I’ve noticed this with my kids’ schools. Many kids are open about who they are - LGBT+, neurodivergent, mental illnesses, etc. - and people are generally accepting of that. When I was a kid, people were bullied relentlessly for showing any form of difference from “normal”. It makes me happy to hear them talk about things like that like its no big deal…because it shouldn’t be.
My niece attends school in a town with a population of less than 5k and even there she learned all about various different forms of sexuality and romantic interest just through conversations on the bus and was not only accepted but able to explore herself
I know, right? I was born in the early 1980’s for reference.
Earlier this year, a girl in her early teens visited our company to learn about us. After about ten minutes, she casually dropped a ‘my girlfriend’. And we chatted about how our company had a few people with autism working there, and their experiences. Because she had autism as well.
I was blown away that kids that age are that open about things like that; I love it! Back when I grew up, there ‘were no gay kids’, you know what I mean? Gay was something you saw in movies or on TV. And autism or ANY psychological issues did not exist. That wasn’t a thing people ever talked about, much less with people they’d just met.
It really was nice to see how far we’ve come that at least some kids are comfortable talking about who they really are without fear.
I’ve noticed this with my kids’ schools. Many kids are open about who they are - LGBT+, neurodivergent, mental illnesses, etc. - and people are generally accepting of that. When I was a kid, people were bullied relentlessly for showing any form of difference from “normal”. It makes me happy to hear them talk about things like that like its no big deal…because it shouldn’t be.
My niece attends school in a town with a population of less than 5k and even there she learned all about various different forms of sexuality and romantic interest just through conversations on the bus and was not only accepted but able to explore herself
I know, right? I was born in the early 1980’s for reference.
Earlier this year, a girl in her early teens visited our company to learn about us. After about ten minutes, she casually dropped a ‘my girlfriend’. And we chatted about how our company had a few people with autism working there, and their experiences. Because she had autism as well.
I was blown away that kids that age are that open about things like that; I love it! Back when I grew up, there ‘were no gay kids’, you know what I mean? Gay was something you saw in movies or on TV. And autism or ANY psychological issues did not exist. That wasn’t a thing people ever talked about, much less with people they’d just met.
It really was nice to see how far we’ve come that at least some kids are comfortable talking about who they really are without fear.