Society must adapt but banning ‘boy’, ‘girl’ is a step too far

Children should be able to freely identify with their own sexuality – in whatever form that looks like – but removing widely accepted words is overdoing it, writes Kylie Lang.

Eliminating the words boy and girl from the lexicon is a step too far. Children should be able to freely identify with their own sexuality – in whatever form that looks like – but removing widely accepted words to accommodate a minority is overdoing it.

With a little thought before opening their mouths, teachers should be able to say “good morning students” instead of “boys and girls”, and students who wish to use particular pronouns to identify by should be absolutely permitted and encouraged to do so.

The last thing parents and teachers should want for their children is to feel that who they are is not OK, or that they have to meet societal dictates in order to be “normal”.

Language is powerful and we need to be mindful of how we use it.

This is not about being woke. It is about broadening acceptance so that young people can lead well-adjusted lives that allow them to be themselves.

I have a friend who has a transgender child and friends whose children are gay. There are other members of the LGBTIQA+ community who identify as bisexual, intersex, asexual or queer/questioning.

The acronym itself is an evolving one, having added new letters since the 1980s when it was LGB.

The way I see it, each person is entitled to use whatever word they wish to describe themselves, should a description be necessary.

Transgender teen Nate Musiello told The Sunday Mailhe thinks the world will eventually become non-gendered.

Nate Musiello expects the world will be non-gendered eventually. Picture: Lachie Millard

He said young people were “ready for the shift” and the use of “boy” or “girl” were hurtful to him growing up.

Other children might not be hurt whatsoever by these words.

At the crux of the issue is that society needs to be less rigid and more empathetic.

The adage “before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes” holds.

The use of the word man reflects the society of the time, the late 1800s, but the message applies equally to all people, as it also did back then, regardless of how they identify or which pronoun they use.

As society changes, so must language and attitudes.