Unschooling, Radical Self-Expression, and Other New-Age Necessities: Tips for Managing Your Life as a Nontraditional Thinking Parent

My daughters are the most eye-opening experiences I’ve had in my 36 years of living. They’ve helped me to see both my potential and my limitations, and they’ve helped me to understand the need for deeper, more consistent dialogue around self-exploration and radical self-expression. These understandings have led to some pretty radical shifts in how the four of us choose to live.

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How to Develop Critical Political Consciousness in Children

Kids are selfish. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a jaded New York City nanny. Children, out of self-preservation instinct, only care about what benefits them. So how do we make politics matter to children? Make the lesson benefit them. Whether you’re a parent/guardian, cool family member, teacher, or caregiver like me, here are some ideas to cultivate politically-minded kids.

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The Truth We Live Vs. The Story We’re Coerced into Telling

Telling the truth is hard. There’s social pressure to see things in certain ways and to tell certain premeditated status-quo enabling truths. Society coerces us into telling a narrative that doesn’t reflect the truths that we know, but rather the truths that society so desperately wants us to believe. But we can do better for ourselves – and for others.

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Gold Star, No Thank You

Have you ever heard the term “gold star gay?” It’s used to describe a gay person who has never had sexual intercourse with a person of a different sex. Here to explain the many ways this term is problematic is queer activist and video blogger Weston Bonczek! Watch as Weston explains how the term “gold star gay” is misogynistic, cissexist, and heteronormative.

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10 Things I Wished I’d Known When I Started My Transition

Exactly two years ago, I sat apprehensively in the reception area of the public health clinic, waiting for my name to be called. I remember looking around the room at the other trans girls sitting nearby. I couldn’t wait to be just like them. Two years and 4,860 pills later, I now realize how little I actually understood back then. Today, I’d like to share ten lessons that I wish I had known.

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