The Argument of Woke Read Alouds: They, She, He Easy as ABC and Rhode Island Law

Visual Representation of the Spectrum of Gender Expression

In Woke Kindergarten’s video Woke Read Alouds: They, She, He Easy as ABC, the argument is presented to the audience that gender is a broad spectrum of different pronouns, dress choices, names and much more, and that every person's placement on this spectrum is to be respected and appreciated. It pushes to instill in students the values of exploring gender expression in its various facets, and accepting how that manifests for others. 

This argument is now supported by law, as shown in the Guidance for Rhode Island Schools on Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students Laws and Guidelines, put together in 2016. These laws and guidelines serve to ensure that people of all genders will receive equal opportunities; prohibiting discrimination against anyone based on sex or gender expression in places of employment or education. This is the culmination of the efforts taken by groups like Woke Kindergarten, who have established a sense of normalcy for these previously devalued forms of identity expression, and done the work to raise the voices that have taken the first major legal steps in ensuring quality for people of all sex and gender.

Though all of the topics we cover in class are for obvious reasons important, this one in particular I hold a bigger stake in as a genderqueer student. I’m grateful for the work done by both organizations like Woke Kindergarten who have taken the effort to raise awareness on and educate on the intricacies of unique gender expression, as well as the lawmakers who have pushed to codify laws protecting students and citizens of different identities from discrimination. However, I hold some reservations about what we are presenting as aspects of the genderqueer spectrum in resources such as Woke Kindergarten’s videos. In particular, the use of neo-pronouns (pronouns such as Zie/Zim, Tree/Treeself, etc.) are an “aspect” of gender expression that I’ve found has served more to romanticize the experience of not identifying with your birth gender, rather than actually soothe gender dysphoria and other symptoms of not fitting in with your assigned gender. This is a very nuanced topic, of course, and what I’ve written here is a simplification of the wider conversation, but it’s something that stuck in my mind while watching the video and I am interested in hearing takes from others about the subject (especially if you’re also genderqueer).

Hyperlink: Attached here is a link to another article discussing the importance of and concerns about conversations regarding gender identity with students.