Only a decade ago, the gender ideology that progressive educators now insist is sacrosanct was taught nowhere but a few fringe university departments. Even those advocating for gay marriage often insisted that transgenderism was not part of the package they were promoting, and the idea that children could tell adults they felt as if they were the opposite gender—and be taken so seriously that surgeries, chemical (or physical) castration, and hormone therapy would be considered their human right—would have been laughed out of the board room.
After all, experts point out that around 80% of children who experience gender dysphoria eventually grow out of it and become comfortable in their bodies. “Detransitioning”—those who transitioned at a young age trying to change their bodies back to the gender they were born into—is becoming an increasing phenomenon. Some experts even believe that the supposedly transgender children of today will be launching enormous damages lawsuits against the adults who encouraged their physical transitions later on in life.
But now, it is those who do not think that accommodating and encouraging the confusion of some children who are being targeted by progressive politicians and educators, with Chilliwack school trustee Barry Neufeld being the latest target. In his post, Neufeld wrote that: “At the risk of being labelled a bigoted homophobe, I have to say that I support traditional family values and I agree with the College of Pediatricians that letting little children choose to change gender is nothing short of child abuse.”
The backlash from progressive educators was immediate, with Education Minister Rob Fleming throwing out the ever-present buzzwords “human rights, democracy, and inclusion” without explaining the bearing those concepts had on legitimate disagreement with a radical new policy that overturns an understanding of human nature that is thousands of years old. Others immediately accused Neufeld of being insufficiently supportive of British Columbia’s anti-bullying initiatives, which has come to be the Trojan Horse activists are using to transform what children are taught about human sexuality and gender.
I’m not kidding, either. If you want to know what progressive educators in BC are teaching children, take a look at this video they released some time ago explaining how the new gender theories could be woven into every class. A few examples:
They are reading books on “transgender crayons,” who came from the factory with the wrong labels, to primary children.
One educator explains that introducing transgender characters in the “everyday curriculum” is important “so that it becomes normalized.”
It is stated outright that, “It is appropriate at all age levels to talk about sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Another teacher explained how to teach children to ask about the pronouns of other children, so that the newly invented transgender pronouns (which includes terms like “ze” and “zir”) can be used and normalized. It was suggested that these be implemented in English grammar lessons, which could also lead to discussions about “non-binary” people who claim to be neither male nor female.
One teacher urges educators “not to be afraid to start with the younger grades” in explaining that families don’t necessarily have to have a mom and a dad, but can come with two moms or two dads. Children are open when they are younger, she explained, and more susceptible to internalizing these things.
It highlights one teacher explaining to a classroom full of little children how some people are boys, some people are girls, some people are “a bit of both, and some people are neither.”
It shows a teacher singing a “The Rainbow Song” about being LGBT “allies” with the children.
Those views are, by definition, radical. It is important to remember that while progressive politicians and educators are insisting that these concepts are utterly normal and that no one can legitimately disagree with them, they are simply refusing to countenance the enormous body of evidence that illustrates how dangerous their new policies are. These are not educators, they are ideologues, and they explain in their own videos that their goal is to normalize practices that many Canadians believe to be morally wrong. Those Canadians, however, are “excluded” from the buzzwords they toss about—suddenly concepts like “freedom” doesn’t exist, “inclusion” doesn’t include points of view they disagree with, and “democracy” means we all have to accept gender theories that surfaced just yesterday, historically speaking.
As I’ve pointed out in a few columns this week, this is happening right across the country. Liberal politicians and educators are going to viciously attack anyone who expresses disagreement with their new social experiment, and it is up to us to show support for those brave men and women. An attack ad targeting Jason Kenney for expressing his support for the right of parents to educate their own children has already been released by the Alberta NDP, a mere three days after he secured the leadership of the United Conservative Party. They talk about “diversity,” but not diversity of belief—and they plan to smear anyone who opposes their agenda as bigoted homophobic transphobes who want to hurt children.
From Ontario to Alberta to British Columbia, this fight is just getting started.
For anyone interested, my book on The Culture War, which analyzes the journey our culture has taken from the way it was to the way it is and examines the Sexual Revolution, hook-up culture, the rise of the porn plague, abortion, commodity culture, euthanasia, and the gay rights movement, is available for sale here.
