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PREJUDICE-REDUCING EXPERIENCE
Michelle
BACKGROUND
Sex: female
Ethnicity:
European-American
Born in:
California, USA
Parents born in: Mother
- U.S.A.
Father - Netherlands
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 My
father was born in the Netherlands and immigrated to the US when he was
12. I grew up hearing his side of the family Dutch and I have experience
with the culture and many of the customs from the Netherlands. I never learned
to speak Dutch (though I know a few words) but I was never uncomfortable
hearing other languages spoken. I feel that my experience with another language
and culture made me more open minded towards learning another language and
experiencing another culture. In college I earned a minor in Spanish Literature
and when I graduated, I move to Guadalajara, Mexico for one year. I lived
with a Mexican family who included me as a member of their family. I still
maintain contact with them today and try to visit them often. I feel these
experiences have influenced me and how I think today.
At a very young age, probably around the third grade, I realized what homosexuality
meant and that being homosexual did not mean that a person was bad or an
outcast. Two of my dad's cousin's are homosexuals and one of my mom's best
friend was also a homosexual. I used the past tense with my mom's friend
because, sadly, he was infected with the AIDS virus and was diagnosed HIV-Positive.
He died a year later. All of these men were, and two still are, a part of
my life and were around as I grew up. I was too young to realize that their
lifestyles were different until the third grade. That was when my friends
and I started hearing words like "gay, lesbo, and fag" and using them to
call people names because we knew they were wrong in some way, like bad
words. My parents overheard my friends an I one day when we were playing
outside. That night, they sat me down and explained to me what these words
meant and told me about my cousins and my mom's friend. I loved and care
for these men, so I really had to internalize what I was hearing and change
my misconception of these words and stereotypes. I remember this experience
so clearly because it was so personal. These men were part of my family
and my life, and I knew that they weren't bad or wrong in some way.
Teachers can help correct misconceptions that children may develop when
they overhear others talking, and using words they are unfamiliar with in
a conversation. I feel that teachers do not have to address alternative
sexual lifestyles in the primary grades, but they should encourage acceptance
of people's differences. I do think alternative sexual lifestyles should
be a part of sexual education in the upper grades.
Children should know about them and what the words mean before they start
using them in derogatory ways. Homosexuality exists in society and education
exists to teach children how to function in society as adults. Pretending
that homosexuality doesn’t exist will only be a disservice when they
have do deal with it in real life.
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