Friday 13 April 2012

Teach The Children

An incident this week reminded me of an argument that often gets put forward when a child is allowed to crossdress.
The argument goes along the lines that allowing a child to crossdress is forcing them to take part in "some kind of gender experiment".
However, I would argue that the only experiment that takes place is seeing what happens when you force a child to wear clothes they don't want to wear, (although I would think that it's not so much an experiment as a foregone conclusion: The child will feel miserable!).
Imagine the scenario... you are a child who likes to wear the clothes of the opposite gender. Doing so makes you feel good and that makes you feel happy.
However, your parents catch you wearing those clothes and tell you off for wearing them. Apparently what makes you feel happy is of less importance than doing what's expected and being seen as "normal". You MUST "fit in"!
Then, to justify their actions, they tell you they're doing it "for your own good" because other people won't understand and will bully you.
Well, obviously, you don't want to be picked on and bullied so doing whatever it takes to avoid that seems sensible.
However, if you were an adult and had some experience of life behind you, you might see things a different way.
You might then realise that for the entirety of your life there will be someone somewhere willing to pick on you for ANY perceived variation from "the norm".
And thus wouldn't it be better if, instead of siding with the bullies in this world, your parents sided with you!
Because right now, at that moment when they tell you off for crossdressing, the message they're sending you loud and clear is "You are WRONG!"... and so bullying you is to be expected and, furthermore, bullying you is RIGHT!
That is NO kind of message to send to a child!
So spare me from that "They need to learn right from wrong!" bullshit because, more often than not, it is the adults who don't know right from wrong!
So, for their sake, let me make it plain and simple: Bullying anyone for any reason any time, any place, anywhere is WRONG!
It is NEVER correct! And it is NEVER justified!
So stop teaching your children otherwise!