A Call to Action: Expanding LGBTQ+ Representation in Family Life
By Anna D
In the four years I have been taught the sex education curriculum here at VFMS, I have never, EVER, seen or heard anything about non-conforming sexualities or genders. Therefore, I’d like to congratulate the school board on the inclusion of a mention of LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) sexual orientations in eighth grade Family Life. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement because students do not actively access the glossary where this mention was found. I have two requests for the board for inclusive curriculum changes: To include real, 45+ minute lessons on the LGBTQ+ community, and to include more terms about LGBTQ+ people in our packet glossary.
Lessons that would be beneficial to our Family Life curriculum would cover the topic of the LGBTQ+ community. It would contain the major types of sexual orientations, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, heterosexual, pansexual, and asexual. There are many more types, but since there is an infinite variety of sexual orientations, these would be the most helpful for eighth graders to know because these are the ones most commonly mentioned in discussion. The lesson would also cover gender identities, such as man, woman, the trans* gender family, genderqueer, agender, third gender, etc. All of these terms would be included in a separate section in the glossary of our packet. Knowing about the diversity of identities in our world will contribute to a greater understanding of the world, which is especially important in our globalized culture.
The lessons must also cover the hatred towards LGBTQ+ people that persists in society, often caused by a lack of or misinformation. A common example of this is the popular middle-school phrase “That’s so gay”. It is astounding how many times I have heard such intolerant language coming from students in a school that places a strong emphasis on anti-bullying and acceptance. Topics that should be included in the lessons are: ways to confront people who use such language, the campaign for equal rights for all marginalized identities, how to be welcoming in schools and businesses, and the many difficulties that LGBTQ+ people face in a world that regards them as “other”. Such information would benefit students because it would teach us to realize the real-world effects of hate, such as suicide and self-harm.
Who we love and our gender is a crucial part of our self-concept. When someone is persistently taught that their loving someone or even their gender is abhorred and unacceptable, that self-concept grows painfully negative. Lessons in sex education teaching that a person is a person no matter their gender or sexual orientation would cheer any students feeling that they are wrong on a fundamental level and teach students that “normal” identities are actually not all that normal. When reminded at a young age that people are still people no matter their differences, we educate our future and uplift the outcasts. And when we accomplish that, we have taken part in something world-changing.