In a class discussion the other day, we got around to talking about a transgendered teenager in the book we were discussing (“Boy Meets Boy,” if anyone is interested). By the end of class, I was livid.

One girl said that the teen transgendered character wasn’t appropriate for children to be exposed to. She said that if she had children, she wouldn’t let them read the book, because this one teenaged character was trans.

We started talking about homosexuality. Another student said that it’s totally fine for people to be gay, as long as they keep it to themselves.

“When I have sons, what happens when they see two men hugging and kissing? It’ll only confuse them,” she said. There was a lot of “What are we supposed to tell our children?” and “They’re so impressionable, they can’t be exposed to this stuff.”

One of the students leading the discussion asked the class if we thought being gay was a choice or a “chemical imbalance.”

When I was in fifth grade, the principal of a nearby school had a sex change operation. Parents petitioned to have her removed from her job. Others were very supportive of the tenured principal. Personally, I was confused. Why was it important if she was a man or a woman? I’d had male teachers and female teachers, and their gender didn’t seem to have anything to do with their teaching ability.

I wasn’t confused by the act, I was confused by the reaction.

Being gay is not a big deal. Neither is being trans. Unless you’re the one planning on taking hormones or you’re wondering about the sexuality of the cute someone in your Statistics class, people’s gender identity should mean LITERALLY NOTHING to you.

“But how am I supposed to explain homosexuality to my kids?”

To paraphrase Louis C.K.: Two people are in LOVE and you can’t take five minutes to talk to your kid about it?

That’s not on the LGBTQ crowd; that’s on you.