November 28, 2015

"Wisconsin school nixes reading of book about transgender kid."

For some reason that's the most-read article at WaPo right now. As a citizen of Wisconsin, I felt I needed to take note.
The Mount Horeb Area School District released a statement Wednesday saying it will not proceed with its planned reading of the book “I am Jazz”.... Last week, the principal of Mount Horeb Primary Center sent a letter to parents saying the book would be read and discussed because the school has a student who identifies as a girl but was born with male anatomy. “We believe all students deserve respect and support regardless of their gender identity and expression, and the best way to foster that respect and support is through educating students about the issue of being transgender,” the letter said. The Florida-based Liberty Counsel group threatened to sue....

58 comments:

Guildofcannonballs said...

I betcha 'twas about the author, not the kid, as we know.

David said...

Primary school? A little early I think.

David said...

"For some reason that's the most-read article at WaPo right now."

People need a lighthearted diversion.

paminwi said...

Primary=elementary. Too young for most to understand.
Get why they think it needs to not happen, but am sure everyone will go ape-shit crazy over the decision.

Guildofcannonballs said...

Who are these people to label kids "gendered" if they are so willing to throw their label "trans" everywhere?

All kids are trans, then not, then again, then double triple ultra max reversals negated thricely, so leave them the Christ alone.

You can't do that? Then shut up about your raped-to-evil mind that needs to define your kid your way.

What people confront is worse than a thing around the neck that drowns you, in the deepest sea.

Millstone.

Guildofcannonballs said...

This is a link informing that untribals could form an opinion, resulting from other untribals' stats/facts, celebrated for its untribalness.

Imagine not that, but me, MYSELF, thinking and typing that?

Michael K said...

Sick parents.

Guildofcannonballs said...

"all glory fades, sic transit gloria"

Yet what doesn't fade 'cept God Max? Does cuckoldry fade and make you feel good because it conforms to the 'feeling good' caucus?

Glory fades, you think you're fucking "king" fades because of your moronacy.

Okay.

But what doesn't fade Max, considering your temporal hysteria?

Is nothing ever derp derp, because if it was it it FUCKING FADED BY NOW FUCKSTICK.

No more derp derp for anyone as time supercedes.

JCC said...

From the WP comments:
"This is a bizarre psycho-social phenomenon. A child decides he/she wants to be a girl/boy. Often they are very young, below the age of awareness, they do not even understand the basics of sexuality. I don't know if there is always a complete psychological evaluation, but the idea that a child decides finally and forever that they are mentally a gender they are not physiologically is somehow unsound. It would seem that the best course would be to bear with the situation until a bit of maturity influences the decision making. Instead some of the "grownups" just want to turn everything upside down and arrange the world around the infantile sexual politics of one child's questionable life decisions. The whole thing smacks of inappropriate sexual...confusion."

Why are adults even considering what an elementary school child wants in this sense, and why are they intimating that children of this age even have the wherewithal to make such decisions or encouraging such by the reading is this book? It all sounds just too stupid to me. Clinical experience in Gender Dysphoria is that a very sifgnificant number of pre-puescent children will no longer experience this condition as they hit adolescence. In other words, they grow out of this condition or feeling. So why are we allowing elementary-school age children to make life-altering decisions for themselves or why are we attempting to influence these decisions with books like this?

Renee said...

Books based on reality shows?

The subject matter in of itself may be neutral, but was the book well written has it secured itself as truely being relevant. This feels more akin to assigning crappy pop culture or the scholastic crap that markets books on teen celebrities as literature.

Skeptical Voter said...

Ah the good old Southern Poverty Law Center--always seeking a mission to justify its existence. Anybody or anything that fails to toe the progressive line is labeled as a "hate group".

Eleanor said...

Primary school? That's an easy one. "Johnny was born a boy, but likes to pretend he's a girl. That's OK. He can come to school dressed any way he likes and use whatever bathroom he likes. So can you. But if you like to pretend you're a puppy, and you come to school wearing a collar and leash, if you poop outside, you'll have to use the pooper scooper." Kids that age really don't understand what "gender" is. Their behavior along gender lines is pretty fluid. It's highly unlikely even the child who is being pushed to identify across gender lines understands what adults are doing to him. But they do respect the power of imaginative play, and they will be more likely to respect the child's "space" presented that way. But someone should get his parents some professional help before they put their child through the misery of transgenderism.

Fandor said...

I'm confused...

PeterK said...

Has anyone ever taken the time to count how many unique transgendered student stories there are? it is almost like they burst onto the scene in the last year.

n.n said...

