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Originally Posted by Ustwo
Most of you arn't parents. I've been a parent myself for about a year and a half. While intellectually you can imagine being a parent, no one who doesn't have children can understand the emotional attachment involved. My knowledge of evolutionary biology may tell me its all chemical, but it doesn't matter, it just is.
Likewise you don't need to be a parent to think that a grown man wanting his penis to be removed has something fundamentally wrong with him. Regardless of your stance on transsexuals, something didn't work right at some point in genetics, development, whatever that caused this desire.
When something this basic is wrong, it is natural to think what else is wrong with this person. Perhaps nothing else is wrong but the concept of removing ones genitals is alien to most thinking.
Now comes the protective instinct of parents. You don't get between a grizzly and her cubs, well the same applies to soccer moms. If you are odd, and very little is as odd as a sex change, your instinct is to protect. You don't CARE about the feelings of the other person, you worry about your child. As such I would not fault a parent from not wanting their child exposed to this.
I personally think the kids involved are young enough that it wouldn't matter, I would be more worried if it were high school because it would become far more of a distraction.
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Congrats on being a parent for 18 months. It's gets 'better'.... As the mother of twins for almost 14 years, I can assure you that most of what you say is BS
if (big
if in some parts of the country, for sure) the parent is open-minded enough to consider all angles. Our primary job, those of us that at least make the attempt to do it, is to teach our kids about feelings and how to both express them, not hurt others and be open enough for them to know they can come to us. "Exposed" to this? I don't think this teacher will be showing scars, etc.
Having worked with kids both as a volunteer in elementary school and as an aide for three years, rest assured that kids WILL ask questions, make comments and want to know things. High school kids are ruder, but they still have a curiosity that should be met logically and without prejudging and if they prejudge, should be shown why that is wrong. It is nice to see that now at least, while some of the rudeness is still around, acceptance is more commonplace than it was way back when I was that age and they ask and confide in those they trust.
My definition of 'odd' in terms of protection is NOT Mr. M becoming Ms. M, it's the slovenly guy up the street who likes handing out candy or the 50 year old man who dresses like the 70's Alice Cooper, rides a bike and can't form a sentence without saying 'doooood'.
Parents that use that 'I want to protect my child' are full of bull. They want to protect themselves from the harder parts of the job they chose to do-teach their own kids about the world without projecting their own bigotries.