Gender bullying

One teacher's approach to gender bullying in a classroom

This is a link you all need to read, and following is what I wrote on my Facebook wall:

I was a kid in the fourth grade who was mistaken for a boy not only in school, but out in public. My grandma asked me if I wished I was a boy. My haircut was constantly criticized and bemoaned. I liked sports and hated dolls. I liked dirt and loathed dresses. I had a mom who let me wear whatever I felt most comfortable in, who respected who I was. I had teachers who respected me despite my "gender non-conformity" because I was more than what gender I looked like.

I was nervous after I wrote it, but it's not like it's a secret to those who've known me for a long time or for those who know me well. And more people need to hear from those who have been there to whatever degree they were there. It was to the point for me where I worried over my sexuality--at age nine--because people couldn't leave me alone.

And thankfully, one the two FB friends I have who have known me since that time in my life was sweet enough to let me know that this was why he talked to me.

We need more people like this in the world. People who embrace others for who they are and allow them to be themselves. It's not easy. I know.

That post was awesome.