At the beginning of March this year, the US Senate in Florida – which is mainly dominated by Republicans – passed a bill forbidding the instruction on ‘sexual orientation and gender identity’ from kindergarten all the way through third grade, dismissing the extensive criticism by Democrats. The proposed ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill was passed on to Ron DeSantis, a Republican governor who signed it into law.
Many LGBTQ+ people, advocates, students, and Democrats protested this bill as it marginalises people from the LGBTQ+ community. Protests were often accompanied by chants of ‘We say gay!’, promoting a healthy discussion around sexuality and gender identity, rather than dismissing it entirely.
Instead of teaching acceptance and love, this bill promotes bigotry and discrimination, while simultaneously erasing LGBTQ+ history from early school years. Those who advocate this bill believe that the teaching of gender diversity and sexual identity is ‘not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards’. Parents will also be able to sue districts over violations. While this bill does not forbid a more general discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation, it would prevent schools from integrating these issues as subjects into the official curriculum.
Dennis Baxley, a Republican state senator advocating for the bill, stated that it is difficult to figure out what kind of influences there will be on one’s children and ‘what kind of decisions they will make.’ This insinuates that it is better not to talk about gender and sexual identities as they could negatively impact a child’s own decisions. However, even if LGBTQ+ issues are not being taught in schools as part of the curriculum, it will not stop children and young adults from struggling and identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community. On the contrary, the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill only promotes shame and guilt for those who do not conform to society’s cisgender and heteronormative expectations.
Sadly, the introduction of this Bill has encouraged similar bills in other states; two Republican state lawmakers in Ohio have recently proposed a bill that mirrors Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill. The Ohio version actually goes one step further and aims to ban LGBTQ+ content that is not deemed age-appropriate for grades 4-12.
Besides not wanting young children to learn about LGBTQ+ issues, there is a more general lack of diversity when it comes to the history of marginalised communities. It is only last year that Scotland became the first country in the world to include LGBTQ+ education in the school’s curriculum. All the staff members will be taking a general awareness online learning course on LGBTQ+ inclusive education and a toolkit with LGBTQ+ teaching resources. The curriculum will tackle issues such as ‘same-sex marriage, same-sex parenting, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and the HIV and AIDS epidemic’. This will help children’s understanding of LGBTQ+ issues and history, even when it does not affect them personally.
While attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community looked very different a decade ago, things are slowly changing. A recent study found that the majority of British people actually do believe that primary schools should teach LGBTQ+ inclusive lessons. Additionally, Stonewall, a UK based LGBTQ+ rights charity, reported that around 60% of British people think that children should be taught about different kinds of families, including those consisting of same-sex parents. Among young British people between the ages of 16-24 this number is even higher: 68%. Nevertheless, 17% of people who took part in the survey stated that they disagreed completely with ‘LGBTQ+-inclusive training for primary school pupils’.
In 2020, the UK decided to incorporate LGBTQ+ sex education into their school curriculums. In all schools across England, ‘inclusive relationship and sex education’ has now been made compulsory and schools have until summer of this year to put this law into practice. This is especially important as LGBTQ+ inclusive sex education can help LGBTQ+ people navigate their sexual encounters in a more prepared manner instead of having to do their own research, with the risk of finding false information online. Additionally, the practice of safe sex not only for gay couples but also for lesbians is rarely talked about and most definitely not taught. Therefore, an LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum would allow for more knowledge around these significant issues which have been taboo thus far.
While sex education might not be an age-appropriate topic for young children, LGBTQ+ issues and discussions around gender and sexual expressions are. These terms can easily be translated in a simple manner for children to understand. Ensuring that there is an LGBTQ+ -inclusive education is not only important for this generation’s children but also for the future ones to come. Therefore, it is essential that the Government invests more in tackling LGBTQ+ issues.
If children have the opportunity to be exposed to all the ways they can identify, whether in relation to gender or sexual identity, it will help create a more diverse and inclusive environment at school as well as in our society as a whole. Therefore, every country should follow Scotland’s example and include LGBTQ+ issues in their school’s curriculum to provide a more accurate education for all.
About the author: Giulia Castagnaro is a contributing Features writer with a Master’s degree in ‘Gender, Society and Representation’ and an interest in social and cultural politics, and healthcare.
