Identity politics and Culture: Sexual Discrimination in Education

(image of Coy Mathis, from http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/news-features/live-life-as-a-girl-transgender-childs-parents-sue-school-20130301-2fatj.html)

Recently, Issues of transgender marginalization as well as liberation have been quite frequent stories to top our News headlines. Even at this University transgender right's campaigns have found themselves sticky-taped to the back of bathroom doors, the colourful slogan reading "let them use these facilities without discrimination". Significantly enough, when exploring education articles on the web I stumbled upon the story of transgendered six-year-old Coy Mathis, who was subject to this exact form of social discrimination in her school, a place of which should be a 'safe house' to such discrimination.

Identified as a transgendered male at only 18 months, Coy Mathis lived her life as if she were a girl, an issue which bothered neither child not parents. This was until her Colorado school principle decided that little Coy was suddenly to be barred from using the girls bathrooms, with only the alternatives of either the boys bathroom or the nurses office. Rightfully, the child’s parents objected to this, filing a "civil rights lawsuit" against the school. Their issue was that not only would this single out the child and put them up for harassment, but also through this the child is directly exposed to cultural perceptions of what is and should be deemed as “male” and “female”, with the idea that there is no in-between, immediately making this child feel the harsh hand of marginalization and discrimination at their early formative stage. As Wadham, Pudsey and Boyd pointed out, "culture shapes education, and education shapes culture" (Wadham, Pudsey, Boyd. 2007,  pp.1) and thus, in an instance such as this where the marginalization of a child due to their being transgendered in the classroom is done, this is not only a reflection upon certain cultural views, but a reflection that will again be made when this idea is put back into culture through this child's experiences of marginalization.

This example shows how a school, the place in which a child is meant to feel safe and to develop the idea’s, values and tools in which they will later use to function within society, acts to strongly dis-benefit the child and their identity formation. So with this example, we can see that whilst Education has the obvious main aim to help our students develop their sense of identity and to benefit their transformation within society, can act to directly marginalize children deemed as ‘different’.

Reading this article I couldn't help but reminisce on all the documents I have read about gender equality in the Education system, however notably, I am yet to read anything about the focus upon the rights and focus upon transgendered children in the classroom. Transgendered people are commonely seen as marginalized by society, and with the issues of feminist equality and issues of gay rights being such a constant issue in society, transgendered rights seem to be quite infrequently published.

With "Education and schooling" being as Wadham, Pudsey and Boyd have stated, "two of the most important ways in which we learn to live within and contribute to our own cultural lives" (Wadham, Pudsey, Boyd. 2007,  p1) it is thus important for equal rights and views to be placed on these children in their formative stages in order for them to then reflect these equal ideals upon others in society.

Resources

http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/news-features/live-life-as-a-girl-transgender-childs-parents-sue-school-20130301-2fatj.html

 Wadham, B., Pudsey, J. & Boyd, R. (2007). Culture and Education. Sydney: Pearson Education. Chapter 1: What is culture?