To the Queer kids at South Side Area School District: Part 1

This letter was originally written October 9, 2022 after the South Side Area School District in Hookstown, PA, Makenna’s high school alma mater, decided to reinstate a biology teacher that refused to use preferred pronouns. It was a months-long battle with the school district, in which they decided to completely stomp out the rights of their students. Makenna’s letters & school board speeches are all included in this blog.

See the original news article here: https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/local-teacher-suspended-after-refusing-use-preferred-pronouns/GRPQVASU7NEWNIYOOIXFMHRW7U/

To the Queer Kids at South Side Area School District,

I grew up in this community and graduated from South Side High School in 2018. I experienced first-hand and saw the intolerance that this district has to offer—from racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and much more. I did not feel comfortable identifying as gay until I had left the school district for this reason. I have always been proud of my identity, but it’s quite literally a dangerous game to play when you know that you’re so outnumbered by hate. I know that K-12 is hard enough for any kid, but especially when your staff and teachers don’t support you—or worse, openly encourage violence against you.

Modern-day Christianity has lost all of the true lessons of Jesus Christ. Jesus required that His followers be forgiving, reject hatred and love their enemies. He specifically taught love and mercy for marginalized peoples. It is revolting that some have twisted scripture to fit their own narrative. This teacher can say that he “loves” homosexuals but the narrative that he and his wife are spreading—that these students are making others feel unsafe in bathrooms and identifying as non-human forms—encourages violence against LGBTQ+ people. In the United States in 2021, a record number of violent fatal incidents against transgender and gender non-conforming people occurred—the overwhelming majority of these attacks against people of color. This number is also extremely underreported, misreported or never reported. This is not to mention the danger that hate takes on the mental health of LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ+ people are more than 4x as likely to attempt and successfully commit suicide (Johns et al., 2019). The demonizing rhetoric against LGBTQ+ people has real-life consequences for us and our families. Jesus would never be happy that children are being harmed and deprived of happiness.

According to the Supreme Court rulings in Johnson v. Poway and Gibson v. Lee County School Board, “A teacher must not promote or denigrate any particular religion, religion in general, or lack of religious belief.4 A teacher must not interject personal views or advocate those of certain students”. Teachers are currently fighting in court for the right to disrespect and torment their transgender students. However as of right now, it is a fact that there is separation of church and state in this country. This also applies to public school districts. No one person should be imposing their beliefs over an entire district.

I personally am working on a pre-veterinary undergraduate degree that features biology as the main curriculum. This teacher has stated that the practice of referring to students with their correct names and pronouns is not biologically sound. This might have been what was taught to this teacher when he attended a private Christian college 34 years ago. However, it is scientific fact in 2022 that biological sex and gender identity are entirely different. In humans, “sex” is generally classified as male and female and refers to reproductive organs and chromosomal components. Gender refers to social, cultural and personal experiences that define how you feel and express your identity (I am happy to supply anyone with scientific journals to support this fact; https://medicine.yale.edu/.../what-do-we-mean-by-sex-and.../ is a great article that explains this all in lay-person terms). Now, this is an extremely simplified explanation on the differences between sex and gender. For example, there are hundreds of ways that each can vary; for example disorders of sex chromosomes. It is imperative to the future of our nation to teach science accurately.

To the kids who currently go to South Side that are LGBTQ+, questioning, an ally, or anywhere in between: I just want you to know that there are thousands of people from this community who support you wholeheartedly and will defend your rights and true identity until the day we die. It is not a “momentary lapse of judgement” for South Side to have affirmed LGBTQ+ students. It is the right thing to do. I never could have imagined when I was a student at South Side that in my future I would be not only accepted for my sexuality; but have friends and family that support me. I promise to you that although times might be hard right now, you have an entire lifetime of love, acceptance and joy ahead of you. Don’t be afraid to reach out to me if you ever need anything. And please, never give up the fight.

Lots of love,

Makenna (she/her)