Transgender/homosexual, bisexual, polygamist, or crossover?

clint said...

I wonder if this kind of thing really helps the kid it's supposed to help.

They've got a new kid who's a bit different.

So they hold a big assembly to explain the new kid's differences to all the other kids.

Yeah. That'll help the new kid fit in and make friends.

Scott said...

Camille Paglia recently opined that gender identity issues shouldn't be forced on kids; that they should be left alone to decide for themselves after they are 18. I agree with that notion.

This primary school justified the reading because one of their K through 6 graders is a male who identifies as a female. That's insane. Instead, county social services, if they had any balls (figuratively anyway), should be investigating the parenting of that poor child.

Achilles said...

Public Elementary School. Teach kids Math, Reading, Writing, some basic science.

If tax dollars are being forced into something it should have overwhelming support. We shouldn't have to have this discussion unless we want to have it. As it is we have a bunch of little fascists running around relentlessly pushing agendas where they don't belong. This is garbage.

Titus said...

Mount Horeb is the Troll Capitol of the world-seriously!

There are little trolls all over the town.

Mount Horeb is a cute town with a cute little lake.

tits and muscles.

hiawatha biscayne said...

educators.

alan markus said...

Drudge Report has a link to it - and I think earlier today it was under two links about the Colorado Springs shooter.

chickelit said...

The Florida-based Liberty Counsel group threatened to sue....

I hope Mt. Horeb tells Florida to butt the fuck out. They have have no business meddling like that.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Another sign the Left is cratering. They're so frantic to have their creepy dogma affirmed by society that they will happily destroy this child's life.

Rick said...

paminwi said...
Primary=elementary. Too young for most to understand.


Including the kid who is supposedly transgender.

That it is the most clicked story says a lot, considering the story itself is a nothing. No note of the ages, no commentary on the issues that led the kid or parents to conclude the kid is transgender. The whole article is a waste of time.

Mark said...

This Florida group reminds me of the Freedom From Religion folks, famous for suing out of state on issues that they have no actual connection to.

The situation is stupid, but it can and will be handled locally just fine.

Bob Ellison said...

gender-fluid is the new something

Ken Mitchell said...

I'm sorry to be a "hater" (because I'm not...) but if you were born with male anatomy but you self-identify as female, you're mentally ill. Society does not owe it to you to pander to your delusion.

The Godfather said...

A sensitive issue like this should not be covered in an elementary school reading list. If any conflicts and behavior problems among the students grow out of little Johnny believing that he's little Janie, I'm sure the teachers can address them.

Tari said...

The story appears in the "Entertainment" section of the WaPo. That's one way of looking at it, I guess.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

n.n.,

Transgender/homosexual, bisexual, polygamist, or crossover?

Well, there you have it. Briefly: "Transgender" and "homosexual" are different things. Transgender folks might be gay (you'd be amazed at the number of trans lesbians; at least I was amazed when I found even one person who was biologically male, but wanted to chop off his genitals so that he could continue loving women; now they're everywhere). "Bisexuals" exist for the purpose of the LGBT acronym, but not otherwise; the common wisdom among gays is that they are all "really" gay, just unwilling to admit it. (I think this is BS, mostly, but that's because I've seen all the obviously naturally-derived children of lesbian parents' previous het marriages.)

"Polygamist" means either Fundamentalist LDS (a very small group) or Muslims (a very large one). Which have you in mind? Wrt the latter, we have a lot of further work to do. Canada has had families with four wives all on welfare for the better part of a decade now. Do we want the same?

As for "crossover," it's either a smallish SUV or a moniker for trans people.

Valentine Smith said...

The Left will do absolutely everything they can to destroy the people they proclaim to be helping.

garage mahal said...

Camille Paglia recently opined that gender identity issues shouldn't be forced on kids?

You're one of the most consistently dumb gay commenters on this website. This is my shocked face.

n.n said...

Michelle Dulak Thomson:

Trans- is a prefix that means "across, beyond, through, on the other side of, to go beyond." It applies to any orientation and behavior that is not normal. An objective context for normal is established by the requirements for evolutionary fitness and human biology. Homosexual, bisexual, polygamist, crossover, etc. are transgender orientations, and when expressed, behaviors.

Crossover is composed of two terms: cross and over. In the context of human orientations and behaviors, it denotes "adverse, opposed, contrary, opposite" and "beyond, above, upon, in, across, past; on high". Transgender/crossover individuals are those individuals whose gender preference do not match their biological sex.

