Lessons from a Preschooler...

A viral photograph of a boy who opted to wear pink shoes on his first day of school took over the internet world a few months back.  His sister posted the photograph above on the internet noting that when her mother had posted the picture on her Facebook wall, a number of relatives had come forward to warn that the shoes were "wrong," would "affect him socially" and might "turn him gay." The post went on to explain that the boy liked the shoes because they were made out of zebras, his favorite animal.  

Gender non- conforming youth have been a buzz in the media for months now.  Willow Smith and Miley Cyrus both cut off all of their hair, Shiloh Jolie- Pitt wears "boys clothes"- does how we present ourselves really show who we are? Society created these gender stereotypes and gets uncomfortable when they are broken, but how does it effect the children?  The story of the pink zebra shoes is in this author's opinion a lesson that our society desperately needs to take to heart; a lesson taught by a preschooler.


Childhood Gender Nonconformity, Bullying Victimization, and Depressive Symptoms Across Adolescence and Early Adulthood: An 11-Year Longitudinal Study.
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This article discusses the effects of childhood gender nonconformity in terms of how children are treated by their caregivers and other children.  Special attention is paid to the depressive symptoms in children who veer from gender norms before the age of 11.  According to the study, childhood gender nonconformity resulted in increased risk for depression during adolescence and adulthood.

Transgender and Gender Variant Children and Youth:  Resources for Parents/Guardians, Family Members, Educators and Allies
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Safe Schools Coalition is an international public- private partnership in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth, that is working to help schools become safe places for every individual regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.  This link will bring you to their resource page for frequently asked questions, support training, summer camps and much more that can help people learn about gender nonconformity.  

Gender Spectrum
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The Gender Spectrum provides information, education, training and support to create an gender sensitive and inclusive environment for children and teens.  This site provides a number of resources including information to help schools create inclusive environments.  Many times people are rude about gender nonconformity because they are afraid of something that they do not understand.  This site, just like the last provides many resources for education.  


"Our internal sense of gender relates to our feelings of being a man or a woman.  Traditionally it was believed that if you felt masculine you would not feel feminine, and vice versa.  But some people feel differing degrees of masculinity and differing degrees of femininity."

Resources:

Gender Spectrum. (n.d.). Gender Spectrum. Retrieved April 22, 2013, from www.genderspectrum.org/

Home - Safe Schools Coalition. (n.d.).Home - Safe Schools Coalition. Retrieved April 22, 2013, from http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/

Roberts, Andrea L., Margaret Rosario, Natalie Slopen, Jerel P. Calzo, and S. Bryn Austin. 2013. "Childhood Gender Nonconformity, Bullying Victimization, and Depressive Symptoms Across Adolescence and Early Adulthood: An 11-Year Longitudinal Study." Journal Of The American Academy Of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 52, no. 2: 143-152. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 22, 2013).