they could give a shit about your kids

so, we’ve suddenly had some rather heated discussions in my place of employ as of late…

…seated around the trans community.

it’s interesting – my company owns five shops, and currently only one has a trans artist. i can’t recall quite how long he revealed his plans, but i know it goes back to before fall of 2015, which was when we adopted our electronic paperwork as all of it reveals his masculine name. the point being, we’ve been living and laughing and such with this for over a decade, but NOW all of a sudden it’s a thing.

what sparked it was me mentioning that, unlike the christian folk that tend to go after such things, most of the LGBT community is not on a membership drive. a drive for acceptance, sure. but trying to recruit new folks? not even close.

and this movement to legislate them out of existence is just fucking stupid.

i’ll admit – i sided with my conservative friends on the kids thing. not the “they’re coming after your kids” thing, because, again, that’s bullshit. i actually (hesitantly for fear of what it would kick on, algorithm-wise) googled “trans coming after kids” and got ONE article on a right leaning “periodical” that spoke of what my co-workers were talking about, and DOZENS of articles about the right going after trans kids rights. but that part i had a slight doing in personally, as i felt they shouldn’t be trying to change kids genders during puberty as it’s a bit of a hormonal cluster fuck and you never really know where shit was gonna land.

since my phone had provided such a cornucopia of “going after trans kids” info, there was an actual journal article in scientific american about the actual science behind kids and this. it turns out that puberty blockers have been used as a somewhat hormonal “pause button” for kids who develop too early for years. “normal” kids. YOUR kids. now they use it, also, for this – to see if therapy and honest conversations yield another result. “social transitioning” is tried first, where you allow pronouns, names, and appearance to change without any medical action behind it.

and here’s the real deal – while i might be pretty bright, and educated, and free-thinking, i am far from an expert. the american psychological association? the american psychiatric association? the american MEDICAL association? THOSE are the experts. i don’t care how much rogan you listen to – they know more than me and you COMBINED. and if they say it’s the better call, hell – that’s WHY we have experts.

so i stand by my opinion – they are NOT on a membership drive. they are not going after your kids. a guy, in makeup, a dress, and some pumps, reading charlotte’s web to your kid isn’t going after your kids. the guy in the assless chaps with his pierced cock hanging out at the gay pride parade? he’s not going after your kids, because your kids DON’T FUCKING BELONG THERE. he’s been dressing that way at those events since 1999. it’s only recently that people started trying to pretend EVERYTHING is kid friendly. news flash – it’s not. not every parade is for children. take them to the christmas parade. or whatever little small historical thing makes your town have a parade in the summer. pride parades are not meant for kids nor should they be. they’re about a culture and a lifestyle that is occasionally a bit sexual and that is more than okay. the gay bar down the street might make a hell of a burger, but that doesn’t mean you have to take your ten year old there to try it. learn that your kids aren’t universally welcome and that’s well within the rights of businesses and events to say so.

also, accept that gays exist. whether you like it or not. whether the two-thousand plus year old book of rules you still feel (erroneously) applies to twenty-first century culture approves or not. they’re queer, they’re here, get used to it. and if your kid’s male teacher notices he mentions a “husband” and ask you about it, and you’re not comfortable having the conversation, change the subject. they’re children – they’re attention spans, for the most part, are shit. talk about something else. move on. and get over it – eventually you’re going to have to have the conversation. remember who the adult is SUPPOSED to be here.