Educational Jewelry of Queer Animals at San Diego Pride 2023!

How cool is this educational jewelry that @the_fish_nerd has created! Her photos show linked medallions illustrated with non-binary side-blotched lizards, transgender moray eels, and asexual condors. Thanks for sharing! - RXS


Reebops Nursery (gender-inclusive Genetics of independent assortment)

Gender-inclusive simulation of independent assortment for a genetics or evolution lesson. Adapted from slides created by Laura Funk (staff profile page) by modifying “mom” to egg-giver and “dad” to sperm-giver. Can also serve as model for discussion about mutations, epigenetics, evolution, chromosomes, alleles, nondisjunction. See also Teach.Genetics.Utah.edu's paper-based activities. See steps below and the questions for the assessment at the end. (Originally published here in 3/17/21.)

NGSS Works towards HS-LS3-1. Follow up with meiosis and HS-LS3-2.

Step 1: Flip a coin and highlight the capital or lowercase letter for that row.

Step 1: Flip a coin and highlight the capital or lowercase letter for that row.

Step 2: Combine the results from Step 1 to create a genotype (two letters).

Step 2: Combine the results from Step 1 to create a genotype (two letters).

Step 3: Use the third slide to decode the phenotype.

Step 3: Use the third slide to decode the phenotype.

Step 4: Build the reebop based on the phenotype.

Step 4: Build the reebop based on the phenotype.


Assessment: Answer the questions in the Google Form.

0. Attach completed Reebops Nursery from your Drive.

1. Name your Reebop

2. What do you think each letter represents in the model?

3. What do you think combining the letters represents in the model?

4. All models are wrong. Some models are useful. What are some things missing from this model? List as many as you can think of.

5. Gametes (egg & sperm cells) contain 1 pair of chromosomes (n = haploid), the other body cells contain 2 pairs of chromosomes (2n=diploid). Is your baby reebop haploid or diploid?

Generating a framework for gender and sexual diversity-inclusive STEM education

Generating a framework for gender and sexual diversity-inclusive STEM education

Authors: Gary William Wright, Cesar Delgado

Published in: Science Education (Feb 5, 2023) at https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21786

Abstract

Students who identify as LGBTQ continue to report feelings of being unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Access to a gender and sexual diversity (GSD)-inclusive curriculum and supportive teachers may positively improve the school climate for LGBTQ students, but these supports are often not included in STEM classrooms. One response is to ensure that STEM teachers are prepared to integrate GSD-inclusive STEM teaching into their classrooms. This review systematically analyzed the literature on supporting and affirming GSD in K-12 and higher education STEM education contexts. The 81 selected studies were qualitatively analyzed using inductive thematic analysis and epistemic network analysis, and the findings showed that GSD-inclusive STEM education literature coheres around six highly related constructs: Heteronormativity, Social Justice, Epistemic Knowledge of Science and Inquiry, Identity, Embodiment, and GSD language. Identifying these constructs, and the connections among them, led to the generation of an operational framework of GSD-inclusive STEM teaching that can inform and guide STEM teacher education programs and STEM teacher professional development to develop STEM educators' equity literacy around GSD to foster bias-free, equitable, inclusive STEM classrooms.

“It’s completely erasure”: A Qualitative Exploration of Experiences of Transgender, Nonbinary, Gender Nonconforming, and Questioning Students in Biology Courses

Abstract

Biology is the study of the diversity of life, which includes diversity in sex, gender, and sexual, romantic, and related orientations. However, a small body of literature suggests that undergraduate biology courses focus on only a narrow representation of this diversity (binary sexes, heterosexual orientations, etc.). In this study, we interviewed students with queer genders to understand the messages about sex, gender, and orientation they encountered in biology and the impact of these messages on them. We found five overarching themes in these interviews. Students described two narratives about sex, gender, and orientation in their biology classes that made biology implicitly exclusionary. These narratives harmed students by impacting their sense of belonging, career preparation, and interest in biology content. However, students employed a range of resilience strategies to resist these harms. Finally, students described the currently unrealized potential for biology and biology courses to validate queer identities by representing the diversity in sex and orientation in biology. We provide teaching suggestions derived from student interviews for making biology more queer-inclusive.

