This Bitchy Bigoted Mom Is Conflicted - Share Your Opinion

by Kim D.

Today I'm going to ask you to walk, for just a moment, in my shoes. You live in Texas and are a 40-something mother to a son attending kindergarten in a public school. Over assessing learning progress aside, you have been pretty much pleased with your child's formal introduction to the public school system, that is until this week when you notice something that makes you feel a little bitchy.

All year long you have noticed the rotation of college interns in the classroom. They have all been female which appears normal - after all, how many dudes are signing up to teach kindergartners? However, on Monday, during the pick-up process, you noticed something new. A young man is helping your child with the car door and backpack.

But that's not a problem. It may be unusual for a male to intern as a kindergarten teacher, but that doesn't ring bells and raise flags. Here's what does. This male, impeccably groomed, has two-toned hair, protruding nipples, despite being extremely thin, and is sporting contoured makeup thicker than any of the other actual kindergartner teachers.

Today - at the end of the week, you go to the classroom in your regular volunteer role helping with the incentive reading program, where children take books home, and when they are ready and have mastered the material, they then read the books a parent volunteer. You see the intern and have an opportunity to interact with him and by all appearances he seems delightful. However, you still walk away feeling bitchy realizing you will be labeled as a bigot for thinking the outward appearance of this guy is way over the top.

Teaching kindergartners is not for the faint of heart.  It is a tough job; however, one of the perks is that young children (aged five and six), typically do not enter the school system with many preconceived notions and adapt well to their diverse surroundings, teachers, and classmates. For this reason it dawned on me that this is probably why this young intern has decided to teach young children - unconditional acceptance.

Young children typically do not challenge appearance and are very accepting of diversity until life experiences teach them otherwise. So, here's why I am conflicted, and please correct me where I am wrong. This sets a precedence. In order to be politically correct and not offend one person, children are being conditioned to see a man wearing makeup as normal. This intern's appearance, mainly makeup, is exaggerated, and may, perhaps, seem kind of cool to a young child who loves dressing up as a super hero or another who prefers to be a princess.

I am accepting of a gay male wanting to teach kindergartens as long as he looks the part and puts the focus on education and not a social agenda. In other words, if he would take off the makeup and wear a bra, I'd be not so bitchy and bigoted.  What do you think?