Editorial: Textbooks should not ignore LGBT history

Where did you first learn about the Civil Rights Movement or
Native Americans? The answer for many of us is similar. We learned
history in schools and from our textbooks.

History could soon become more complete, as a new group could be
added to the books ““ pending a decision by the state
Senate.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, a UCLA
alumna and former UCLA law professor, would require publishers to
include gay and lesbian history in public school textbooks.

The bill would be an addition to the current state law, which
requires that “men, women, black Americans, American Indians,
Mexicans, Asians, Pacific Island people and other ethnic
groups” be included in textbook descriptions of “the
economic, political and social development of California and the
United States of America, with particular emphasis on portraying
the role of these groups in contemporary society.”

Though it is always preferred for social change to be initiated
by the people, rather than mandated by the state, curriculum
guidelines already exist and efforts to make them more inclusive
should not be pushed to the wayside.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has been a
prominent part of the United States’ recent history, and many
have gone as far as comparing the magnitude of the gay rights
movement to that of the Civil Rights Movement. What makes this all
the more relevant is that the state of California has often been at
the forefront of such movements.

Textbook publishers say they will make books inclusive of LGBT
history for California, which represents 12 percent of the national
textbook market. But they will also continue to make textbooks that
do not include it for states that choose to deliberately exclude
it.

We can’t erase a group and their relevance to our society
from history. This omission gives legitimacy to already-existing
stereotypes and further marginalizes a group that is still
struggling to gain rights in society.

Opponents of the bill are scared that there is more to this bill
than teaching history. They are worried that their children will be
indoctrinated to become proponents of gay rights as a result of
such curriculum changes. They contend that the bill is the result
of the LGBT community pushing their agenda, rather than the need
for a more honest portrayal of American history.

Randy Thomasson, the head of the Campaign for Children and
Families, vocalized these concerns to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“This is about pushing a blatant sexual agenda ““
including sex changes that involve cutting off body parts ““
upon impressionable schoolchildren as young as
kindergarten.”

On the other hand, the American Academy of Pediatrics policy
states that environments critical of gay people interfere with the
development of gay youth. Also, a study done in 2003 by the
California Safe Schools Coalition found that students feel safer
and experience less harassment at schools where gay and lesbian
issues are taught.

And for parents who are worried that homosexuality will become
“mainstream,” we are more worried about how their kids
will treat kids who are different from them once they leave the
arms of their parents.