Purple Penguins? Please Tell Me This Is Not True

The title says it all. When I first read the Fox News article about this, I thought it was a joke? This can’t really be the case, can it? After looking at multiple sources, it, unfortunately, seems to be true.¶ I’m talking about the campaign going on in Lincoln, Nebraska, to stop referring to “boys” and “girls” as “boys” and “girls.” Instead, teachers in Lincoln public schools are to refer to students as “purple penguins,” among other supposedly gender-neutral terms. Click here to read a conservative’s viewpoint on this, Or you can click here if you’re interested in looking at the more progressive side of things. I would like to comment on both of these.¶ The conservative Christian viewpoint seems to be that people are created in God’s image, either as men or women, and that a person should embrace the gender of his or her birth. In other words, there are only two genders and that if someone happens to embrace a gender that either does not happen to be one of the two or one that is contrary to the one in which they are born, that implies that God made a mistake.¶ On the other hand, on the more progressive side, there is more acceptance of transgendered people. I have heard about people with transgendered identities in the media, and even though I don’t completely understand it, I don’t have a problem with it. A few years ago, there was an episode of 20/20 that was devoted to discussing transgender issues, particularly concerning children. When I saw how they were treated in school, I didn’t like it. Why, oh why, must people make such a big deal out of something that doesn’t hurt anyone? If a boy wants to be like a girl, or a girl wants to be more like a boy, that’s fine with me.¶ Even though I would consider myself to be more on the progressive side, I do not agree with this campaign. Trying to avoid using gendered terms and making it seem like a thoughtcrime to use gendered terms will not solve the problem of the way people with gender differences are treated. There is a time and place for political correctness, but this is a case where political correctness has gone too far. I would also think that bringing so much attention to this issue would make transgendered students feel more uncomfortable rather than promoting tolerance. At least, I think I would feel that way if I was transgender or had some other gender difference. It just seems like the fine folks of Lincoln are overthinking this.¶ The handouts that were given to teachers were from the Gender Spectrum website. Click on the link above to learn more about Gender Spectrum and its mission. I clicked on the link to Gender Spectrum’s homepage from the Fox News article, and it didn’t seem as PC as the Fox News commentator who wrote the article made it seem. To summarize what I interpreted from it, it seems like they are genuinely trying to promote gender equality. I did not click on the link to information about training. Maybe that’s where the “purple penguin” handouts are located? Chime in in the comments section if you can find it.¶ The solution to this whole problem? I think, if you want to promote tolerance and that all genders are welcome, don’t make such a big deal about avoiding gender-specific terms. If a boy wants to be addressed a s a girl, that isn’t a problem. the same goes for girls who want to be referred to as boys. If they just did that, that wouldn’t be as much of an issue. However, it seems like using gender-neutral terms and avoiding using gender-specific terms will just encourage bullying and intolerance. P.S. On a humorous note, in the article I linked to for the conservative viewpoint on this issue, the author makes the point that calling children “purple penguins” might offend penguins, who are never purple