Resource Roundup: environmental Science & Gender-Inclusive Adaptations

Resource Roundup is a newly periodic attempt to capture all the links aggregated through conversations and requests, shared by many. We focus on science education materials but have encountered enough sex education-adjacent curriculum to share the collection below. Your mileage may vary. (RXS)

We shared this guide with attendees at a workshop this year.

TITLE: Gender Inclusive Adaptations to Environmental Education

  1. Overall Guides

    1. Principles of Gender Inclusive Biology (cheat sheet)

    2. How to Respond to Common Questions/Objections to GIB teaching (quick & easy tips)

    3. Gender-Inclusive Biology: A Framework in Action (NSTA article with resources)

    4. How do we present gender, sex, and sexuality as part of inclusive and accurate science teaching? (extensive STEM Teaching Tools brief)

    5. Middle & High School Resources (direct links to lessons)

  2. Models for Gender & Sexuality Teaching

    1. Gender Visualization Tools

      1. Scientific American - Beyond XX and XY (flowchart)

      2. GLSEN Gender Triangle Education Guide (identity-expression-attribution-assignment)

      3. Gender Unicorn (spectra)

      4. Gender & Sexuality Galaxies (cloud concept map)

    2. Sex Determination - Why so many ways of doing it?

  3. Language

    1. Language Guide (table, differentiated by discipline & intensity)

    2. Talking to Kids About Science in a Gender-Inclusive Way (article w/ table)

    3. STEM/Equity Etymology Posters (print-ready slides)

  4. Gender & Environmental Education 

    1. Epigenetics - environment changes genetics 

      1. Temperature-dependent sex determination (crocodile video)

      2. Temperature-dependent sex determination (turtle video)

      3. Touch-based sex determination (slipper limpets video & diagram)

      4. Early life nurturing & later life stress response (lick your rats)

    2. Variation & Survival During Change - what survives?

      1. Evolution of Sexual Reproduction (Nature summary)

      2. Gender Showcase (bite-size posts about enduring variation in survival)

      3. Queer species database of 200+ organisms (research source)

      4. Diverse Animal Reproduction (survey & reflection) (r- k- strategy gallery walk)

      5. Pigeonetics Game (answer key available in guide)

    3. TEK - traditional ecological knowledge

      1. Why do the foods we eat matter? (Native-driven environmentalism for salmon in 3 case studies) (at a glance guide)

      2. (See also newsletter issue Oct2019)

      3. Resource roundup on this coming soon; just need to describe them (RXS)

    FURTHER RESOURCES

    Myths of Human Genetics (data and graphs for lots of human genetic traits that aren’t clear; tongue rolling, widow’s peak, etc.)

    Questionable Questions About Transgender Identity (Answers to Qs it’s rude to ask)

    Questions Parents Ask About Transgender People

Attendees also received a summary of all the resources and Q&As generated during the workshop, as well as opportunities to workshop their own curriculum on request. (If you’re interested in a workshop online, send us a note via the form at the bottom of the page.)

Resource Roundup: gender-inclusive sex education

Resource Roundup is a newly periodic attempt to capture all the links aggregated through conversations and requests, shared by many. We focus on science education materials but have encountered enough sex education-adjacent curriculum to share the collection below. Your mileage may vary. (RXS)

More LGBTQ-inclusive sex ed reduces odds of bullying, depression, suicidal thoughts, and victimization (J Adolesc Health)

Title: Associations of LGBTQ-inclusive sex education with mental health outcomes and school-based victimization in U.S. high school students

Journal: Journal of Adolescent Health

Public access URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6478545/pdf/nihms-1516132.pdf

Summary: Students with a greater proportion of LGBTQ-inclusive sex education have lower odds of experiencing school-based victimization and adverse mental health [such as depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts, or making a plan to commit suicide

Adapting Language for Diverse (A)Genders, Bodies, and (A)Sexualities

  1. clear infographics (see above for examples),

  2. a checklist with advice for challenging situations such as:

  3. and a statements-editing activity from a workshop by SextEd (a free and confidential texting helpline that answers questions about sex, dating, and health within 24 hours) and ACCM (AIDS Community Care Montreal).

We also know it can be challenging to use inclusive language when students, peers, or service users don’t, or they’re not familiar with the practice. In these cases, you can still take the time to gently explain why you speak or write the way that you do: to respect the diversity in people’s sexualities, genders, and bodies. If someone asks why you phrased something a certain way, you can take the time to explain why.

