People use all sorts of negative terms for transgender. What is the word that Tracy hates the most? Explain why you think that she would dislike this word the most.

 The word Tracy hated the most was when the children would call her an “alien” or a “non-person.” Just like anyone else no one would want to be called an alien. I think she felt like she didn’t belong on this earth because she was different. No one should have to be called those names just because they may appear or seem different. People don’t realize that just by calling someone that can really hurt them and might even make them try to attempt suicide. I think Tracey just wanted support from her peers or at least for them to understand why she is the way she is.

 

Who is correct? The Catholic school system or the parents and children in this video? Explain.

 I think that the parents and children were correct in this video. I understand that the church has their own set of rules and believe in certain things but they should have let Tracey go by what she wanted and referred to her as a she. I’ve grown up as a Christian all my life and though changing your sex is a sin, it doesn’t mean that you look down on that person or make them feel judged. It’s our jobs as Christians to love everybody no matter what and try to make everyone feel like they are no different than you. I think the Catholic school system just thought by letting a transgendered child in their school that it would look bad on them or that they were committing a sin for just letting Tracey in.

 

Explain in your own words the meaning behind Lady GaGa's "Born This Way" song.

 The meaning behind Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” displays a very strong meaning. GaGa reveals in her lyrics that everyone should be proud of who you are because we are born this way. In the third stanza, GaGa states “I’m beautiful in my own way / Cause God makes no mistakes” (12-13). This statement means that we are all perfect in the eyes of God and that we should not let our faults define us. Throughout the song, GaGa’s message reveals an unprecedented amount love and equality. She uses the song “Born This Way” to allow her voice to be heard by millions. She reveals we should all be strong, brave, and courageous because we are all perfect in the eyes of God.

 

At the end of the Lady GaGa video, she and her dancers raise their hands in the air. What does this mean?

 At the end of the video, Lady GaGa, along with her dancers, raises their hands as an act of rejoice. I believe that the particular moment, Lady GaGa is expressing gratitude because she is proud of who she is. No matter how everyone views lifestyle, she is an extremely proud woman. Another reason behind her raising her hand might include that she is praising God. When she reveals that God makes no mistakes in her lyrics that very well may mean that Lady GaGa is religious.

 

What do you think would have more of a NEGATIVE EFFECT on a child - having a transgender teacher or listening and viewing Lady GaGa's songs and videos? Explain.

 Through my personal opinion, I believe that viewing or listening to Lady GaGa’s songs would have more of a negative impact. In our society today, music to millions of individuals is an escape route of all their stress. In the music industry, children ten to idolize their favorite music stars. They could tend to start dressing like them, similar behaviors, and so forth. With a singer being such as Lady GaGa being so broad minded, there is always that chance that she could possibly sway children in a negative manner. The transgender teacher should keep his personal life and work life separate. If that stays true, there should be no reason why everything couldn’t run smoothly.

 

What are your general thoughts concerning Gender change?

 To be completely honest I don’t understand exactly everything about gender change, but I do try my best to understand the reasoning. I can’t imagine living in a body that I didn’t feel like was me. It hurts me to think of all the hate crime they go through just because they don’t feel okay in their own skin. I don’t really understand why so many people get so worked up about someone transgendered. They aren’t hurting you in any way or form so why should we make a big deal about it? I just think that people should be able to do what they want to their bodies.

 

If you were friends with the Yosemite teacher before the gender change, would you STILL be friends? If yes, why? If no, why not?

 If I were friends with the Yosemite teacher before the gender change, I would still remain friends with the Yosemite teacher afterwards. It is everyone’s divine right to be happy, and we should not judge others just because they sin differently than we do. Although the teacher decided to undergo a Gender change, that doesn’t mean we should treat them any differently. We are all humans; we are all going to do what makes us happy. I believe the Yosemite teacher should receive the same amount of respect regardless of his decision making process.

 

If you were a classroom teacher, how would you explain this issue (Transgender) to your students?

