Gender, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation

I think heterosexism has permeated the world of young children through their books, movies, toys etc as a result of what has been considered as the ideal definition of what a family should be; a father, a mother and then children. When telling stories about a family, it is always said that the father is the breadwinner of the household, while the mother takes care of the children which further propagates the idea that the parents are always a man and a woman. In the case of homophobia, I do not think there has been a display of that in materials for children because homosexuality or same parent relationships has just not been represented and widely avoided. Therefore I would say that lack of representation does not really mean bias. In recent years, there has been a level of acceptance to it although people still kick against it.

I am a little torn about children being exposed to same sex parents, lesbian or gay relationships at school. I am aware that in the world we live in now, it is inevitable for them to come across children from such homes or witness their relationships in a day to day setting, however I think the parents should be the first to talk to their children about it. They should be allowed to make the foundation that the early childhood centres can then build upon. An analogy I would use is sex education. In as much as some schools do a good job at explaining sex education, most parents still want to introduce the topic in a manner that it would be acceptable by their children first so that they do not get misinformed when they hear it from their peers or other adults. With that being said, I do not know if this is as a result of my upbringing (it was not talked about) or I have not really experienced life with a gay or lesbian person as someone very close to me

When I was in secondary school it was quite common for students to call other students who did not fit the typical male or female profile. They usually used derogatory names for them and I think it was meant to bring shame to these individuals. I am glad that even though homosexuality or queerness was not talked about at all when I was growing up, I still felt it was wrong to call people by those names. This shame culture is what has kept lots of people in the closet and have taken on an identity that is not true to them. It has also affected their lives and the lives of people close to them.