It seems no generation can escape the horrors of bullying. If you look at any historical period, there is always a group of SA国际影视传媒渉avesSA国际影视传媒� who feel justified in mistreating a minority.

In this modern era, that unfortunate minority who have become the designated targets are the LGBTQ2S+ community, particularly people who are gender-fluid.

As someone who takes the ethos SA国际影视传媒渕ind my own businessSA国际影视传媒� when it comes to other peopleSA国际影视传媒檚 sexuality, I continue to be flabbergasted by the level of vitriol levelled at people who are transgender. Entire election campaigns have been run and won promising adults they will combat this SA国际影视传媒渨oke mind-virus,SA国际影视传媒� which only demonstrates the voters who fall into this category donSA国际影视传媒檛 have the wherewithal to bother Googling what SA国际影视传媒渨okeSA国际影视传媒� actually means. Many of these politicians and commentators canSA国际影视传媒檛 SA国际影视传媒� or wonSA国际影视传媒檛 SA国际影视传媒� even define SA国际影视传媒渨okeSA国际影视传媒� themselves when pressed by reporters.

The level of paranoia is particularly baffling among older generations, who grew up watching Bugs Bunny put on makeup, dress in drag and kiss Elmer Fudd repeatedly, and yet somehow largely came out straight. Growing up, I remember girls dressing as boys, calling themselves tomboys and playing with other boys. No one seemed to have a problem then.

Now, a spate of legislation is being rolled out by reactionary governments across the country restricting how children can express themselves. The extent of these laws varies, but they all have the same underlying intent of trying to force children into the mold their parents envisioned for them instead of letting the children figure out who they are for themselves.

Defenders of these policies say theySA国际影视传媒檙e worried about the developing psychology of these potentially nonbinary youth, but this doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 hold up to scrutiny. If someoneSA国际影视传媒檚 mental health is at risk then broadcasting their issues across the entire country, holding rallies to express dislike of said person, and running political campaigns promising to eliminate said mental health or protect other people from it is not going to do the person in questionSA国际影视传媒檚 mental health any favours. If anything, the realization that not only do Grandma and Grandpa not like you because youSA国际影视传媒檙e different, but also you will never be able to go anywhere in this country without being looked at as an outcast, will likely lead to more serious mental health problems, culminating in either a dysfunctional adult, addictions or potentially even suicide.

HereSA国际影视传媒檚 a sad but real fact: If a child doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 want their parents to know they donSA国际影视传媒檛 think of themselves as SA国际影视传媒渉eSA国际影视传媒� or SA国际影视传媒渟heSA国际影视传媒� anymore, thereSA国际影视传媒檚 probably a legitimate reason for that. They could be afraid of rejection by their parents or extended family. Maybe theySA国际影视传媒檝e tried to talk to their family about it and already felt rejected and donSA国际影视传媒檛 want to risk having their self-esteem shaken further.

ISA国际影视传媒檓 drawing on family experience with this. My aunt was adopted, which historically in my colonist English heritage was very taboo. Her grandparents refused to acknowledge her as their granddaughter. She grew up angry, ultimately estranging herself from the family. If you canSA国际影视传媒檛 count on your family to love you for who you are, where else can you turn?

There is, of course, one other constant in most childrenSA国际影视传媒檚 day-to-day life: their teachers. Teachers donSA国际影视传媒檛 typically get to choose which kids enter their classroom, theySA国际影视传媒檙e simply expected to make sure each and every one of them succeeds. Getting kids to do their schoolwork takes a multitude of different tactics, and if a child feels they donSA国际影视传媒檛 have a stable home, that often involves building trust. This trust is extremely fragile; most kids whose minds are developed enough to question the gender they were assigned at birth are usually savvy enough to pick up on when theySA国际影视传媒檙e being spied upon.

So itSA国际影视传媒檚 no big surprise supporters of these bizarre anti-transgender laws often target school teachers, claiming theySA国际影视传媒檙e trying to force some sort of ideology on children. Again, if you press these folks as to what this SA国际影视传媒渋deologySA国际影视传媒� is, they come up with the same nonsense as if you try to get them to define SA国际影视传媒渨oke,SA国际影视传媒� but itSA国际影视传媒檚 a fancy word so politicians keep using it.

People who are worried about teachers pushing ideologies on children obviously donSA国际影视传媒檛 spend any actual time in schools. Teachers arenSA国际影视传媒檛 pushing political ideologies SA国际影视传媒� theySA国际影视传媒檙e pushing long division, literacy, geometry, the scientific method, critical thinking skills and the importance of treating one another with respect, regardless of how different someone might appear.

If you seriously think telling kids that things like bigotry and bullying peers who are different is bad, and things like teamwork and accepting one another are good counts as ideology, the problem isnSA国际影视传媒檛 the schools, the education system, the teachers or SA国际影视传媒渨okeness.SA国际影视传媒�

The problem is you.