Despite feeling strongly about bullying? (How inadequate and trite that sounds. Anyway, it would be more accurate to say: I’m only beginning to be able to think about it, four decades onward.) And even if the best ideas were actually implemented: which almost never happens? Still, I understand how and why—for…

The same coworkers who treated you cruelly: it’s horrifying to think how they’d react to their LGBT, gender-fluid and otherwise “not normal” students. Kids readily detect and internalize oncoming hostility from all directions: learning they don’t belong, and don’t deserve any better. Teachers, counselors and other…

Gods, parents can be the worst. I’m always amazed at folks who want to totally abdicate responsibility for their own children, and then turn around and criticize the poor souls who have to deal with their offspring. Talk about entitlement!

Wow I used to watch this show like crazy as a child in the 90s, and I didn’t even realize what I was ingesting. Even as a black child. This is so sad

The mammy character was even used in children’s cartoons. Mammy Two Shoes was a frequent character in the older Tom n’ Jerry cartoons. She was voiced by Lillian Randolph for the original shorts.

going through puberty in a literal high school was just weird, weird, weird

I find that young people are generally pretty accepting. The majority of little kids I’ve come out to seem to think of trans people as superheroes and the teens are either “that’s cool” or full of honest and curious questions. Both give me hope that the future isn’t as bleak as it sometimes may seem.

Yeah, I think when you’re little, everything’s equally absurd, so you accept most responses without question. It’s only when you’re older that you’ve developed these expectations and patterns and are unnerved when they’re undermined.

Parents are the ones that scare me. Kids deal. Literally, scientifically and biologically, they deal. A child’s mind is more elastic and better able to wrap around the idea of transgender, non binary and what have you.
Adults though, we’re literally less flexible in our views and beliefs. Our brains are biologically…

I transitioned at a private school. I wasn’t a teacher but rather on staff. In many ways, my worst nightmare, more bc i had this idea I’d magically change jobs right as I changed gender officially.

Sounds about right. There are a lot more self-righteous Moral Police than there are trans folks or overtly transphobic children.

Kate Roberts is a consultant/teacher/person for a major educational curriculum company (Heinemann) and she’s a pretty butch lesbian. She says she gets more questions at the lower level, and it’s always along the lines of “Are you a boy or a girl?” and she responds, “Girl!” and they ask about why her hair is short, and…

YUP. There was a teacher at my school who, when we had a trans sub come in one day, decided that they were probably there to attack children, because they had probably been abused at some point in their life.

We had a trans substitute one day in school, and I was *so fucking ashamed* both of my colleagues at lunch and the fact that I didn’t speak up.

From what I’ve heard in the community, you are *more* likely to have trouble there, but not actually very likely.

I’ve always thought that teaching as a trans person would suck, not because of the students, but because of literally everyone else. I can only imagine the cavalcade of jackasses who would feel like they need to make your life hard, “for the children”.

He’s literally a psychopath, that’s the only way I can explain most of his behavior. The MOMENT he got what he wanted, he just switched personalities to... try to get something else he wanted. Once I started talking to other people in his life (former friends, etc.) it was like peering into the Twilight Zone.

I’m crying. Thank you for sharing this.

In an ideal world:

Yeah, I saw this on Reddit… I didn't see you mention it in the article but he actually has told his family and "friends" about his relationship. He tells people he is in love with a stuffed animal. Tells people.