A personal reflection as a child of the 1980s to acknowledge the change over forty years to provide educational resources to nurture SOGI.

By Sara Christine Beaman (she/her)

My oldest child started middle school this year and I have since learned that all three middle schools in our local district (Saanich) have a club for students that recognizes and respects 2SLGBTQ+ and pride matters. Bayside Middle School and North Saanich Middle School each have a“Gender and Sexuality Alliance Club” and there is a “Mixed Group” at Royal Oak Middle School.

How progressive it feels for me compared to my own personal childhood…the 80s, small-town rampant with stereotypes that were sadly part of the “norm” of overall societal belief. At a parallel age to my eldest, we did not have a Gender and Sexuality Alliance Club at my school.

We did not talk about anything outside heterosexual relationships. And yet my first few “sexual encounters” (the exploring before having sex for the first time, which would come much later for me than my exploring!) were with another girl. There was enough awareness in both of us that we would not be allowed to date or explore our feelings for each other –  there was zero acceptance of anything but heterosexuality when I was in those middle school years.

I could not have imagined telling either of my parents or my friends in the late 80s that I wanted to date a girl, not a boy. It just was not accepted (and therefore not allowed) when I was a kid. Fast forward forty years to now and there are clubs for kids who are gender curious or curious about their own sexuality and our schools are providing a space to nurture this component of their development.

To hear my child come home and share with me, “They have this club at school, and it’s for anyone who supports 2SLGBTQ+” – what a wonderfully brilliant way to normalize what was once so unacceptable. 

Let’s talk about it and continue to make progress toward eliminating discrimination, racism and bullying against anyone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Our youth are integral to acceptance and inclusivity for our future society.

When did this change occur? For BC,  Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, or SOGI, was incorporated into anti-bullying policies on December 31, 2016.  This year marks the fifth year SOGI is part of our inclusive education system. It is a milestone worth acknowledging as our youth are the direct beneficiaries of these policies.

I personally applaud the progression of our education system towards being inclusive and providing these resources to our youth. In BC, our Ministry of Education has SOGI policies and procedures. School districts may incorporate into their individuals’ schools. In some cases, it may be on a need basis or as budgeting may allow (for example, upgrading to gender-inclusive facilities including change rooms). SOGI also provides resources for teachers to fuse with their teaching styles and classroom inclusivity that is compatible with the latest BC curriculum.

The inclusivity of our education system which respects sexual orientation and gender identity as our youth experience the ups and downs of puberty and the creation of self is needed. Of our 60 school districts in BC, 49 are part of the BC SOGI Educator Network. That is approximately 82% of our schools! It is impressive how many schools are incorporating SOGI into their education learning modules.

Our youth need to feel safe within their school community when they are exploring and developing their sexual orientation and gender identity. The creation of school-based 2SLGBTQ+ clubs is one of the many resources that are available for our youth, and I am delighted there is a system of support that is modeling and nurturing acceptance for individuality rather than labels.