Polygamy, in a society with progressive or ambiguous morality, can refer to any multiplicity of intimate relationships, not just multiple spouses. Supposedly, the interest of "=" is normalization, equal rights and benefits for transgender individuals and relationships.

That said, I do not support normalization or promotion of any transgender orientation and behavior, but I do recognize that certain orientations and behaviors (e.g. transgender/homosexual) can be reasonably tolerated when they do not represent a progressive condition in society and humanity. I am, however, concerned that under the pro-choice doctrine, "=" advocates support selective exclusion and institutional discrimination (i.e. pro-choice doctrine) of politically unfavorable orientations and behaviors. The construction of congruences under "=" engenders corruption and social dysfunction.

eddie willers said...

In my day we would pull his pants down at recess.

Clear things up right quick.

Laslo Spatula said...

"Davey, do you have any questions about the book we are reading?"

"Mr. Swanson, I would like you to start calling me Suzy."

"You identify as a girl, Dav-- I mean, Suzy?"

"Sure. Yeah."

"Have you talked about this with your parents?"

"No I haven't."

"I can imagine that would be difficult. Do you want to wear little girls' clothing, Suzy?"

No, I'm fine as I am, Mr. Swanson."

"Identifying one's true gender takes a lot of bravery, Suzy. Can I ask how you came to your determination?"

"Mr. Swanson, I figure if I'm a little girl you'd stop sucking my cock after class."

I am Laslo.

cubanbob said...

"It is our primary responsibility to provide a safe and nurturing environment for all of our students," the note says. "Please let us know if you have concerns about your child participating in this discussion; we respect the beliefs and convictions of all families."

But the reading was cancelled after "concerned parents" contacted the Liberty Counsel, which threatened a lawsuit if the book was read to students, claiming it would be "a violation of parental rights."

The Florida-based group describes itself as a “non-profit litigation, education and policy organization with an emphasis on religious liberty issues.” The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the Liberty Counsel as a hate group that advocates for "anti-LGBT discrimination, under the guise of religious liberty."

In a letter to the school district, the Liberty Counsel points out parents only had one business day's notice of the reading, which "appears designed to catch parents off-guard."


From the article at Madison.com via Drudge. So it comes down to a one day notification to the parents, and the parents who object were suppose to sit down and shut-up because what do they know about what is best for their children because the progressives know what's best for their kids.

sdharms said...

I am continually asking myself WHY a person born with a defect (yes it is a defect) wants it trotted out and waved like a flag infront of everyone in order to force them to salute it? we all have defects some of us (fewer everyday it seems) go thru life coping with it, instead of asking others to cope. Civility is dead.

Laslo Spatula said...

"Wisconsin school nixes reading of book about transgender kid."

I can't help but notice they use the word "kid" instead of "child".

A lot of thought probably went into that.


I am Laslo.

Quayle said...

The American left seeks to pass and passes laws making it illegal to counsel gays on how to become straight, but then seeks to eliminate every intellectual, cultural, and legal barrier to a child saying they want to and being able to change genders.

Notice this ratchet, and you notice the evil being driven under the cover - the veneer - of the loving and tolerant left.

Wolves in sheep's clothing.

Laslo Spatula said...

The character in the book “I am Jazz” is based on "on the real-life experience of Jazz Jennings, who has become a spokesperson for transkids everywhere" according to Google.

Didn't realize that.

Google's "People also search for" also recommended "Mommy, Mama, and Me," "Heather Has Two Mommies," and (not making this up) "Jacob's New Dress."

The Google description:

"Jacob loves playing dress-up, when he can be anything he wants to be. Some kids at school say he can't wear "girl" clothes, but Jacob wants to wear a dress to school. Can he convince his parents to let him wear what he wants? "

Yep.

I am Laslo.

hoyden said...

Another example of "We are from the Government and we are here to help." gone awry. I wonder what role the child's parents had in suggesting the reading. Did they not know this would turn out badly? I cannot imagine how the child feels now, how the family will move forward, or how to salvage any useful solution out of this episode.

Titus said...

Why is an organization from Florida involved?

Can't Mount Horeb take care of this themselves?

MayBee said...

Kids go through a lot of confusing times up to and through puberty. I don't think schools should be trying to normalize gender or sexual confusion up to that point. Unless of course that's the goal. But I like to think the goal is to create the most healthy, well adjusted people.

Bruce Hayden said...

