And Tango Made Three

As Fall started and kids came back to school the debates about LGBTQ education have sparked again. To make it nationwide the discussion was brought to TV. Victoria Derbyshire at BBC brought together supporters and opponents of curriculum change. The discussion was kindled by And Tango Makes Three kids book.The arguments from LGBTQ haters brought nothing new. The most “caring” parents went so far as to withdraw their children from the class. One of them Izzy Montague, claimed that the book “promotes LGBT+ lifestyles”. “It’s not natural. It’s not the way of life. The way of life is a man and a woman, “ she added. What is truly unnatural is to prohibit children to learn about the substantial part of the society. “It’s so important we protect children’s innocence and purity,” said Sally Rowe, another parent. It was also called “manipulative”, “disturbing”, “corrupting” and had “an underlying agenda”. All these definitions are absolutely correct but for LGBTQ haters, not for the story about two lovely penguins who raised a chick.

The purpose of curriculum update that will include a mandatory class teaching about LGBTQ community is clear and straightforward as explained by Simon Kidwell from Hartford Manor Primary School “First, we want the children to know that families have different shapes. We also want children to know about that great British value of tolerance. Tolerance is where we accept people who are different and we respect people who disagree with us,” she said. These words are in line with with Stonewall recent study. It revealed that 60% of Brits support inclusive LVBTQ education in schools. The numbers are even higher for people aged 16–24 reaching 68%. “LGBT+ people exist, we don’t exist in a vacuum and you are going to interact with us. Graham Norton hosts everything on Saturday night television… The idea you can shield your child from knowing LGBT+ people exist is absolutely baffling,” said Ellen Jones, the student who came out at the age of 14. And she is absolutely right. If you have a problem it is far not the best way to avoid solving it by any means. The Stonewall study has also demonstrated that the depression rates among LGBTQ teens are much higher compared to their heterosexual counterparts. From a continuous depression and going stealth there is one step to suicide thoughts. For conservative parents it should be properly explained how harmful it could be to keep their child closeted because of family stereotypes about LGBTQ people.