If you’re a proud genderqueer mother or father and are looking for stimulating children’s programming, look no further. “Queer Kid Stuff” is just the show for you. However if you're someone with a tighter grip on reality, who sometimes worries about what your kids access online, then this might be your new waking nightmare.
Move over Barney and Sesame Street, there’s a new fun and educational program on the block, and it’s here to help kids understand gender identity. A YouTube channel called “Queer Kid Stuff” has taken the liberty or, rather, assumed the responsibility of educating kids on what really counts: gender stereotypes and breaking free of them.
Huffington Post editor James Michael Nichols praised “Queer Kid Stuff” on Sunday, describing it as a “resource for parents and the LGBTQ community” that “breaks down queer themes, words and ideas in a manner that’s educational and fun for kids.”
The web series stars what appears to be an androgynous woman dressed in men's clothing named Lindsay, and her plucky, stuffed co-host, Teddy. There’s a blackboard to the left of the set, and the co-hosts sit facing the camera behind a table, topped with wooden alphabet blocks that spell out the topic of the day. They discuss that topic before Lindsay pulls out her ukelele for a charming musical interpretation of the day’s themes.
The latest and 29th episode released last week is titled “No More Gender Roles!!” During the show, the hosts remind viewers that there are three forms of gender expression: masculine, feminine, and androgynous. Lindsay tells kids that they should choose how they want to express themselves, regardless of the limits of dastardly pronouns or other burdensome societal gender stereotypes.
Discussing the gender roles that should be broken, Lindsay states, “everyone should be either a boy, or a girl, nothing in-between.” She mentions how some things, like toy aisles in department stores, cause problems and confusion for some children. Teddy then laments, “I don’t like gender roles, Lindsay. They sound kind of mean. I don’t like other people telling me what I can do.”
Of course, the show then talks about the roles bathrooms play in gender confusion, and how it should not be so hard for people to use the bathrooms that they identify with. Teddy responds with her usual genderqueer incredulousness when Lindsay says that some people have a problem with who chooses to use which bathroom. But it’s all OK, because a few gender-neutral bathrooms placed here and there can offer some clarity.
At the end of the show, Lindsay brings out her ukelele and gives the audience a rousing musical number to clear up the confusion. Some of her lyrics include, “Gender! Let’s not get in a fender over Gender. Alright!” or “So you ask, ‘How do you identify?’ cause it’s hard to tell with just my eyes.”
The show’s creator, Lindsay Amer, explained to HuffPost that “it’s really important to be honest and straightforward about this with kids so they aren’t confused and feel empowered to bend and break whatever gender rules they don’t feel apply to them.”
They say the internet is a dangerous place, especially for young children and, frankly, this type of new, progressive “educational” content makes it hard to argue otherwise.
