SUPPO R T I NG T R ANS G END ER & G END ER N O N CO N FO RM I N G S TU D E N TS
people, with whom transgender individu-
als are often grouped. LGB people generally
anticipate being seen as LGB their entire
lives; having a partner of the same gender
is usually visible and acceptance includes
others acknowledging a different-looking
couple. Many transgender people, especial-
ly those going through adolescence when
conformity is often a desire, simply want to
be treated as their preferred gender. Accep-
tance does not always include being “out.”
questions about genitalia are frequently
directed to trans people as if other people
have the right to know what is underneath
their clothing.
Invite guest speakers who are transgender
and willing to speak about their experi-
ences. Outside speakers are usually open
to responding to questions from cisgender
people that might be inappropriate in typi-
cal conversation. At Sheridan, we hosted
the author Alex Myers who shared his own
experience and specifically taught our com-
munity about the impact of personal ques-
tions on transgender people. Subsequently,
he offered to answer some of those ques-
tions himself in an effort to educate our
community and shield our transgender stu-
dents from those questions.
“Many transgender
people, especially those
going through adoles-
cence when conformity is
often a desire, simply want
to be treated as their pre-
ferred gender. Acceptance
does not always include
being ‘out.’”
Examine Your Curriculum
Even though we teach that gender is a
spectrum, many schools still divide boys
and girls for sex education classes which
contradicts the curriculum and implies that
deep down everyone does fall into one gen-
der bucket or the other. We often separate
boys and girls because we want to teach
them separately about their own bodies;
but, not all students identifying as one gen-
der have the sexual body parts associated
with that gender, and students who identify
as gender non-binary do not fit into either
bucket. Research also suggests that as many
as one percent of people are biologically
intersex which further complicates our de-
As a society, those in dominant groups often
feel like they can ask personal questions of
underrepresented people. This is commonly
seen in schools when families of color are
disproportionately asked to share their ex-
periences and lead multicultural endeav-
ors. Transgender and gender nonconform-
ist people are often asked highly personal
questions by otherwise well-meaning peo-
ple. While we would never think of asking
a typical student about their private parts,
Continues on page 16
CSEE Connections
Summer 2019
Page 15