Lesson 1

What are your general thoughts concerning Gender change?

No one is born gay. It’s the lifestyle they live. I can’t discriminate against someone because of the life style they chose for themselves. All I can do is accept them for who they are. You never know what someone is going through or what they feel is best for them.

If you were friends with the Oregon teacher before the gender change, would you STILL be friends? If yes, why? If no, why not?

If I was friends with the Oregon teacher before the gender change I would still be friends with the teacher. I would have to put myself in the position of my friend and understand what she is going through. I would accept my friend for who they are and address her for who she is today. I cannot judge my friend for what decision she made. She was my friend before the gender change and she will remain my friend.

If you were a classroom teacher, how would you explain this issue to your students?

If I was giving the opportunity to explain gender change to my students within a classroom setting depending on their grade level. I would explain that a person is born male or female from the outer appearance. However, some females never develop ovaries or fallopian tubes, only a uterus. A male may not have fully formed testicles nor a prostate. In order to be considered a woman or female, you need your fallopian tubes, a uterus and ovaries to reproduce. A man only need his penis and testicles to procreate. Once a person, whether male or female learn that they are missing one of their major organs to procreate, they tend to feel different or incomplete. They may feel inadequate to perform as the sex they were born and decide that they should be male if born female or female if they are born male.

Concerning the "debate" video, the lady in stripes said that "we must protect our children and create a safe learning environment and we must not expose our children to gender change because it might be harmful to our children". What does she mean by "protect" and "safe learning environment" and "harmful"? Explain.

Andrea Lafferty states in the debate video that "we must protect our children and create a safe learning environment and we must not expose our children to gender change because it might be harmful to our children". By protect our children she means to keep our children from anything that can hurt them. Safe learning environment she means that children can learn without being afraid. By harmful she means that it can change the way our children think and feel about certain things and certain people.

Explain in your own words the meaning behind Lady GaGa's "Born This Way" song.

The meaning behind Lady GaGa’s “Born This Way” song means that everyone is born a specific way. One should not be judged by the way they were born. Or treated differently just because of the way they was born. You should not like or dislike somebody just because of the way they look because that’s the way they were born. Just be yourself and don't try to change for any one no matter what they say. Love yourself for all the good that’s inside.

At the end of the Lady GaGa video, she and her dancers raise their hands in the air. What does this mean?

At the end of Lady GaGa’s video, she and her dancers raise their hands in the air to bring awareness. By letting people know that the way they live now is the life they chose. Some people may not be born that way but they were. So by them raising their hand to say “I’m here and I was born this way and there is nothing you can do about it”.

What do you think would have more of a NEGATIVE EFFECT on a child - having a transgender teacher or listening and viewing Lady GaGa's songs and videos? Explain.

Between having a transgender teacher and listening to and watching Lady GaGa’s song “Born This Way” the one that would have a more of a negative effect on a child will be having a transgender teacher. As kids they are taught to always love yourself for who you are. Being a child seeing your teacher go from a woman to man or from a man to a woman can cause confusion. They would have questions on whether it is right or wrong to change your sex.

How does one become prejudice?

A person becomes prejudice by the influence of others. When we are born, we have no concept of color as it relates to black or white. As children, we unconditionally love everyone. Only after we have been told that a person is black or white and should hate them, is when we notice that we are different and we learn to hate or be prejudice.

Who is at fault or responsible for discrimination?

Discrimination is a form of hate. The human mind does not operate on hate unless it is persuaded to hate. A person is responsible for their own actions and it is their choice to discriminate and or hate. People can tell you to hate or discriminate but you are responsible for the decision you make to discriminate or not.

Can you cite some personal examples of prejudice and discrimination?

Prejudice and discrimination is all around you. From the workplace to even your own household. Someone not giving you a job because of your skin color. Within a workplace people will be quick to offer a male a constructional job rather than a female. Even though they both have the same qualities

Summary

This lesson has taught me the true meaning behind the quote “Never judge a book by its cover”. You should never discriminate someone because of the choices they make in their life. Put yourself in their shoes and understand what they are going through. People should be able to embrace their sexuality.

Research Question

Are there laws the protect transgender people?

According, ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) in some cases, yes there are laws that protect transgender people. At least 160 cities and counties have passed their own laws banning gender identity discrimination. If a law bans discrimination based on sexual orientation defines "sexual orientation" to include gender identity (as, for example, the ones in Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota do), it protects transgender people as well as lesbian, gay, and bisexual people.

Also, most sexual orientation nondiscrimination laws prohibit discrimination based on perceived as well as actual sexual orientation. Therefore, in most places with laws against sexual orientation discrimination, if a person discriminates against a transgender person because of his or her belief that the victim is gay (even if that belief is wrong), the transgender person is protected.

Reference:https://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/know-your-rights-transgender-people-and-law