Education and Normality

The key to shifting the view of society when it comes to minority groups that we've discussed this semester (disabled, intersex, etc) is in education. Education is what shapes the ideology of society. The way in which topics are approached and ignored when educating the youth shape the way they view these topics. If something like intersex is thought to be taboo, then students will assume that something is wrong with it, which is why its not mentioned. If young people are taught that it is a natural occurrence at birth, they will be less likely to view it as negative. When it is approached as some sort of birth defect that must be corrected by surgery, they will look at intersex individuals as strange. The fact that these surgeries exist and are suggested to parents make it seem as if there is some kind of medical condition that needs correcting. Therefore, if we wish to eliminate prejudice and labeling people as 'abnormal' (and we should want this) we must stop being afraid to expose children to these facts.