"Start Seeing Diversity Video" Blog: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

     Homophobia and hetero-sexism permeate a child's life from a variety of areas.  Toys are geared towards a specific gender most of the time.  The commercials that you will see beginning soon for all of the newest and coolest must-have toys for the holidays are geared at a child's gender.  Last Christmas, a distant relative questioned my choice of allowing my son to have pretend food and a cooking set; her thought was that I was "teaching him" to be girly.  My daughter enjoys playing with trucks and remote control cars as much as my son does and so I let her.  I do not think that there should be "gender restrictions" on toys.
    Most centers and schools do not like to acknowledge the fact that some children in the school come from same-sex families.  I have a child in my class who has two moms and he feels very left out when the school has fun initiatives like the F.B.I (Fathers Being Involved) program because his parents are not "allowed" to attend.  Even if the school were to allow it, there would be an uproar from the community about it.  
     I do not think that it is appropriate to ask centers to refrain from carrying books that depict same-gender parents because that is the reality that some children may go home to and they have a right to see and read books that they can identify with as well.  I would tell someone who did not like this that what they choose to tell their child about gender as it relates to families is their choice, but that it is a reality for many children and they should not be made to feel "odd" because of it.  I would also encourage them to think about it and allow the child to pose questions to them before they fly off the handle and start stressing an issue that may not exist.