Destroying Personal Identity

This publication was recently handed out to the middle school teachers in a school district in Nebraska. It establishes the narrative that gender (as traditionally taught) should be removed and replaced with non-specific gender terminology. To the point that children should be called ‘purple penguins’ rather than boys and girls.

While the guise is to use these teaching methods to battle intolerance, as this publication shows, it goes well beyond that. It works by first removing the gender identity that a child may have already assumed. For example, #8 explains how to debate a child if they hold a traditional view of gender. Rather than discuss privately, a child not accepting the view of the school district should be made an example of, “Be intolerant of openly hostile attitudes or references towards others EVERY TIME you hear or observe them, but also use these as teachable moments. Take the opportunity to push the individual on their statements about gender. Being punitive may stop the behavior, at least in your presence. Being instructive may stop it entirely.” While I would agree that insults or bullying must be addressed, that is not discussed and rather the ‘hostility’ is in reference to making gender specific statements. This acts not as a vehicle to create tolerance; instead is destroys personal opinion and discussion be establishing the parameters of conversation on a biased view. We are forcing our children to maintain an ambiguous nature of their own gender identity.

Forcing our children to think of gender as a nebulous concept, of which only the teach has reached a true understanding, creates the situation in which they are only able to identify with the gender the school district finds acceptable. Free thinking and the ability of being self aware dies under the oppression vagueness. In an effort to appease the 3% of the population that might identify as something other than heterosexual, we are forcing all children into the box of gender neutrality.

As these children become young adults, the lessons learned during these years teaches them that conformity and adhering to principles as established by authority are valued over individualism. Being ‘you’ is made a punitive behavior as self identification only becomes acceptable after permission is granted by the group. The education system isn’t creating an environment of openness, but rather instituting a setting in which a biased influence can be imposed.