S3E1 Crayons, Coloring Books, and Colorblind Parenting pt 2

“Love is Blind” with guest Ashley Shade

Notes: Approaches to the discussion of LGBT issues- “Coming Out” and the conversations around gender identity, queerness and one’s own orientation; how young? What should they know and when? (Pt 1 in S1Ep3)

As we kick off Season 3 in the middle of Pride Month we thought it would be a fitting time to address how we are discussing the topics LGBTQ+ with our kids. This is a hot topic, and one that tends to become very divisive. We hope in this episode to give you some insight into not only how we talk to our kids about these topics, but how we talk to one another as well.

We are excited to have Ashley Shade join us for this episode. Ashley is the Chair of the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts. She is also the Chair of Outright Libertarians, an organization that seeks to serve as a bridge to the GSM Community from the Libertarian party, that works to educate the GSM Community, and that tirelessly serves the GSM Community by making sure that the rights of the Community are always included in any conversation about the Party’s Platform or policy discussions. Ashley is also a Transgender woman. 

(We welcome our audience into the discussion, so if you have any questions while we chat please feel free to drop them in the comments, however we will not address rude or unnecessary remarks or questions)

In preparing for this episode we had a lot of discussions about what we wanted to address, and from what perspective. As parents it is our primary goal to raise well-adjusted, respectful and productive members of society. We do this by teaching them based on morals and principles that have been shaped and built by our own experiences and circumstances. But how do we teach them to consider the experiences and circumstances of others?   *Ashley’s experience as a Transgender woman*

1. Has/Have your child(ren) had someone from the LGBTQ+ community in their lives? 
2. Has/Have your child(ren) experienced a “coming out” among their peers (this is happening younger and younger)? If so, how did you help them process that? 
3. Have there been conversations in your home about Pride Month/LGBTQ+ topics? And what were they, if so?
4. How do you handle “moral objection”, and how do you avoid outside sources being an adversarial influence? 
5. How does inclusivity and compassion make us better?
   1. More creative 
   2. More collaborative
   3. More innovative

Why, as Libertarians, do we find this conversation important in building a free and voluntary society?