The Blue Blog

As future educators, we all know that it is important to encourage understanding and acceptance of all people in our classrooms.  We also know, as students who all went through school, that not everyone around us was as accepting of their fellow students as our teachers probably hoped.  This CNN.com article caught my eye because it captures a situation from the opposite direction, when a teacher is perceived as “different” from an accepted norm and draws the criticism of others in the education community.  A New Jersey elementary school teacher formerly known as Mr. McBeth underwent a sex change operation and was currently rehired as a substitute teacher by the school district under the new name Lily McBeth.  Parents are voicing their criticism of this decision, stating that the presence of a female teacher who still has male characteristics will be psychologically stressful and confusing for young students, and for this reason transgender teachers should not be allowed in schools.

When I read this article, the first thing that I wanted to think about was where anti-transgender attitudes come from.  I think that a reasonable explanation may be that those ideas come from the anti-gay attitudes that have been around for a long time, even though transgender individuals are not necessarily homosexuals.  The negative perception of homosexuality as unnatural and possibly even dangerous seems to have been transferred by some into similar attitudes about transgender people; just two weeks ago, I read another article about parents protesting the hiring of a gay principal, and the same kinds of arguments were made about the effects of a gay principal on the students.

So, the next question is, how would I address the concerns of these parents if I were a teacher at the elementary school where Miss McBeth will be teaching?  In order to support the decision of the school board, I would have to respond to the parents who think that their children are being “put into a petri dish” by having a transgender person as a teacher.  I would probably be upset that people are treating another human being as if they are some kind of creature being put into the classroom as an experiment on the students, so I would have to think clearly and tell the parents that, while the physical characteristics of a person who is female may appear more masculine to the observer, this is in no way a problem because there are a lot of people whose appearance does not match up with our gender stereotypes of how they should look, regardless of whether or not they are transgender.  Children, as they grow older, will probably encounter more and more people who do not fit into our socialized ideas of gender, so it should not be an issue.

The comment that I personally have the biggest problem with is the comment about children being psychologically threatened by Miss McBeth’s presence as a female instead of a male.  While it may be confusing for elementary school students, and they may certainly have a lot of questions, I don’t think that psychological damage could possibly result from being taught by Miss McBeth.  The whole idea is fueled by the irrational fear that children will somehow become “confused” about their gender identity and/or sexual orientation by interacting with someone who has undergone a change in sex.  These phobias seem so absurd to me that, at the moment, I am not sure how I would respond to a parent who said something like this to me.  All I know is that I would try to calmly assure them that the school would not take action that would harm their child, but I know it would be one of those situations that I would have very strong feelings about because I believe in equality of opportunity for everyone, and I do not think that there is anything harmful about anyone’s sexual orientation, gender identification, or change in sex.