I think this bill just took on a life of its own for various reasons. But I would actually say sex/gender issues place a distant 3rd in the list of concerns among the parent groups (masking/vaccines being #1, and CRT being #2).
Any social theme is nothing more than the current social standards. And a school is nothing more than a mirror of the reflection.
So the only topics that are currently active are the ones the parents are the busiest with. After all, kids learn by mimicking
The preferences for what a child can/cannot learn is nothing more than a reflection of the standards parents support or disagree with.
Why sex is so sensitive in general, and at what age it is and isn't right, is something we decide as a whole.
Sex is a big part of any social structure. It's quite natural and in a existential kind of way maybe our only purpose in life. Blame Darwin or God for it, but just like the animals, we need to reproduce. Eternal life hasn't been found yet
Before America was America (like, the middle ages kind of stuff), the 13/14 years girls who ' bled' were ready to breed. If there was a TV, the show ' teen mom' would have been boring. Even way more back, during the ancient greek period, there were other standards ('pederasty') (Googling that for images might be a NSFW thing...)
Whatever we think of it, whatever we try, it's not only 'nuture', but there's a lot of 'nature' in it.
Growing up as a kid is nothing else than being prepared for that. Our bodies will do it themselves, without any direction. Some early, some late, but it always happens.
I mentioned before that the there is some kind of ' general divide' that happens slowly between 5/6 till 10/11. It's always linked to prepare the kids for the next phase when the puberty start and where usual the other gender gets attractive (or, maybe your own?) and your own feelings change. And discussing those feelings with the gender you're attracted too? Bah! It can be two totally different tribes, certainly during puberty. Man are from mars, women are from venus starts somewhere. Not at the kindergarten
I asked someone else how old the kids were. (
@CaptainAmerica )
The kid from 7 will have a totally different standard on interacting with peers/friends regarding physical contact. They grow aware of things. Don't get me wrong: no kid of 7 or 10 is ready to have sex! But the very first steps getting ready for it are starting: to separate the genders. It starts to show: girls play with girls, boys play with boys. (And when this happens, questions towards ones own gender can occur ..)
And not only our own instinct and bodies are doing that. Society does so aswell. From the day they were born till the day to do 'it' themselves. We reflect our current standards, (sub)consciously, and shape the little ones with that. A little one has no idea what 'sex' is, but has so of examples of gender, gender roles/expectations, and (sexual) relations between adults all around it in it's environment. They will observe and wonder, not knowing where any line is yet. Any line of what is and isn't okay is set by us. The feeling that sex is an adult subject is something we teach them as society, but not the truth.
Banning any or all subject like that is impossible. As long as the small or big subjects around the theme of sex are a part of our society, it will finds it's way into a school. They should be guided and framed and handled with care. Dont get me wrong: not totally free nor totally banned.
