wear the dress of the family leader - the mother?
Bush's fault, obviously. /sarcasm off
The the answer to a generation of confused Americans asking, "Who am I?"
"We are the government. We are here to help."
Are they feeding the boy soy? (female hormones)
Gender Identity rights.
I guess we all have the right to witness western civilization swirl down the drain.
---I could not imagine someone forcing that child to play football, say.---
I think there is a big difference between allowing your son to play with dolls and sending him off to school in a skirt.
But to me, the big sex concern is not "style," but decent behavior. No matter what his feelings are --- not matter who he gets crushes on--- I don't want my son to get involved in illicit sex behavior with boys or girls; I don't want him exposed to porn or prostitution with either males or females; I want him to be neither a perpetrator nor a victim of sexual exploitation; I want him to be abstinent when single, monogamous when married; I want him to have good, satisfying friendships with people of both sexes; I want him to respect God's law.
If he does that, and yet, despite all your prudent masculine encouragement, is thrilled to wear pink and play the piccolo, --- well, what do you think? I'd say (sigh) OK, kid, that's your style.
What about species identity rights, you bigots? What if a little kid identifies **itself** as a dog and wants to have sex with dogs? Who are you to judge the child? You MUST encourage this genetic predisposition.
"We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive." - C. S. Lewis
This is NOT a very progressive school.
Imagine that! Kids with mental illness are more likely to show the signs of mental illness. Who 'da thunk it...?!
So any 5 year old who picks up a barbie doll because want to be a girl.
I'm 29 and I still wish I could be a middle linebacker for the Bears.
Some delussions don't die. :)
unfriggin beleivable! Parents these days not only have to raise their kids, now they have to battle the SCHOOL EDUCATION system just to keep their kids normal? That is friggin outrageous! Schools NEED to get back to educating- NOT steering our kids in directions THEY deem to be our kid's desires! Kids go through changes growing up and they do NOT need outside influences trying to STEER them in ANY direction! NO WAY should paren'ts have to fight with schools for their children's identity! IF the kid developes a tendancy for sin LATER in life- then whatever- but DO NOT tell my 5 year old anything that I do not want them to be told- schools are NOT psychology institutions!!! http://sacredscoop.com
correction :If a boy is not being taught the great aspects of being male, as is natural, he will NOT see his word in a positive light.
It is weird. No one talks about doing physical workups, genetic testing, MRIs or anything to see if the children have some abnormal secretions of hormones.
That would have been my first thought.
"Children as young as 5 who display predispositions to dress like the opposite sex "
When I was five years old I wore what what put on me. If it didn't itch, I was down with it. Usually it itched.
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