In a new poll, nearly half of Canadians say they support the notwithstanding clause to ensure that schools tell parents if their child wishes to use a different name or pronoun.
@Voroxpete @sik0fewl Many probably would. Many “parental rights” people view their children as more akin to property than people.
Legally a parent is a custodian of a child which comes with rights and obligations along with a set of laws that regulate that relationship.
Yeah, this is what gets me. Some parents are shitty, and I can see the issues with this as it’s not unheard of for kids to be kicked out by homophobic parents after being outed, etc
But in the flip side, parents are legally responsible for their kids try increasingly cut off from the information that might be important for caring for those kids. They can ask a doctor to not disclose drug use, and apparently now a teacher not to disclose their gender identity decisions, leaving the parent might be clueless up to the point where it grows into a major issue and blindsides them.
Life isn’t an episode of Leave It To Beaver. Not all kids have daily sit-downs with their parents where they discuss in detail everything about their lives. At a certain point, a lot of kids often start cutting out their parents thinking that it’s part of establishing their own independence, and sometimes -especially with issues of sexuality/etc - they may be embarrassed to bring those forward to their parents.
Do parents have a right to know everything about their kids lives? Maybe not. Parents DO have a responsibility towards help educate their kids, help them navigate life and deal with major life changes and decisions. Educators have historically had a duty to keep parents informed of major developments in school which might affect their children or - if they have evidence the child is at-risk - to report cases of abuse to the appropriate authorities.
It’s a tightrope, for sure, but expecting parents to do their job while potentially withholding vital information is not a good look either, and a lot of decisions from government (on both sides) lately are starting to have a “it’s for the children” authoritarian feel.
I would support my kids regardless of how they choose to identify, their sexual orientation, etc, but when stuff is happening in regards to that I would damn well want to KNOW so that I can support them properly (possibly including learning more myself)
My niece told her parents she was questioning her gender within a few months of realising it herself (according to her). And this kid is very much your typical closed off teenager who doesn’t like to talk about anything that’s going on in her life. But when it comes to the big, important shit like this, kids will share if they feel safe doing so.
If your kid doesn’t want to tell you about something like this it’s because you have failed to convince them that it’s safe to share that kind of information with you.
My niece shared about this with her while family, basically right away, because she knows that all of us are openly supportive of trans and queer rights. She sees how we treat our queer and trans friends and partners. She knows without a shadow of a doubt that she will be loved and supported, so she was able to open up without fear.
If your kid doesn’t feel the same way about you, you are the problem. Not them.
I think that’s a great talking point, however I strongly doubt it’s true.
I don’t have kids so I’ve got no pony in this race, but I do have a dog. He’s not property, I’m not his ‘master’, but he is 100% my responsibility, which is why I keep him on a leash whenever we leave the house. It’s why I spend my time watching him when we’re at a dog park instead of sitting on my phone like the other people there.
@baconisaveg I’m not the only person suspecting what “parents’ rights” means to many or most of the rightwing advocates of it. While I often side-eye people using Youtube to back up their claims, I do think this particular Youtuber succinctly lays out the often problematic use of “parents’ rights”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNOmFBw1I_M&t=6s
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://www.piped.video/watch?v=mNOmFBw1I_M&t=6s
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
