Genderbread Person v3.0

For my Genderbread Person explanation, I decided to speak with my roommate, Megan. Megan is a senior English adolescent education major and will be student teaching in the spring. I chose Megan because I knew that she had never learned about the Genderbread Person before, but her knowledge of such a diagram could help make a change.

Although Megan grew up on a farm and is from a small town, she defies the stereotypes and is actually very open-minded. Megan, like myself, is open to learning about gender but has no formal education. 

When describing the diagram, I went through each individual component and explained that she could fit anywhere on the scales, and that placement on one scale did not have an effect on the placement on the other, To my surprise, she did not have any questions. She nodded along patiently, made "oh's" and "yes'" when appropriate, and then had the "aha" moment -- the moment where it all made sense. 

"Yeah, so you can be attracted to some people sexually, and some people emotionally," she reemphasized once we ended with the sexual and romantic components, which often confuse people the most. 

Although it may not be as easy to explain this concept to everyone, it is a very important topic that should be taught to all education professionals in order to create a more safe and understanding environment. Regardless of if society is ready to teach children the complexity of gender at a young age, it should prepare teachers to handle diverse situations.