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Culture War Roundup for the week of November 25, 2024

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One small anecdote in favor of the status explanation. About ten years ago, my wife's cousin (around age 9 or so at the time) was in elementary school and the teacher had each student say what they wanted to be when they grew up. My wife's cousin said she wanted to be a mom, and this was apparently concerning enough that it earned her parents a call from the teacher after school that day. The teacher was concerned they weren't "encouraging" her enough. Today she identifies as a lesbian.

I wonder what the teacher would have said to a boy who said he wanted to be a dad.

She probably would have started making veiled hints about homosexuality and said that she’d be happy to talk to him about his confusing feelings.

I’m puzzled by this response. Why would a kid who wants to grow up to be a dad be presumed by anyone to be gay, when gay men are less likely to have kids than straight men?

Since stay at home dad is even less a long term plan than stay at home mom, it comes across as non sequitur in the context of school. Kids know that by 9, even four old boys all say things like "firefighter" or "policeman" (the girls said "princess" at my child's pre-K). So they must be odd in some way, possibly effeminate or gay?

So they must be odd in some way, possibly effeminate or gay?

Exactly. The progressive's response to a kid who is different is that he must be gay or trans or something. In fact, the teacher may even be hoping for this outcome!

It's of course perfectly fine for a kid to want to be a dad, or to just be different, without a label getting stuck on the them.

Same thing adults have been telling boys for millennia: "Insufficient".