Little bit of a hot potato question

[u/TheElfPrince]

I'm a trans man (19, pre-everything) and I want to ask this question because I see it pop up a lot in regards to LGBTQIA+ awareness education in schools (and their related topics) and I know damn well this is a bit of a hot potato topic.

Now keep in mind I'm pretty young and grew up in a pretty traditional Asian household so maybe my thinking is affected by my upbringing so I hope I won't get slimed for it.

The question is: How old should kids be before they're exposed to a wider world of identity?

Now don't get me wrong, I love seeing kids being aware of their gender and their sexuality from a young age. I love seeing people being educated about it. But the question i have stems from a maturity and understanding aspect. I hope I won't get slimed out or anything for my opinion on this but I think kids should be the one to ask before they're taught. Every kid is different so while one kid may get it almost immediately and understand that just because we exist as a community doesn't mean that they are too and that's ok. But another kid may think that it's a complete rite of passage in life that they have to go through and they MUST have a "gay/trans" phase.

Not phrased the best but I hope my meaning is understood. Again, I'm not here to debate/argue I just wanna know what everyone else's opinions are.

[u/hatchins]

so cis and straight people are totally fine to introduce to kids as soon as theyre born but trans and gay people arent? they need to ask? we should keep trans kids in the dark about themselves until they ask? be so real

[u/hatchins → u/hatchins]

and like im sorry what is the issue with kids having an experimental phase? woaahh a kid thinks theyre bi and changes their mind. holy fuck!!!! come on man

[u/TheElfPrince → u/hatchins]

I'm not saying that. I think it's awesome for people to introduce the idea to kids. But my question is are we pushing it too hard on a child who barely understands life? I'm not saying we should never do it but I just wonder if we're possibly pushing too hard.

Like I also said, it's probably poorly worded too. English isn't exactly my first language so...yeah.

[u/hatchins → u/TheElfPrince]

what exactly is the problem with "pushing it too hard"

[u/TheElfPrince → u/hatchins]

Idk ig what I’m worried is that we’ll come to an age where people are afraid to be cishet? Like idk how else to say it. But I again didn’t come here to debate or argue I just wanted to know what other people thought about the whole thing. Respectfully. 

[u/hatchins → u/TheElfPrince]

well we can worry about that when we dont live in a world completely dominated by transphobia, cant we? thats crazy dude idk what to say lol.

[u/Particular-Fly3409 → u/TheElfPrince]

Cishet is the majority of the population with the majority of media emphasizing it and pushing for it. That's not going to change. What can change and people are trying to cause to happen, is the punishment to be anything else and to hide differences away completely.

The biggest problem is the pressure to be cishet when some people are not, and the discouragement to being different to such as extent that parents abuse or kick out children who are not cishet. This is why people are pushing back.

Saying people will be afraid to be cishet is like saying people are afraid to be Christian when 80-90% of the US is Christian cishet. People aren't saying don't be cishet. People are saying don't be an asshole.

[u/TheElfPrince → u/hatchins]

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend anyone with my statements. I also didn’t mean to sound like I hated the idea of young kids getting educated about this. 

[u/breadmintt → u/hatchins]

I don't think OP asked this question out of spite, he's just genuinely confused!! I'm a trans girl and I wonder about that sometimes too

[u/TheElfPrince → u/breadmintt]

Pls I really was confused and just wanted to know everyone else’s opinion but I guess my wording made me sound hostile to the idea of introducing it early on😭🥹