Homophobia
and heterosexism have permeated the world of young children in several ways. In
our culture it is implanted that the traditional family that consists of a man
and female has the norm. In the early childhood centers and schools you have many books
on families in which have a mother and father that live in a happy home usually
with a pet. When it comes to toys of families it is the same way. When watching movies in the
classroom you never see one where the couples are of the same sex.
I believe that has an educator childhood center should not
exclude books that depict gay or lesbian individuals especially since we live
in a world that allows them to be a married couple. In our world there are many
same sex couples that are raising children and they will be going to these
schools so it means we need to teach the other children this can be counted has
a family too.
If I were in a situation where a parent didn’t want their child
in a classroom with a homosexual or transgender person I would tell them that we
have a curriculum that we follow and that the sexual orientation of the others
should not be a problem when it comes to their child’s education. But after
explaining all this and they still feel that way I would tell them maybe they
should look elsewhere.
I cannot ever remember using any of these terms but have heard
people use them. My nephew called his uncle gay along with friends even singing
a song. This made him horrible because he is gay and he thought that his nephew
cared about him. When children hear this from an adult or parent they will do
the same and more than likely they do not know what the word means they are
just repeating what they hear. This can lead the child to being prejudice to
others. This can have a negative effect on a child and make a child feel bad. I
have a boy in my class that is being raise by his gay grandmother and her partner
and a child ask her if she was a man or woman. This was because he had heard
someone else made that comment.