Today is Purple Friday in the Netherlands. It’s a day where, mainly kids in school, wear purple to support and show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. It is a kinda variation on the Spirit day which was created by a Canadian boy to prevent bullying in school agains members of the LGBTQ community after a series of suicide of gay students.
I am curious to hear opinions on this, personally I’ve never really done anything with Purple Friday because it wasn’t really supported by my high school but I think it would have helped me to be myself and feel accepted more there if something like this would have existed back when I was in high school. I kinda struggled especially the first years to be myself. Also I am not sure how I feel about this on primary schools, I feel like it’s not as effective there as in high school if I am honest.
I feel like doing something like wearing purple alone won’t prevent bullying against LGBT people. But it seems like this is a day which also centres around raising awareness which helps educate people. Education is fundamental in combatting these things so yeah it sound like a good idea.
True, there’s like a ‘newspaper’ kids get which educates them on LGBTQ really subtle, like it doesn’t have it as main focus but still creates good representation for LGBTQ people. Also you hear quite a lot about it in the news that day, but that’s less in my opinion since you know my opinion on when there is only focus on LGBTQ and is treated as a separate special thing. It shouldn’t be only an issue for that day and that kinda is my problem with it tbh.
I definitely agree with you on that, but I am not sure if the purple day is best way to like raise awareness in primary school. Like it’s something where a lot initiative comes also from the kids themselves, and I just don’t see it being that effective in primary school.
‘Effectiveness’ isn’t ever really something I think of when I imagine advocacy campaigns that involve coloured clothes and bracelets and whatnot. Especially if it’s just to raise awareness.
Then again, I personally think that kids should be learning that LGBTQ+ people are people and valid from their parents, so you know. Failure on that front
Hmm, valid point. I don’t see anything wrong with it at all and the positive message it gives definitely is good, that everyone is accepted no matter what. However I just think there would be things that would work better in primary school than this. Like this is only something that happens one day, personally I think it would be better to invest in something more sustainable for example making school books and in general education less hetronormative (that’s still quite a big problem in the primary education here). It almost feels like they think it’s enough to only organize one day and then everything is alright and represented while there are still fundamental issues in the education.
And I totally agree with the parents also having an important role in this! I feel like it’s their responsibility to teach their children there are different families and relationships and that they are all equally normal. Looking back at my childhood it would have helped me so much if my parents would have showed me that there is more than one possibility
This, imo, isn’t necessary for primary schools. Teaching kids basics and then opening up their minds to alternate possibilities is fine. So long as you don’t explicitly say that a heterosexual relationship is the only way, just that it’s the more common way. Then you open up highschool students to the nuances of the less common ways being just as valid.
Words like ‘normal’ are incredibly reductive in education, I don’t think they should be used. It hints at some form of societal or moral judgment that fit outside of said ‘normal’. But that’s just me
This is
Amazing. wonderful. extrodinary. perfect.
Exactly what schools should do. All my respects to your school.
This is why it’s helpful to include that subject in schools, they make students feel more accepted and ok about what they are, it prevents bullying and raises awareness. It teaches people from a young age that it’s normal to love who you want to love no matter the gender.
