The United States Women's National Team was in Texas last night, which could not have come at a better time after news went viral from the state's governor's office.
Governor Greg Abbot sent a letter to the Commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He supports the interpretation of Texas child abuse law by the Attorney General. The governor wrote that parents of children who have gender transitioning procedures can be investigated.
The USWNT won the cup title with a score of five to nil. During the game, they let the Texas youths who are supported by the state know that they might be in a tough place after hearing of the letter, by taping up their wrists and writing.
The American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association encourage age-appropriate and individualized care for trans youths. The largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth published a study in the Journal of Adolescent Health. The study was the first of its kind and looked into the benefits of gender Affirming Hormone Therapy in relation to suicide prevention and depression. There is a correlation between access to GAHT and lower rates of depression and suicidality among trans and non-binary youth.
The Civil Rights movement of the mid-20th century has been undone by certain states trying to reinforce heterosexual norms. The Florida House of Representatives is voting today on a bill that would forbid classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through grade 3 in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.
The fear of Critical Race Theory has led to bills in state legislatures that restrict how race can be discussed in schools. In Tennessee, public schools cannot teach privilege or lessons that make a group feel uncomfortable because of their race or sex. Racist things are inescapable in society, so it has nothing to do with states trying to change how children are taught about it.
The problem with these government directives is that licensed professionals have an obligation to protect children from harm. When it comes to race, sexual orientation, and gender identity, it is legal to restrict what they can say and do. Legislation is making it harder for them to help marginalized children. Professionals who deal with children should be given more latitude. If state legislatures need a real issue to sink their teeth into, here's Simone Biles giving them one when speaking before the United State Senate about the real abuse she suffered at the hands of a doctor.
If you want to get bent out of shape about too much race talk with your sports team and in your school, Lia Thomas is doing well in Ivy League swim meets that correspond with her gender instead of her sex assigned at birth, that's one way to approach life. What the USWNT wrote on their wrists is what we need to be doing with our children.
The suffering of the LGBTQ youths makes them four times more likely to consider suicide than other children. Young Black children are more likely to die from a variety of causes. The distribution of White Supremacist propaganda is reaching an all-time high.
That is what protection is supposed to be. Not punishing those who are trying to make a scary world a bit easier to deal with for a child that doesn't know what to do.
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