Your say: Allowing children to change gender
Stuff.co.nz
| Friday, 18 January 2008
Stuff readers have their say on a new report calling for law
changes to recognise the rights of transgender people, including allowing
children to change gender at school.
What
do you think? Click here or email
editiorial@stuff.co.nz to send us your feedback
To all the people who
think that this is wrong, and that parents don't have a say. Have you stopped
to think that maybe the parents think it may be best for their child to be
comfortable with what they wear and who they are? I'm not transgendered
but when I was about 10 I wanted to change my style of dress to Goth, of course
my Mother was opposed to this but by the time I hit 13 she realised that this
was something I really wanted for myself so she started to listen and started
to accept the clothes I wanted to get, once this happened I became a lot more
comfortable and confident with who I was and it showed!! Don't you think that
applying the same logic to transgender it will be a lot better for them as
people, don't forget that's what they are! They are no different from you or
me, the only small difference - and we all have those - is that they aren't in
the right body for their mind; there's no crime in that! To all the
transgendered, be who you are, don't let others bring you down because they
view it as wrong. Be strong and confident!
- Alice Daynes
All the school boys who wondered how they could gain access to the girls'
toilets and changing rooms may soon have a legal way. Changing gender for
school kids is a no-brainer. A woman trapped in a man's body or vice
versa is so much nonsense. The emperor had no clothes too and didn't know it
until a little kid pointed it out. The higher the authority the more they
demonstrate that academic brains do not always provide intelligent
thinking.
- R Mayall
I believe as a transgender myself that if children by the age of 13 are
definitely sure that they do not identify with the gender they were born in
then yes by all means as this is an age that is of the puberty years and
allowing them to wear clothes appropriate to the gender they identify with
should not be an issue. Also the parents looking into hormone replacement is a
good thing. I myself know what it was like to identify as male in a girl's
body. I was sent to a girls school and I was tormented horrible because I used
to try and wear my brother's uniform to school. I would try and stand to
urininate. I knew in my primary years I should have been born a boy and it was
darn hard back in the 70's to even contemplate changing gender... why do we
have to make it so hard for our young? I think children in schools need to be
taught about discrimination and how it can affect not only the victims life but
their own... as it is illegal and especially college children need to be aware
of it. So I believe... Let's help our young be happy and be who they really
want to be and need to be... This is not a mental illness it is also not about
sexual orientation..but it is about gender orientation.
- Weston Watson (Transgendered
man)
This story is more about how degraded our western culture is becoming than
about dealing with people's social and mental issues. A person is born in a particular
male or female body because that is their karma from previous lives. To try to
change ones gender will simply bring about more bad karma and further births in
whichever body the living entity is trying to escape from in this life. This is
known as reincarnation. The Bhagavad Gita Chapter8 verse 6 states:
"Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body,
that state he will attain without fail". And now western society is
attempting to "dump" the responsibility of accepting this abnormal
behaviour onto schools. How very bizarre. What next? Changing skin colour?
Changing species? Oh but teacher, now I want to become a BLACK female horse.
- Paul Tuffery
You gotta be nuts, I
will leave it at that. If any child wishes to make a change later that's their
prerogative, this is a slippery slope, where is NZ headed??
- Chris J.
What an incredulous waste of taxpayer resources funding this 18-month inquiry
and report. Yet another crazy example of this fluffy, pathetic government of
ours pandering to the tiniest of minorities. It is high time we installed
leadership that caters to the very people that keep this country operating.
- Paul Davey
This proposal is two things, one of
which is sick, the other stupid. Children don't know what they want, if my son
had the choice he'd nothing but icecream and lollies. Kids change their minds
at a whim, one day they want to be a doctor, the next a bus driver, and the
following day a transormer robot. It's common sense, kids are stupid and cant
make a coherrent decision. Obviously common sense isn't so common anymore.
- Luke Jared
What people are forgetting here is they are introducing this to stop
discrimination. Every time the government tries to improve law for
gay or transgender people, some straight people seem to think its a personal
attack on their freedom. Yes, there might only be 10 boys or girls out there
right now who feel trapped in the wrong body and are obviously destined to
become transgender. Does introducing anti discrimination law for these fellow
human beings, somehow make it impossible for mainstream New Zealand to
live happily? It has always annoyed me when people use the term political
correctness, to justify the repression of others. To live freely without
discrimination is a human right. I agree, these are young children who are
probably too young to be making life decisions, but have you ever thought that
perhaps these children don't have any choice? I wouldn't want to be one of
those children, living in a world dominated by people who'd rather hide them
away, than help them fit into society.
