Trans and nonbinary students belong in our schools
My earliest memory of attending Las Cruces Public Schools is one of being bullied. I would proudly and joyously don my Powerpuff Girls jacket in kindergarten, only to receive merciless comments from classmates.
Even though the jacket only lasted a few months before being hung back in my closet forevermore, these comments continued until I graduated high school. My first brush with bullying came not because of the jacket itself, but because I was assigned male at birth. Therefore, I should not have worn the jacket.
Although I always knew that this designation as “male” was never quite right, I began to conform to it because I knew that I had to do so in order to survive school. The only reason I was able to shake off this bullying was by begrudgingly conforming as best I could to “male”-ness until I left for college.
As an adult living in New Mexico, a state I love so deeply, I wonder: What if bullying like this was not considered normal, but instead frowned upon? What if acceptance was the norm, and not exclusion and othering?
Young people coming of age in today’s society have plenty to worry about, from the standard teen angst documented in countless movies to serious concerns about the state of the world they’ll inherit. Processing all of this largely happens at school, a place where kids and their families should feel confident that students of all backgrounds will be treated humanely and fairly. Unfortunately, for transgender and nonbinary students, school is another battleground in the country’s culture war.
We see the horrible headlines online and scary comments in our social media feeds every day. April was a busy month. On Trans Day of Visibility, which happened to coincide with Easter this year, spewing vitriol at transgender and nonbinary people was big news, with outlets treating the coincidence as some kind of legitimate controversy.
The following week, during the NCAA women’s basketball championship, former Olympian and University of South Carolina women’s basketball Coach Dawn Staley expressed support for trans athletes and was met with an onslaught of backlash. While no one deserves that kind of hate, it’s important to note these kinds of sentiments directed at trans people don’t just land on adults; this is the culture we’re establishing for young people, too.
Only recently, Judy Pino and Patrick Brenner, representing the Independent Women’s Forum and Southwest Public Policy Institute, wrote an op-ed in the Albuquerque Journal attacking trans youth by calling on New Mexico schools to remove “gender ideology” from the state’s curriculum.
Their attack comes as the LGBTQ+ community and our allies continue to mourn the loss of nonbinary Oklahoma teenager Nex Benedict, who died the day after a school bathroom fight. More than 600 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced across the country this year, the vast majority targeted trans youth by limiting clothing, names and safe access to restrooms for young people in the school environments where they should feel safe.
Creating this kind of hostile, hate-fueled learning environment does not serve New Mexican youth.
The idea that supporting transgender and nonbinary students is promoting a particular ideology is a myth.
Inclusion is about acknowledging the existence of all types of students and making sure they feel seen and respected so they can thrive. Policies that encourage students to recognize the diverse identities of their peers reduce suicide rates, lessen hatred and violence on campuses and create safer communities among adults.
This has never been about teaching gender ideology but rather about requiring that students all respect each other regardless of their differences including gender identity but also race, religion and even family background.
When adults and people in power positions seek to erase or harm trans young people, their efforts are rooted in their own discomfort and discriminatory beliefs, not factual evidence. Many parents recognize the importance of teaching empathy, respect, and acceptance from a young age and advocate for inclusivity to ensure their children grow up in a more equitable society.
In May 2022, according to Pew Research Institute, more than 60% of Americans believed laws should protect all trans people from discrimination, and in New Mexico our communities have demonstrated again and again that we want our kids to be in schools where all students feel welcome and safe.
As the third state in the nation to include gender identity in our statewide nondiscrimination laws (in 2003), New Mexico has been a place where we teach our children to be respectful, have empathy and affirm and accept our friends, families and neighbors for who they are.
Ultimately, preparing students for the real world means equipping them with the skills to navigate diverse workplaces and communities. By affirming, rather than oppressing, all gender identities, schools can foster empathy, reduce discrimination, and create a more equitable society for everyone.
Katalina Hadfield, an attorney in New Mexico, serves on the board of Equality New Mexico, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization. Charles Goodmacher, Do Good LLC Founder and a public school parent, worked for 20 years with the National Education Association-New Mexico, also contributed to the piece.