722: Child's Play with Lindz Amer

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that wants every kid to have access to queer role models and positive LGBTQ+ representation.  This week Leigh (@lshfoster) hangs out solo with Lindz Amer (@mxlindz), the creator of the web series Queer Kid Stuff (@queerkidstuff) and author of the inclusive parenting book, Rainbow Parenting: Your Guide to Raising Queer Kids and their Allies, and the children’s book, Hooray for She, He, Ze, and They!: What Are Your Pronouns Today?. Lindz travels to schools and libraries across the country to talk to children, parents, and educators about the importance of affirming childrens’ identities. They are also a consultant for mainstream preschool media (for example, Lindz created a nonbinary character for Paw Patrol that unfortunately resulted in quite a bit of backlash from outraged conservative parents because of course it did).  Lindz is currently working to reboot their award-winning preschool web series Queer Kid Stuff through a Kickstarter campaign which runs through July 5th.  For those of you who are unfamiliar, Queer Kid Stuff is basically the LGBTQ+ inclusive version of Mr. Rogers that we all wish we’d had growing up. Leigh spoke with Lindz about their dreams for the new and improved Queer Kid Stuff, what they have learned about early childhood education and how best to teach queer concepts since releasing the original web series, their journey to recognizing and embracing their transness and becoming a more authentic version of themselves, and why in the face of horrific LGBTQ+ youth mental health statistics, positive media representation is more important than ever for both kids and caregivers alike.  In today’s age, it isn’t enough to only educate and direct content at LGBTQ+ people. We also need to educate and raise allies in our effort to normalize queerness everywhere. Statistics show that when educators, parents, and caregivers support children’s sexual and gender identities through the use of affirming language and respecting their chosen pronouns, the risks of queer youth harming themselves goes down by a whopping 50%. With so many recent attempts to censor queerness in childrens’ media including the banning of drag storytime at libraries, as well as the censorship of school and library books that reference queerness in any way, it is critical that we as a community push back and continue to do everything in our power to teach kids how to live authentically and proudly as their truest selves.  Follow us on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida).  Happy Pride to all! From now through the end of June you can take 15% off your purchase at our merch store with code lhopride and stock up on everything you need to show your Pride 365! Visit bit.ly/lezmerch to secure the bag.  You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of perks including access to our exclusive Discord channel, monthly full length bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices