Diane Ehrensaft, PhD
Developmental and clinical psychologist
All Kids Deserve to Reach for the Stars -- and Dance With Them, Too
Posted: 9/18/11 05:54 PM ET
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-ehrensaft-phd/chaz-bono-dwts_b_968816.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-ehrensaft-phd/chaz-bono-dwts_b_968816.html)
For many viewers of ABC's mega-hit series Dancing With the Stars, the announcement that this season's roster of contestants would include Chaz Bono, the son of Cher and the late Sonny Bono, marked a historic decision and a milestone for transgender people. To some, it made a less than welcome addition to the fall television line-up.
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It is time to address and make sense of the outcry over whether "sex changes and gender confusion" are inappropriate subjects for young children. Let's talk about the real reality here -- how damaging and dangerous those comments are to the thousands of transgender and gender-nonconforming children out there who live their everyday lives among the adults who are so agitated by Chaz's participation as a dance partner.