 In order for to explain this issue to my students then I would have to fully understand it myself. I don’t really think school is the place that I should be telling my students about transgender. But if the question arises then I will tell my students the most general thing about it. I will tell them that transgender is when a person does not feel like they are in their right skin so they make changes to themselves. For example if I felt like I was supposed to be born a male then I would undergo changes to become a male.

 

What knowledge and understanding do you feel you have gained about people who are transgender? What questions do you still have?

 I feel like I have gained a lot of knowledge over people who are transgendered. For awhile I didn’t understand like the whole process with it or like the age that you feel a gender identity crisis. I still feel like there are a lot of things that I still don’t understand though. One question I have is how do people know that they should be a different gender at such a young age? I also want to know how long does it take for someone to fully become another gender after they have gone through the operations and hormones? My last question would be how come people want to be another gender but want to keep their same genital area?

 

If you have not had this experience, how would you react if a family member (uncle/aunt, brother/sister, mother/father, or child) revealed that they were transgender?

 Out of my whole family I would probably be the most okay with one of my family members revealing that they are transgendered. I would never judge anyone because of something they want to do. I would want them to be happy and feel okay in their own skin. I know that I would want my family members to accept me if I were to say I wanted to be transgendered.

 

The filmmaker, Melissa Regan, says that she hopes that No Dumb Questions will show that it is okay and even imperative for adults and children to engage in age-appropriate dialogue about sexual orientation and gender differences. Do you think the filmmaker accomplished her goal? Why or why not?

 I think she accomplished her goal big time. She made sure to go through it all with the kids about everything that their uncle would be going through. She went in debt with telling them about the removal of hair, voice change, and all the hormones he would be taking to become a woman. I think she made sure that even though they were young that they needed to know what was going on and any question they had she would answer it. I really thought she was smart to go the route that she went on. I think it’s better to go ahead and tell people things instead of sheltering them to the point to where they don’t know how to deal with or understand anything out the ordinary.

 

Why do you think these subjects are talked about infrequently or seen as taboo?

 I think that people feel uncomfortable talking about the subject. People don’t think of this issue as something that is normal or that it should be addressed. In reality it should be addressed a lot so that people can understand this better and start to see that this isn’t a weird or crazy thing. The main reason honestly that people don’t talk about this idea is because so many people are against it. They think that if they don’t talk about it then maybe it’s not really happening.

 

What are some of the behaviors or phrases in the film that you would like to try to use when talking to children about sexual orientation and gender identity?

 I really like to do what the parents did by answering every little question they had with the correct answer but in a more child-like way. I think every child should know at an early age about sexual orientation and gender identity. When children grow up learning about these things then they will be better accepting towards others that may be different than them. I would like to be as open with my children as the parents were in this video.

 

What knowledge and understanding do you feel you have gained about people who are transgender? What questions do you still have?

 I feel like I have gained a lot of knowledge over people who are transgendered. For awhile I didn’t understand like the whole process with it or like the age that you feel a gender identity crisis. I still feel like there are a lot of things that I still don’t understand though. One question I have is how do people know that they should be a different gender at such a young age? I also want to know how long does it take for someone to fully become another gender after they have gone through the operations and hormones? My last question would be how come people want to be another gender but want to keep their same genital area?

 

Why does Geena Rocero feel the need to "come out" in her talk? Explain.

 Geena says in the beginning of the video, “The world makes you something that you’re not — but you know inside what you are.” I think the main reason for her to come out is because she wants to feel good in her own skin and be herself. She doesn’t want to be what the world wants her to be, but someone that she wants to be. She wants people to see how important it is to her to be able to be classified as a woman and share all the things she went through to be the person she is today. In the video Geena talks about how lucky she was to have such an accepting family and I think she wants to share her stories to others so that they know too that there is still some hope in this world.

 

Summary

 After watching all these videos I have a better understanding of gender change. It helped me answer questions that I had about this subject and made me realize so much. We shouldn’t judge anyone for wanting to be happy. If changing their gender makes them feel good then let them do what they want. Life is too short to be anything but happy.