Over lunch today, I had a conversation with a staff member where he shared a shocking and salacious story.
In this event which I shall not name, he caught two boys sleeping together. Suspecting something was amiss, he found that the other boy was naked under the sheets. One boy was from CJC, the other was from ACJC. There was blood on the sheets.
Ok, so these things happen, but I think what was more interesting was the reaction of the teacher. He was of the stand that people can do whatever they want with their own lives, which is also true. Or is it?
Researching some materials for this new curriculum I am developing, there is a resource that asks students to consider the constructs of gender and to explore the third gender that exists in some societies. One of the stated goals of the exercise is that students must realise that gender is a social construct, and to critique gender stereotypes.
Well, something to think about… is questioning one's gender really something we should teach in school to pupils of this age?
You know, when people question your beliefs, how much of your response is based on “faith” and how much of it on “reason”? For example, I think that “Children should not be taught that homosexuality is alright.” My reasoning tells me that homosexuality is indeed alright, or rather, I don’t have a very clear reason to say that homosexuality is not alright. Therefore, it can be said that my belief is based on my own biased perceptions. Is this really true?
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
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5 comments:
Hi Chris,
I tried to leave a comment on your blogspot but I couldn't so I hope email is OK.
Don't confuse the concept of "gender" and "sexual orientation". I took a class on the Psychology of Gender and the difference between gender and sexual orientation really stuck home for me when we watched this video of an interview with someone who went through a sex change. She was a man who wanted to be a woman that dated other women.
I think it's healthy to think of what constitutes gender because it definitely leads to good conversation on what is "natural" and what are societal constructs. For example, why are particular traits or behaviours seen as masculine or feminine? So this might lean towards feminist and MCP jokes rather than homosexuality, or at least I hope so. Perhaps the book "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula Le Guin might be a good read?
As for homosexuality itself, I too have been very ambivalent about it despite having many friends who are such. For now, all I know is that they lead socially conscious, loving lives and they have my deep respect. But you're right that not having a reason is not always reason enough...
=)
-mo-
I don't think they're too young to talk abt such things.
gotta look at where they are developmentally and i'm sure they're already thinking abt such stuff, even if it's not out loud.
sorry if i'm being "preachy", please tell me if i am ok?
=)
Well, gender constructs such as masculinity and femininity are good to explore, but I thought there is a very fine line when it comes to exploring the third gender in Indian and Egyptian societies because they involve homosexual behaviour..
..thus I feel that something like sexual orientation should not be potrayed to young adults as a form of valid choice by the individual.
millions of years of evolution. Why do you think homosexuality still exists, and in the proportion to which it exists?
Wld be interesting to discuss gender AND sexuality from an evolutionary and comparative perspective. There has been preliminary evidence of sexual preference and orientation predicted by brain anatomy of specific areas.
To answer why does homosexuality exist after millions of years of evolution, let me first ask you: What instances of homosexuality can you find in the animal kingdom? What actually is the proportion of homosexuality in humans? Well, none I can think of and very little.
My view is that humans have simply transcended evolution; their behaviors, in this case homosexuality, are not products of evolutionary processes. I therefore think it might be a mistake to consider an evolutionary/comparative perspective.
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