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Texas finds itself at the forefront of a new culture war, and issues such as the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT), transgender individuals competing in sports, and a proposed version of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill are the frontlines of this war. Texas has long been a conservative state, and many politicians appear to be pushing the state even further to the right, and despite what many more progressive people/politicians feel about this hard-right shift being antiquated and pushing back against the headwinds of progress, this approach appears to be paying political dividends for them.
Gov. Abbot has taken a very vocal stance against how the issue of slavery is taught/discussed in public school by signing a law which bans the teaching of CRT. CRT is an academic theory which says that while slavery itself ended long ago, the system itself is built to maintain the status quo, and the system itself is flawed and perpetuates system racism in our nation. Proponents of CRT say that it is important for students to understand this underlying racism in the system, while opponents claims that CRT teaches that white students should feel ashamed and accept responsibility for an issue which they have had no direct participation in.
Similarly, LGBTQ issues have also become political fodder in states across the nation. The story of Lia Thomas, the Ivy league swimmer who transition from male to female, raised the issues of fairness and rights for those who have transitioned, but also the same for those who compete with and against them. Lia has been swimmer for all her life, but prior to transitioning to female, she ranked quite low in men’s competitions, but afterwards, she began shattering records when she began competing against other females. She claims that the transition had nothing to do with gaining a competitive advantage, and certainly no one would deny her the right to be the person she wants to be, but nonetheless, the competitive advantages do appear to be present despite Lia claiming she is not a threat to women’s competitive swimming. It is worth noting that World Swimming recently banned transgender women from competing in women’s events. Then there is the issue of the rights of others competing both with and against Lia. Many of her own teammates penned a letter in support of inclusion on the team, but many other teammates penned a letter speaking out against her being on the team, claiming she has an unfair advantage over them. While they are all on the same team and competing for a team championship, they are also competing against each other for the right to claim the top spot on their team for specific events and to compete for those titles against others. If Lia does indeed maintain an unfair physical advantage over her fellow female athletes, then their rights are also effectively being denied, thus raising the question of whose rights should be upheld.
Finally, on the heels of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, many other states, including Texas, has either pursued, or promised to pursue, similar legislation themselves. This type of legislation effectively bans the teaching of lessons on sexual orientation or gender identity below the 4th grade. For proponents of such legislation, they claim it is about parental rights and that their children should not be taught about such issues unless or until the parents feel the timing is right, and that schools teaching such material may cause children to ask questions which parents are not comfortable answering, or which perhaps are contrary to their religious beliefs. Opponents of “Don’t Say Gay” legislation claim that it further “others” children identifying as LGBTQ, or who come from families that are LGBTQ, and that they deserve to see themselves and families represented as much as any other student does.
These are all highly complex and controversial issues, any of which could serve as the basis for a discussion board on their own, and I do not expect you to effectively address all of these in the limited space/time available, so you may choose to address a single one of these three inter-related issues, or you can attempt to address each of them within your post if you wish, so long as your post meets the minimum requirements as noted in the Syllabus. Remember that there is no “right” or “wrong” responses here. I have provided numerous articles with which to read about these issues, and I look forward to reading your thoughts and responses to them.
Articles must use one
Critics of Texas’ push for a “Don’t Say Gay” bill say acknowledging LGBTQ people isn’t the same as teaching kids about sex
Republicans say they don’t want young kids learning about sex. Educators say that’s already the standard.
Jason Beeferman
The Texas Tribune
State education board members push back on proposal to use “involuntary relocation” to describe slavery
The Texas State Board of Education is fielding proposals to update the state’s public school social studies curriculum this summer.
Brian Lopez
The Texas Tribune
Why are states banning critical race theory?
It’s important to understand what critical race theory is and is not.
Rashawn Ray and Alexandra Gibbons
Brookings
A Look At the Numbers and Times: No Denying the Advantages of Lia Thomas
The times and rankings of Penn’s Lia Thomas are clear and undeniable. The transgender swimmer has an obvious edge over biological women.
Swimming World News
https://www.si.com/college/2022/05/31/former-penn-swimmer-lia-thomas-didnt-transition-competitive-advantage
https://apnews.com/article/transgender-swimmers-new-rules-fina-world-governing-body-
c17e99d3121fa964336458b57ae266f7
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants Texas version of Florida law that critics dubbed “Don’t Say Gay”
The Florida law prohibits teachers from teaching sexual orientation or gender identity to kids below the fourth grade.
Brian Lopez and Emily Hernandez
The Texas Tribune
Not just Florida. More than a dozen states propose so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bills
The specific details regarding the bills vary between state. But overall, they seek to prohibit schools from using a curriculum or discussing topics of gender identity or sexual orientation.
NPR
READ IMPORTANT!!!
Discussion board posts should be a minimum of 525 words and typed in 12-point Times New Roman font and should include at least one outside source other than the lecture materials which you must cite in APA formatting at the end of your post. If articles are given for reading with the Discussion Board prompt, then you may use them as your required source material, provided that you cite the source used in your post. All posts should be typed in a Word document to ensure proper length.
