In response to widespread public outcry over gender identity lesson plans that were discovered by parents of first and second graders in New Jersey, Democratic Governor Phil Murphy has softened his initial stance, admitting that some of the materials provided to small children may not have been “age appropriate” but insisting that that these lesson plans represented a mere “handful” of the lesson plans implemented in the state and that they “do not accurately reflect the spirit of the [state’s] standards.”
The controversy originally arose in February when parents of students in Westfield, New Jersey, were alarmed to receive materials at a school board meeting that purported to be reflective of the state’s new gender identity standards for second graders, which include “performance expectations” like discussing “the range of ways people express their gender and how gender role stereotypes may limit behavior.” One lesson plan, which was intended for parents of first grade students, asked first graders to be able to define “gender, gender identity and gender role stereotypes,” and name “at least two things they’ve been taught about gender role stereotypes and how those things may limit people of all genders.”
The lesson plan went on to state, “You might feel like you’re a boy even if you have body parts that some people might tell you are ‘girl’ parts. You might feel like you’re a girl even if you have body parts that some people might tell you are ‘boy’ parts. And you might not feel like you’re a boy or a girl, but you’re a little bit of both. No matter how you feel, you’re perfectly normal!”
