Re: “Oklahoma instructor removed from teaching for failing a Bible-based gender essay” (Dec. 23, Nation):
Center faculty is usually the place youngsters first really feel actual strain to “act” like a boy or a woman, and analysis reveals these expectations can form every part from reputation to bullying.
Research discover that college students — particularly boys — who strongly conform to conventional gender norms usually tend to bully friends who don’t match these norms. Bullying turns into a strategy to implement what the group sees as acceptable masculinity or femininity, and children who step exterior these strains usually pay the social value.
This isn’t about what number of genders exist; it’s about how kids deal with each other once they consider there is just one “proper” strategy to be a boy or a woman.
Some group members might maintain a honest biblical perception that God created solely two genders. That theological view speaks to id and religion, to not the social dynamics unfolding in school rooms and hallways. No matter one’s beliefs, the proof is evident: inflexible gender expectations can gas bullying, and college students who don’t conform are at larger danger of hurt.
We are able to honor private religion whereas nonetheless acknowledging the accountability to create colleges the place each little one — conforming or not — is handled with dignity.
Michael J. Dooley, Olympia
