Important to be
comfortable in our skin
Gender identity and sexual preference have become ubiquitous topics with fundamental ramifications, from marriage laws to the use of public restrooms.
Perhaps, that is why The Post chose to publish Dr. Moyer’s opinion piece. However, given the Pride week vandalism, the timing seems unfortunate, as some in our community are still feeling the effects of that trauma.
Dr. Moyer makes a good case for approaching transgender interventions at any age with great caution and deep thought, especially irreversible ones, and especially with youngsters and still maturing teens, given their vulnerability.
I would add that seeking out medical professionals and counselors experienced in gender-affirming care, who are not conversion therapists, is an integral step.
I have not read “Gender Queer,” so cannot comment on its value as an addition to the KHS Library, but I am very wary of book-banning. I do trust school staff who must, on a limited budget, thoroughly vet books, to do their best to make carefully considered decisions that will benefit the health and welfare of students.
I’ve read other books on the subject, written for adolescents, that I believe are essential reading for any young person dealing with LGBTQ issues. The best recently, “She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders” by Jennifer Finney Boylan.
I have not read much in the local papers about the subject that seems helpful, so I am writing today to share some facts gleaned through my own education, raising kids, teaching parenting of adolescents for 15 years, and observing close family members and friends address personal gender issues, which fortunately have found daylight and been given language so it is possible to deal more effectively with them.
Nearly all teens question their emerging sexuality, if only briefly. For some, it is a serious and painful process, especially without compassionate support.
Current statistics show that 20-28% in the age group 18-25 identify as LGTBQ, while half of those identify as bisexual. Bisexuality is a biological occurrence well documented in human history, animal husbandry, and is referenced in the Bible.
Because nearly 30% in this age group view themselves in these ways, there are grounds for thorough wide ranging open discussions, sharing facts, fears, and fallacies among sexually maturing and mature participants, our current high schoolers included.
An adolescent’s job is to figure out who they are and where they fit in the scheme of life. Our job as adults is to support their process: to hear them, help them sort out feelings and to learn how to find useful information about all kinds of things – from how does my body work to how to get a job.
It’s important to help teens gain insight and information, and to find comfort in the sometimes tumultuous and confusing maturation of their bodies — above all, pride and acceptance.
It is a medical and biological fact that gender and sexuality occur on a continuum. Obscuring that fact is contrary to those aims.
Useful information on gender issues helps not only those seriously questioning, but those around them as well to gain life skills in understanding, acceptance and compassion toward themselves and others.
In the course of evolution, organisms have embodied both sets of sexual organs needed for reproduction. As evolution proceeded, some organisms became specialized having one set or the other, and some retaining both. Nature does not produce finished products. It is not static, but continually evolving.
Who knows how babies will be produced someday? We already have birth control and cloning, in vitro unions and gene modification.
If we are witnessing changes in this regard, so be it. The real human quest is for each of us to know who we are as much as that is possible, to feel comfortable in our own skin and to be able to establish positive connections with others throughout our lifetime.
Let us give that gift to each other wherever and however we can.
Jane Card
Kennebunk
I want to be clear that I am not speaking as a Select Board member but simply expressing my own opinion.
When I think about what I love most about our community, the answer is our willingness to help others, whether we know them personally or not. When the word goes out that an individual or family or group needs help, the response is immediate and robust. We have seen workplace injuries, illnesses, deaths, and homelessness and each time we pulled together to help. We can be proud of that.
On June 14, an opinion piece appeared in the Post. The author was unhappy with RSU21’s transgender policies and urged readers to express their concerns to the high school and to RSU21. Why is it necessary to judge those who are different from yourself? You may never understand their lives, but no one is asking you to change yours, so why can’t we just accept that we are not all the same?
Let’s support all our community members, not just by accepting them as they are, but also by objecting to those who try to divide our community by emphasizing our differences instead of celebrating our humanity.
Miriam Whitehouse
Thank you to
Kennebunkport voters
I have come to the decision after much consideration to resign from the RSU21 School Board, effective Tuesday, June 25. It’s been a tremendous honor to serve the community as School Board Director. I appreciate the trust Kennebunkport voters placed in me when I was elected just over a year ago. My life and work circumstances have changed in the past month, and these changes have left me no other option.
I look forward to the opportunity to serve the community in other ways and hope to remain engaged in the work of the School Board. Having worked with this Board over the past 12 months, I can share first hand that the Board is a collective of highly dedicated individuals and colleagues who are committed to the betterment of the District and to supporting students and teachers. As a result of my work on the Board, I have a much greater appreciation for Dr. Cooper’s leadership and that of her administration.
I love where I live, and I remain a proud Kennebunkport resident and taxpayer and RSU21 parent. Thank you to the voters of Kennebunkport for the opportunity to serve. And to those who so graciously supported my campaign.
Susan Holleran
Kennebunkport
Resignation of guidance
counselors disturbing
I was troubled to read of the ‘mass resignation’ of guidance counselors from Kennebunk High School. As a former guidance counselor myself, in Waterville and later in Kennebunk, I am acutely aware of the importance of these individuals in the lives of the students they serve.
At the high school level especially, the role of the guidance counselor is tied critically to the future of her students, many of whom are making plans for college and need assistance first to match their goals with the offerings and standards of appropriate schools —and then to secure proper letters of recommendation for the schools to consider.
In effect, the work of the guidance counselor underscores the first impression prospective schools will get of the applying students and, in many cases can make the difference between acceptance and rejection.
If the student has no interest in college, it is also the counselor’s job to listen to his or her goals and assist in how best to attain them.
The fact that all the Kennebunk High School guidance counselors have recently left must be very disturbing for parents and students alike. This new “Human Resources management system” surely has its work cut out for it in the days ahead … the future of our students depends on it.
Paulette Forssen
Kennebunk
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