Transgender Lovecraftian Turkey

My sons and stepson were assigned the task of making a cardboard and paper turkey centerpiece for the table to get them out of the way, and Owen (8yo) insisted that he wanted it to be a colorful turkey with eyes on its feathers like a peacock. This caused an argument with his half-brother, James (10yo) because that’s peacocks, not turkeys. Owen was convinced he’d heard of turkeys like that, and was trying to explain why they were like that, but the only explanation he was able to come up with is that maybe they were trans, only they were a peacock on the outside and a turkey on the inside instead of different genders. (A friend of ours came out as trans two years ago, so they’re familiar with the concept.)

The internet was called on to provide proof, and it turned out that there are subspecies of turkey, and he was referring to the Mexican Meliagris oscillata as opposed to the less colorful American Meliagris gallopavo – and that species does indeed have peacock like colors and eye spots on its tail feathers. Argument resolved, they are now happily covering their turkey with metallic paper and googly eyes everywhere like a friendly holiday Lovecraftian abomination. 

Owen to James’s mother: “Can guys be pretty without being trans?”

Her, not having the proper turkey context: “Absolutely, you can be as pretty as you want.”

Owen, frustrated: “Noooo, I’m talking about the TURKEY!”

“Minneapolis Public Schools students can now choose their preferred name and gender on all district forms, a change that was made over spring break but took effect Monday when students arrived back at school.

The new policy, which has been in the works for a while, builds on an informal one instituted in 2013 that said teachers and other school staff should honor the preferred names of transgender students and allow them to use the restroom of the gender with which they identify, said district spokesman Dirk Tedmon.

This latest step formalizes the district’s support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, Tedmon said.

“Now it’s an official thing in the student information system,” he said. “I think it’s about affirming the experiences of our students and recognizing them for who they are.”

Read the full piece here

YES!!! NICE WORK MINNEAPOLIS!

its almost like kids learn prejudice 

kids generally just take in just about any explanations people give. honestly it’s so weird people always say “how will we explain it to the kids?” when it’s always kids who get it, and adults gotta be the kinds of people who are so narrow minded and slow about accepting us they are the kinds of people to be “but what about the kids”….

My 3 year old asked questions on it and now she catches herself mid sentence on this topic and corrects herself. Kids are so damn smart and adults think they are smarter than children. We’re not.

I walk into a new classroom and write “Mx [JP]” on the board. The first question is always, “What does that mean?” I say, “It’s like Mr or Mrs or Ms, but gender neutral. Does that make sense?” The students 100% always say yes.

Sometimes, in a younger grade, a student who hasn’t learned hesitation asks if I’m a boy or a girl. I say, “Oh, I’m both. Most people are boys or girls, but there’s a very small group of us who are another gender, kind of like both together.” And while the EA or other onlooking adult (if there is one) will boggle and look uncomfortable, the kids will chirp, “Oh, okay!” or occasionally, “That’s so cool! I’ve never met anyone who’s both!”

…and go right back to coloring or math or whatever.

My five y/o recently learned about trans people when a friend of mine he’d known all his life started openly presenting as male, and his main question was how to ask politely if you like someone but aren’t sure if they’re a boy or a girl. Then he told another friend of ours that Ean was a boy now, and when the friend asked what he thought of that, he went, after considering it for a moment, “The hair is all right.”

Yeah, kids have zero problems with it.