Well, there you have it. Briefly: "Transgender" and "homosexual" are different things. Transgender folks might be gay (you'd be amazed at the number of trans lesbians; at least I was amazed when I found even one person who was biologically male, but wanted to chop off his genitals so that he could continue loving women; now they're everywhere). "Bisexuals" exist for the purpose of the LGBT acronym, but not otherwise; the common wisdom among gays is that they are all "really" gay, just unwilling to admit it. (I think this is BS, mostly, but that's because I've seen all the obviously naturally-derived children of lesbian parents' previous het marriages.)

Not sure though whether I would call someone like that gay or straight, homosexual or heterosexual. They have a Y chromosome, make love to women, and don't do anything to the women that straight guys routinely do to turn women on. Maybe we should call this gay without being homosexual. Not sure anymore.

James Pawlak said...

Perhaps they should replace it by the works of the Marquis de Sade, the DNC and other perverts.

Ken B said...

Some of these parents and school officials give off a vaguely Munchausen by proxy feel, using kids to attract attention to themselves. "My three year old is a trans bi who identifies as ..." Is about attracting attention and scoring intersection points for the parents.

Laslo Spatula said...

"I Am Jazz Hands", the touching story of a Young Boy who desperately wants to grow up to be a Chorus Girl on Broadway.

I am Laslo.

Laslo Spatula said...

"I Am Jizz", the touching story of a Young Boy who wants to grow up to be a Gay Porn Star.

I am Laslo.

Laslo Spatula said...

"I Am Pizz", the touching story of a Young Boy who enjoys Golden Showers from Adult Men.

I am Laslo.

Laslo Spatula said...

"I Am Jan", the touching story of a Young Girl who desperately wants to be popular like her older sister Marcia. Who is a Lesbian.

I am Laslo.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

n.n.,

"Trans-" is opposed to "cis-" all the time now, so I think the transgendered are those whose gender identity and physical identity are at odds with one another, not everyone with a non-"normal" gender identity. That is, gay men are still "cis-"; they are physically male and identify as such.

MaxedOutMama said...

It seems like the one-day notice was the big failing here. That's going to raise parental eyebrows and suspicions and backs, because it seems like a subterfuge.

But how much of this stuff do elementary school students really "get", and would the reading even do any good? I'm skeptical. I think it would create more attention for the trans-kid than anything else. If you just said well, "Here it is, this boy's a girl" in a very matter-of-fact way, the kids would probably copy the adult attitude.

In school. Should the topic come up at home there might be more controversy.

Was this really a way for the school to tell parents that there WAS a transsexual child at the school, without seeming to notify them? This is a confusing incident.

I go along with those who think that messing with this stuff before puberty is usually a mistake, for the child and for the family. The exception might be an intergender-at-birth kid, who was "adjusted", but who is not comfortable with the adjusted gender. That apparently does happen.

Scott said...

The new moderation regime makes it harder to respond to the cheap shots directed at me that the moderator approves -- and by implication endorses. I'm taking a break from swimming around in your fragrant little cesspool, Ann. Have a lovely life.

Leora said...

I think there's an attempt here to move the Overton window to undermine Western religion and culture. I don't think the folks doing this have any idea what comes next once any sort of bizarre behavior is tolerated.

chickelit said...

Scott said...
The new moderation regime makes it harder to respond to the cheap shots directed at me that the moderator approves -- and by implication endorses. I'm taking a break from swimming around in your fragrant little cesspool, Ann. Have a lovely life.

@Scott: garage mahal has got to be one of the dimmest bulbs in the Althouse commentariat. But Althouse loves him because he counteracts what she calls the dreaded "echo chamber." I'm telling you that if we were back in time and on the verge of WW II, she would be out there searching for a Nazi's opinion in order to counter consensus. That's just how she roles.

I've long enjoyed your contributions here and hope you don't disappear.

Kirk Parker said...

MDT,

"Canada has had families with four wives all on welfare for the better part of a decade now. Do we want the same? "

That's a rhetorical question, right?

n.n said...

Michelle Dulak Thomson:

It depends on how you define gender. While sex is immutable in human beings, and gender was once dependent on sex. Today, gender is a social construct progressively correlated with social roles. So, transgender includes homosexual, crossover, bisexual, etc. orientations, by virtue of the semantic games played by people and groups who, ironically, oppose labels. Either way, with either the original (i.e. biological roles) or reconstructed (i.e. social roles) definition, both homosexual and crossover behaviors are transgender.

That said, since transgender is not a prominent term in a normal population, its definition or redefinition is not particularly important to the function or integrity of the population. The semantic games, however, are important, as far as they are used to undermine moral principles, violate human and civil rights, and sabotage fitness.

Unknown said...

Child abuse