In situations where a person is asking a question or speaking in a way that isn’t inclusive, you can....

— Use phrases like “Yes, men, or anyone with a penis, can get an erection at random.”

— Gently remind them of identities they didn’t include in their statement or question, “Yeah, for sure. But I also
think it’s important to keep in mind that some men don’t have penises, and some women do, to make sure we’re
being inclusive.”
— SextEd & ACCM

Challenge norms & build interruption skills

Headline: Male Adolescents’ Gender Attitudes and Violence: Implications for Youth Violence Prevention

[What they measured:] This study analyzed the associations among male adolescents’ gender attitudes, intentions to intervene, witnessing peers’ abusive behaviors, and multiple forms of adolescent violence perpetration.

[Who they studied:] Data were from a cross-sectional survey conducted at baseline with 866 male adolescents in community settings (i.e., youth-serving organizations, churches, after school programs, and libraries) across 20 lower-resource neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, PA from August 2015 to June 2017, as part of a cluster RCT.28 Eligible youth were aged 13—19 years, identified as male, and recruited to participate in a gender-specific violence prevention program.

[Goals] This community-based evaluation aims to inform future youth violence prevention efforts through the identification of potential predictors of interpersonal violence perpetration.

[Conclusions] Findings support violence prevention strategies that challenge harmful gender and social norms while simultaneously increasing youths’ skills in interrupting peers’ disrespectful and harmful behaviors.

Citation

Miller E, Culyba AJ, Paglisotti T, Massof M, Gao Q, Ports KA, Kato-Wallace J, Pulerwitz J, Espelage DL, Abebe KZ, Jones KA. Male Adolescents' Gender Attitudes and Violence: Implications for Youth Violence Prevention. Am J Prev Med. 2020 Mar;58(3):396-406. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2019.10.009. Epub 2019 Dec 27. PMID: 31889621; PMCID: PMC7039734.

Doctor's Rec: WPATH Standards of Care for “Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People”

The overall goal of the SOC is to provide clinical guidance for health professionals to assist transsexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming people with safe and effective pathways to achieving lasting personal comfort with their gendered selves, in order to maximize their overall health, psychological well-being, and self-fulfillment. This assistance may include primary care, gynecologic and urologic care, reproductive options, voice and communication therapy, mental health services (e.g., assessment, counseling, psychotherapy), and hormonal and surgical treatments.

While this is primarily a document for health professionals, the SOC may also be used by individuals, their families, and social institutions to understand how they can assist with promoting optimal health for members of this diverse population.

Kaiser Permanente Transgender Care follows the WPATH standards of care and the 2009 Endocrine Society Guidelines, as well as a companion document for voice and communication change. Click through to access this file in 18 different languages.

Research documents school staff tend to blame victim of anti-LGBT harassment, incl. removing from school, when perpetrators face minor consequences. (Bochenek & Brown 2001)

Many people experiencing discrimination have encountered “victim-blaming” where the solution to the hate crime is to remove the identity being persecuted. Suppose a woman might have been told her attire “invited” sexual assault or even rape. Suppose a gay teen is told to stop “flaunting” their lifestyle choice, often by teachers and administrators in positions of trust and protection, when they report violence and daily harassment in the classroom. Suppose a recent immigrant is told that once they “learn English”, classmates will stop stealing his things and urinating on his book bag.

Only when teachers and administrators take risks to establish honest conversations that proactively support inclusion and affirm the expressive diversity of all people on campus (including students who feel the need to bully and abuse others) can we create genuinely safe spaces.

In addition to highlighting the inaction of teachers and other school staff, Daniel’s story illustrates the tendency among some school staff to ‘blame the victim’ in cases of anti-LGBT harassment, as other researchers have noted.

In Hatred in the Hallways, authors Michael Bochenek and A. Widney Brown cite situations in which LGBT students were removed from classrooms and even schools as a '“solution” to their having been harassed (while the perpetrators faced minor consequences), as well as one in which an assistant principal reportedly said of a student who had been harassed, “If he didn’t walk around telling people that he’s gay, there wouldn’t be any problems.”

Reference

  • Michael Bochenek and A. Widney Brown, Hatred in the Hallways: Violence and Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students in US Schools (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2001), 83.

  • Michael Sadowski, ed., Adolescents at School: Perspectives on Youth, Identity, and Education (Cambridge: Harvard Education Press, 2015), 125.