- Nathan
Yet again,a bunch of
social meddlers are determined to fiddle with those of us who have an identity
crisis. Why is it that barrow-pushers believe they have the right to dictate on
issues relating to personality? And why must schools get involved in matters of
identity and sexual-orientation? And why doesn't the overly vocal HRC identify
what sort of numbers/percentage of society are affected? That the problem
exists is, again, a reflection on the failure of family integrity and
togetherness that results in individuals lacking in confidence, self-esteem and
identity awareness. Perhaps the HRC should be examining why such people got to
be "trans". How/why have their families failed
them?
- Don Allan
Bobby - obviously this is something for you to rejoice in and I am glad for
it. However, perhaps the solution is not for schools to allow it, but for
schools to teach some real life lessons like anti-discrimination and cracking
down on bullying. This is often the underlying issue for most problems in
schools and relates to a number of areas such as racism which is also prevalent
in schools. I am not totally appose the idea, but perhaps it should be treated
like religious education and each school needs to obtain permission from
parents to educate their children on the topic.
- Taase
Now I know that some people will be up in arms over this. But I think it
is great news. There are young people out there who know from a very
early age that they don't identify with the gender assigned them by fate.
No harm can truly be caused by allowing this, and yet great harm can be caused
by not. It is a celebration of complete commonsense in my
head. For those who are concerned it is sending a wrong message to
young people and it is bad for society, I suggest you consider the messages
sent by not allowing this. I have worked with young people who clearly
identify as the opposite gender to that assigned them, and I have seen the
fallout of them trying to fit within rules that don't allow them to be who they
truly are. I have seen a lot of criminal activity, negative behaviour and
even suicide result. For those that have been brave enough to challenge
this at the highest level I salute your courage, and I salute the courage of
those young people who do now take up the option. Tolerance and then
celebration of difference needs to first start with acceptance.
- Bobby
This is
ludicrous! This sort of decision is a personal one and when a child it should
be done with the parents knowledge. Allowing this in schools would only
confuse children. Like we need to do that! School barely prepares
kids these days for what they are to expect in adulthood let alone filling
their heads with ideas of sex change in their younger years. Fair enough
if the idea is already there but only in the environment of youth normally
exploring ideas for themselves. You start sex-change education in schools
and the seed is planted everyone will consider if it's for them or not.
Where as the majority of people would just accept who they were born as and
there would be no question about it. This is not to invalidate whether or not
people should change gender or not simply to say that its NOT a schools place
to educate and help young people to change gender. It is ludicrous!
- Taase
What on earth is NZ
becoming - another planet perhaps? Kids can't even work out what they
should be eating, how can they be expected to 'choose' their gender?!
This is simply brain-dead psycho-nonsense.
- J.Coleman
Exactly what is New
Zealand leaders' current agenda? What major 'achievements' have been made?
Lowered drinking age. Legal brothels. Free childcare so moms can ditch the kids
asap. Criminalisation of disciplinary smacking. Civil unions. Now we want to
further screw up our next generation by using childhood confusion to push our
proverbial liberal barrow? Is it just me or can no one else see links between
our legislation changes and its impact on our children? What are we hoping to
achieve for our grandchildren?
- Melissa Bird
As I read that article,
again I come across the desire of the ruling political correct to up hold the
rights of the few and remove the rights of the many. I take exception to and
worry that a transgender male could be allowed to undress and use the
facilities in female toilets/changing rooms. Why should my daughters have to be
exposed to that? If they are going to be that politically correct they should
make it compulsory for all school and public toilets to have three sets, one
for males, one for female and one for transgenders.
Tim Edwards
No, I do not think it has anything to do with the schools. What on earth is
going on here anyway?
a)This appears to be another case of parents being missed out of
the equation. There is not one mention of the parents responsibility
for their children - will they have any say in the matter?
b) It seems by this report that it is a given that children are capable
of making this decision themselves. Whoa up there. They will have neither the
knowledge nor the life skills to even consider this. Where is the pressure
coming from on children in the first place?
Frances and Gordon Bohm
Another nasty piece of social
manipulation by the labour led government. If these children are suffering
from being trapped in the wrong body, surely they should be given time and the
chance to mature in mind and body before they rush into anything. Time enough
for all the changes they want when they are "grown up".
The Whitehead Family