Our happy little family has been deeply affected by SOGI, here in BC. We had a daughter who is now 12. She was the most beautiful, intelligent, carefree girl and her mom and I loved her with our whole hearts. She wanted to be a princess when she grew up. Then, in Grade 4, she was exposed to SOGI. I don’t know if it was through her regular teacher or a guest speaker, but that day, she came home with a new vocabulary. Words crossed her lips that never had before; words like “gender-fluid”, “non-binary” and “trans”. At the age of 9! Her mom and I were shocked that she was saying these words and talking about these concepts at her age. Shortly thereafter, she came home and announced that we were now to call her “Peter” and to use the pronouns “they/them”. We were surprised at this sudden pronouncement and the fervor with which she pursued it. Her mother and I wondered if this was a phase, but our research told us not to suggest it to her. I had a problem calling her they/them because those are plural pronouns, and as a grammar expert, I refused. (Later Peter said that “he/him” was acceptable, too, so that was “easier” for me.) For the last three years, Peter has stuck to the idea that he is trans and has chastised us when we accidentally use his “deadname”. I use a nickname for him at home so I can avoid the Peter/deadname problem, but when we are out in public, I have to introduce him as my son, Peter, or he gets mad at me. He dresses like a slobby boy, wears a chest binder he begged us to buy, has messed up his hair cut and colour, but still wants to paint his nails and use eye makeup and lipstick. He has a night-time skincare routine! We are confused. As is Peter, apparently.
When I was growing up, we had a name for girls who didn’t want to wear dresses and preferred to play sports instead of with dolls. They were called tomboys. They were not necessarily girls who wanted to be boys, they just didn’t like stereotypical girly things. Some of the most beautiful women in the world today were once, or are still, tomboys. My favourite example is Charlize Theron.
I am all for tolerance and inclusivity (Peter’s sister has special needs), but I think this SOGI thing should not be introduced to children until they have begun maturing and have started asking questions about their sexuality and sexuality in general. We have come to suspect that Peter may have ADHD and/or a genetic mental disorder, and these may or may not have contributed to his being extremely suggestible. I’m pretty sure that something in Peter’s brain took the message of sexual diversity he received in that class, and it told him that he was not happy as a girl and that he should now be a boy. I’m also pretty sure that that was not the message that was delivered during that information session, but that’s what was received. The lack of socialization which followed a few months later, during the pandemic, did not help the situation. Our life has been in turmoil ever since, but we have made it abundantly clear to Peter that we love him no less than before. Peter retreats to his room for days, has talked about “disappearing” and has expressed dark thoughts, at times, and has had inappropriate chats with shadowy characters he has found online. No doubt the constant exposure to the internet is contributing to the darkness. Quite a contrast to the carefree daughter we had, three years ago. The son of a friend of mine is going through exactly the same thing. We parents are all blaming SOGI.
I don’t remember being told about SOGI or being asked for consent for our daughter to receive this indoctrination, but I may have signed something. I regret that I did not prevent this from being presented to my precious daughter, so anything that you or others can do to have this program cancelled or at least postponed until Grade 10 or 11, would probably save lives. We certainly would have been happier living with our daughter than with the confused 12-year-old that I believe SOGI created. Can I sue the Ministry of Education?

9 years old, Victoria BC
2020