Start Seeing Diversity Blog: "We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

I would like to share my personal experience with you regarding my youngest daughter's response to her classmate who thought I was a gay. I remember hearing my daughter having a casual conversation with her classmate and I can see a very confident little girl in her. Her classmate asked my daughter : " Is your mom a gay?" My daughter said: "Yes, my mom is a gay." Then she started giggling because her classmate looked like she was confused. Upon hearing the comment made by her classmate, I approached my daughter and asked her if she was ok with having a mom like me. I also asked her if she was embarrassed or would she be more proud of me if I dressed up in a nice dress and fancy shoes. She said to me : "Mom, I like you the way you are and I am just having a good time fooling my classmate."  My daughter made me a very proud parent because she is very comfortable with who I am and it seems nothing matters except my love for them.

If I was the parent of the child who made that comment, I do not know how I am going to react but in real situation I would probably be looking at my daughter's eyes and tell her it is not polite to comment or judge people by the way they look. I would cite some examples of people who does not dress-up in skirt or blouse and dresses  to be called a woman. Some woman like to dress up in a way they are comfortable and appropriate for their job. Just like men, there are some men who love to do woman's work and wanted to stay in a home to take care of their children and it does not make them less of a man. With proper guidance and understanding children will be able to identify different gender roles and eliminate the bias perception. Children should also be allowed to express what is inside them, and there is nothing wrong about having other preference. Children need to understand -there is more of a woman than in the needs to know that you do not have to look like woman to be called a woman and same also applies to men.

As an educator , I will encourage a child to speak up to understand what made her to conclude or see a person as a gay or straight. I will also encourage children to learn about gender roles and provide resource materials in the classroom to teach them about groups of people who are different by the way they look  from each other but performs their job/ responsibility just like anyone else.