“OUR SOCIETY STILL TREATS MEN AND WOMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS, VERY DIFFERENTLY. YOU REALLY NOTICE THAT WHEN YOU DON’T FIT INTO THE GENDER BINARY. YOU NOTICE EVERY TIME GENDER IS POLICED OR FOLKS MAKE STATEMENTS ALLUDING TO THE FALSE ‘INHERENT DIFFERENCES’ IN GENDER BEHAVIOUR, WHICH IS DAILY. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.”


problem. If a cis guy is called a girl, they are expected to react with anger, and we sympa- thize with them as we recognize that being called an incorrect gender lands as insulting and is oſten the basis of bullying. But when a trans person gets misgendered, we are be- ing “too sensitive” if we feel anything at all, or even notice. “Why do you care?” I am asked. Perhaps it is because being seen as the incor- rect gender comes with different rules, as- sumptions and expectations. Perhaps if every person who made the


incorrect guess that I identified as a girl treated me the same as they would any boy, it wouldn’t matter as much. But that isn’t the case. Our society still treats men and women, boys and girls, very differently. You really notice that when you don’t fit into the gen- der binary. You notice every time gender is policed or folks make statements alluding to the false “inherent differences” in gender be- haviour, which is daily. Every. Single. Time. As an educator, I have dedicated my ca-


reer to making school a safer place for queer and trans kids, and for everyone to feel a sense of belonging and be valued for who


32 ETFO VOICE | WINTER 2023


they are. I serve as equity lead within my school, I run GSAs (Gender-Sexuality Al- liances) for students and assist with profes- sional development to help educators sup- port 2SLGBTQIA+ students and integrate inclusive education into their practice. I do my best to be a safe adult for students and model respectful behaviour. I also do my best to be a safe colleague for other educa- tors to ask questions and to learn alongside me. Trough this work I have noticed that the root cause of discrimination against the queer community is simply sexism and gen- der policing, and that schools are still fraught with issues. If we believed that there is no gender hierarchy, that all genders are equal, and gender does not limit you, then nobody would care who you fall in love with, what clothes you wear, or which washroom you use. If we are to end the oppression of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, we need to end sexism and the gender binary. It is possible that this article may chal-


lenge your thinking. I am asking you to take on that challenge. Recognize that if you have long-held beliefs that a person’s biological sex


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52