Like plenty of other high school students, a group of about a dozen Vermont teenagers trundled into a youth center one day every week this spring to participate in an after-school program.
But their program was different; it focused on gender.
The nine-week program, partially funded by the Burlington School District, was held at Vermont’s Queer Youth Center and called “Gendertopia.”
Gay, lesbian and straight students discussed a wide range of topics, from the characters in the book and movie “Twilight,” to taking photos around the city that show the different ways gender is portrayed in popular culture.
“Most people come into it thinking, ‘Oh, there’s two genders and two sexualities’ … ,” said David Kingsbury, a 16-year-old junior at Burlington High School who signed up for the program. “People assume it’s boy and girl, but it’s so much more than that. There’s a whole world out there full of different genders.”
The program is among the first of its kind to be funded, in part, with tax dollars, said Christopher Neff, the executive director of Outright Vermont, the social service organization running Gendertopia.
Neither the program nor the school district’s participation triggered any objection. The tempered reaction locally to the program shows how far Outright Vermont and the issues it raises has moved into the main stream of youth social service organizations.
