This is an ongoing discussion I have followed very loosely, however I just ran across an article on the topic of two male penguins raising a chick that I really have to applaud. The controversy around this book is that it exposes children to homosexuality — via penguins. The article points out that the book is not ment to be a talk on sexual preference, but more a story about nature taking care of its own.
You may not agree with me nor the article, but here’s my perspective…
I think people need to stop putting their human worries out there to be tied to animal behavior. Animals behave without the sense of conscience humans have, they behave to survive.. not to rebel or distort nor complicate life. They take care of their young without worrying about “what is Frank over there gonna think if Sally over here does….” or “Oh my goodness Jo-bob and Larry, well I never…”. And to clarify, penguins are unique in many ways, male penguins are the caretakers of the young while the females hatch the eggs and then leave for months to go find food.
I personally think the argument isn’t about penguins at all and its a shame the penguins are stuck in the middle of a controversy that really has nothing to do with them.
It is truly wonderful to expose our children to the idea that it’s important to make sure our friends and family are cared for, regardless of differences. In my opinion there are far worse things our children are exposed to every day via the media and every day life —
I’m not saying that whatever your moral values are should be overlooked for this book. I am saying that books are supposed to be there to engage in a conversation… so we should read to our kids and then talk about the topics, share what our views are on the topic, discuss it and invite questions so we can again share our views and beliefs, perfect opportunity to bond! I think we can learn a lot about how to treat people from the way penguins treat eachother.
Here’s another great article on the topic
And if you’re interestested, this ties in with the no censorship penguin.. you’re free to share this image where ever you’d like….
