The challenge of changing times and changing attitudes

Maybe ,Imperfect27 the derision will be because many of us who were raised "christians" ,in my case catholic,were brought up to believe that it was an inclusive religion ,not judgemental and supportive when others had isssues or probelms to deal with.My first run in with a "christian" was man we were friends with who became "born again" ...I dont understand the phrase or the concept...but it changed him from a nice easy going man into an angry man ..opposed to all sorts of things he'd previously accepted eg.gays .I find that hard to understand ,aren't we supposed to love our neighbour regardless of who or what they are and didn't his god create gays too....or was it someone else?And what possible difference would it make to his life that the man he was once a friend of and who he always knew was gay ,sleeps with another man and has done for decades or that they want to get married .Closed minds cause real problems .Its always much better to be open minded about whats happening around you...you may not like it for whatever reason but being accepting will cause you less stress.

Quite ridiculous for parents to take their children away from school.However, it does need explaing by the teacher to the class of children, if what appears to look like a boy comes to school wearing a dress.But all that can be addressed and an answer found.
Sometimes babies are born and doctors are not at all sure if which sex, so one is assigned, either rightly or wrongly.
This may be the case here?
My heart goes out to all children who are confused by their feelings and think they are in the wrong body.

illtelhim?

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This is a bit pointless, In my humble opinion.

Yes, children are beautifully open and simply inherit the values / prejudices we impose ... They don't see the same 'differences' as adults.

I spent ages picking over language to try to express 'something' in my OP today - and that 'something' is really about how us 'older' grown ups might have to undo prejudices we have grown up with. Attitudes have changed so very much in the past couple of decades - and I think that is a very good thing - but I am also aware that the 'pace' of change and the shift in what is acceptable public opinion is harder on those who have comfortably lived with once widely accepted 'norms' that are now no longer acceptable.

Sometimes we are simply ignorant - I have only very recently been 'sensitised' to the reality for some that use of the 'he /she' pronoun can be deeply painful - just wasn't within my experience to even have to think about it.

I suspect the Christian couple who went on the Victoria Derbyshire programme today will encounter a fair amount of negative abuse and derision and some of the scorn will be simply because they are Christians.

Sometimes people's views cannot change overnight. Sometimes we think we have made a significant change but it isn't enough to be 'in step' with latest developments, but the small steps can be massive changes for people who have held views through faith and / or as a matter of conscience.

So, after all that waffle - what I am really trying to say is that for such value-laden subjects as acceptance of transgender, homosexuality, abortion, religious beliefs - to name but a few that have come up on GN in the past week - it can take time to process information, see the other side and be open to it.

When my grandson was small he spoke of George - the next door neighbour - and the person he spoke to said - who is George , reply - the tall man with lot of teeth,
And drives a blue car, George was from St.Kitts

It is interesting watching and listening to the pairs of children being asked to give differences between themselves and their friend. None of them mention the most obvious difference - such as skin colour, being in a wheelchair, hair colour etc. Wonderful what children see as a difference and things they just accept.

Yes that is true Eloethan children are much more prosaic about these things. Their reaction will be governed by that of the adults around them though.
What sort of people don't explain disability etc to their children and encourage them to see it as a shameful thing. Beyond belief, in reference to the CBBBC presenter.

Children are, in my view, generally less concerned about things of this nature than adults - unless they pick up negative vibes from adults.

As it was a C of E church which these complaining parents' child attended, it would seem that the church had no issues about it. It's a shame that these people, who defined themselves as Christians, don't follow the example of Jesus who, I think I'm right in saying, did not advocate or practise this sort of prejudice.

I remember there was a big hoo hah on CBBC when a new presenter, one of whose arms ended just above the elbow and who did not cover it up, joined the channel. Some parents complained, saying their children were frightened by it and the young lady should have been made to cover it. I thought it was ridiculous - my grandchildren never even mentioned it.

We had the same thing in our local Catholic school in year 5. I believe a lot went on behind the scenes between the school and the parents to help the child as much as possible. Other children had it explained to them and they just accepted it and moved on.

I think children know from a very early age what they were "meant" to be,I personally know two young people transgendering/transitioning from female to male.Its NOT a phase and its a very brave thing to openly confront at a young age.The thing is children are accepting ..its the adults who make a big deal of it,the young people I know have had great support from their fellow pupils, teachers ,staff and the community the main issue they have is with older relatives who think its somehow shameful.I think we just need to be open to new things that life throws at us ...these young people are the ones going through it not us ,we should offer our support (and keep our opinions to ourselves if we disagree)