Lindsay Amer: Why kids need to learn about gender and sexuality
Linsday Amer: Por qué los niños necesitan aprender sobre el género y la sexualidad
Lindsay "Lindz" Amer creates LGBTQ+ and social justice media for kids and families. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
girl or somewhere in between,
o algo entre medias,
like "It's OK to be gay"
letras como "Está bien ser gay"
for a roomful of kindergartners.
en una sala llena de niños pequeños.
for my web series "Queer Kid Stuff,"
mi serie web:
and social justice videos for all ages.
las edades me refiero
I mean literal babies
a las de sus tatarabuelas.
about gay stuff with kids."
cosas gays a los niños".
is actually crucial.
de cosas gay es, de hecho, crucial.
of Pediatrics has found
tienen una comprensión solida
of their gender identity
are developing their sense of self.
su sentido de identidad.
to become kind, empathetic,
que sus hijos se conviertan
y seguros de sí mismos.
is an important part
es una parte importante
and nonbinary and queer parents
and I talk about the LGBT community,
copresentador y yo hablamos
from an old professor of mine,
through their tiny little eyes,
and simplifying them --
complejas y simplificándolas,
and how we express ourselves.
and gender and family,
children can grasp.
episodios sobre género,
episodes about gender,
and introduce gender-neutral pronouns
about their own pronouns
pensar sus propios pronombres
I build on this foundation
like "nonbinary" and "transgender."
para explicar el género no binario
nonbinary gender to their grandparents.
over and over again:
una y otra vez:
en Huntsville, Alabama,
bullied for being gay.
sufrido acoso por ser gay.
gays y bisexuales
more likely to attempt suicide
de intentar suicidarse
are almost six times more likely.
la probabilidad es seis veces más alta.
roughly one third of homeless youth
un tercio de jóvenes sin techo
bisexual or questioning,
gay, bisexual o cuestionándose.
identify as transgender,
de los jóvenes sin techo
en comparación con el 1 %
of the general youth population surveyed.
general entrevistada.
of trans people
de personas trans
were of trans women of color.
de mis videos no son mucho mejores.
que soy una pedófila
telling me I'm a pedophile
de maneras cada vez más creativas
in a number of increasingly creative ways.
en la lista de palabras bloqueadas
on my block list
to get run over by a truck.
que fuera arrollada por un camión.
por referencias menos creativas
Holocaust reference.
referencias al Holocausto.
marcharon por Charlottesville,
el creador de un meme violento en Reddit
about one of my episodes
estaba en la multitud
is what we're up against:
the mental health risks,
my parents gave me when I came out,
pero errónea que
cuando salí del armario:
to have a harder life.
and unicorns and glitter,
with my childhood stuffed teddy bear.
when I was their age.
tener esto cuando tenía su edad.
que pasar por lo que yo pasé
to struggle through what I did,
porque no tenía ninguna exposición
to who I could be.
through joy and positivity
desde la alegría y la positividad
las dificultades de la vida queer.
the hardships of queer life.
siendo ellos mismos
and who they can be,
y de quiénes pueden ser,
or what pronouns they use.
o cómo se visten
for their differences,
por sus diferencias,
el mundo sea un lugar mejor
and more equal place
que infectan nuestro mundo.
that festers in our world.
sobre el género.
que los niños lleven vestidos
for boys to wear dresses
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lindsay Amer - Digital creatorLindsay "Lindz" Amer creates LGBTQ+ and social justice media for kids and families.
Why you should listen
Lindz Amer writes, produces and cohosts Queer Kid Stuff, an original LGBTQ+ educational webseries for ages three and up. They also perform QKS music and stories at schools, museums, libraries and local LGBTQ+ community centers and are embarking on a six-city tour for the 2019-2020 school year. They recently executive produced a pride campaign to #SpreadQueerJoy in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which culminated in a celebratory music video.
Amer is the founder and CEO of Queer Kid Studios, a multimedia production company based in Portland, Maine, making queer-focused, intersectional all-ages media. The Huffington Post calls Queer Kid Stuff a "groundbreaking YouTube educational resource." Teen Vogue praised their episode on consent during the height of #MeToo, saying it "shows exactly why there's no excuse not to grasp consent. Even toddlers can understand it." And @shondarhimes tweeted she's "so here for this!" Amer is currently developing a children’s podcast focusing on social justice, and a narrative web series spin-off of QKS. They are also writing a picture book, and a full-length screenplay about a nonbinary kid!
Amer is a Creative Resident at SPACE on Ryder Farm, a TED Resident and were named a Rising Star by GLAAD, a Queero by them.us, were a Webby Honoree, and have received grants from the Made in NYC Women's Media Fund, the Awesome Project and VidCon's Emerging Creator program.
Lindsay Amer | Speaker | TED.com