Maybe it's because I don't have enough understanding of the topic, or that I don't have enough experience to really relate to it, but if you ask me, we're treading on some shaky ground here.
Both BC and Alberta have broken new territory by deciding to allow two children - one age 11, the other 12 to legally change the gender on their birth certificates. In Ontario the law states, or did state (it may be changing) that in order to change your male/female status on your birth certificate, a sex change had to occur. Both BC and Alberta have agreed this isn't necessary. And now there are people in Saskatchewan rallying for the same rights.
In fact, one Saskatchewan woman is fighting for the right of her six year old "daughter" to be officially deemed female rather than male. She claims her child has wanted to be a girl since the age of three.
Okay...
I know times are changing and I know sexual orientation isn't always a choice, that sometimes people are just born the way they are and that's all there is to it. But doesn't it take time to come to this conclusion? Does a three year old really know what is what at that tender age?
When I was young, growing up with four brothers, I WANTED to be a boy. You did not see me playing with dolls and barbies. I rode bikes, climbed trees and went fishing and hunting with my dad. I dressed in my brothers hand-me-downs and was anything but a frilly girl. Things have changed. I call it a Tom Boy phase. No big deal. My parents accepted it and didn't try to force or change anything - legally or otherwise. When my own two kids were small, my daughter would cringe and throw a fit if I would try to dress her in all the pretty, pink dresses a mom loves to doll their daughters up in. My son on the other hand, cried because he couldn't go out in these types of things. Today, my daughter is an expecting mom and a well adjusted woman. And my boy is all boy.
What if I had taken those things as a sign that they should switch genders? Imagine the confusion that would have ensued in the years to follow?
There are exceptions to every rule. I understand that, but in today's world of "having everything now" and rallying for change, maybe we ought not be so quick to rush into some things and just let kids be kids. There will be time enough for labelling, decisions and choices.
