Last update: 18 September, 2016
Nobody is worth more than you. Whatever way you are, don't let anyone make you question your abilities. Neither the color of your skin, nor your gender, nor your bank balance defines your potential or ability to fight in a world where discrimination has become a habit.
A world in which those who are considered "different" have to fight much more to get the same things than those who are considered "normal". We must not forget that that normality is always established by the culture in which we are immersed, starting from what is most common; but that a feature is more common does not necessarily imply that it is the correct one or the best.
“No one is the same as another. No one is better or worse. They are different. And if two get along, it was a misunderstanding. "
-Jean paul Sartre-
I am a person, not a label
Very often we stop being Anna, Matteo, Maria or Antonio and turn into the crazy, the African, the poor girl or the transsexual. We stop being people and turn into labels, as if what we are could be defined by a single word. As if who we are is so strange or special that it wipes out everything else.
Don't be of the same ethnicity it does not mean to be inferior, only that the skin has a different color. Not being of the same sex or not falling into the classic categories of "man" or "woman" does not imply being a depraved or a sexual pervert, only that one's gender identity is different from that which, statistically, usually corresponds to the genitals of the own body. Not having great financial means at your disposal does not make a person lazy or ignorant, it only indicates that his life is more complicated than that of others.
First of all, however, regardless of who we are or how we are, no one has the right to tell us that we cannot do something or that we are not worth enough for the simple fact of being different, of not being like him / her. Our abilities are not dictated by our sex, our ethnicity or our wealth.
Being a woman doesn't stop you from becoming a scientist or getting the same salary as a man. Being transsexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian does not prevent you from working with children, it is not a disease, it is a sexual option and it is not "contagious". Being unemployed does not mean that you are not good at work, perhaps it is simply due to the fact that you have not been given the opportunity to demonstrate your talent.
“False imagination teaches you that things like light and shadow, low and high, white and black are different and must be discriminated against; but in reality they are not independent of each other; they are just different aspects of the same thing, they are concepts of a relationship, not reality. "
– Buddha –
Educating for diversity
If we want no one to continue to feel marginalized and to have to fight more than others because they are not in the majority, we should educate children about diversity. Show them that variety is a value and gives color to the world.
Only in this way will they grow up aware of always having the same opportunities as others in life, regardless of their sex, ethnicity or economic situation. So, no one will be able to tell them who is worth more, because they will know that everyone has the same value in society.
All this is very nice to read, but difficult to put into practice. Yet, small gestures are enough to start changing the world, especially if they are aimed at future generations. From play to reading, each activity can teach children different values ​​that help them accept diversity.
We adults sexualize colors or dolls. For a child, pink is just a color, being a child's color is something we teach them. For a child, a toy car is just that, a toy, and that it is a “boy's” toy is a meaning that we attribute to it.
For a child, tricks are simple colors to smear on their face to let their imagination fly. The sexualization of those tricks belongs only to the adult world. For a child, fighting to become a footballer doesn't turn her into a tomboy, it just means she likes to run after a ball.
Educating while respecting children's freedom of choice, letting them have fun, does not harm them. On the contrary, it is beneficial for everyone. And above all it teaches us, and it also teaches them, that no one is worth more than them, because no one is worth more than someone else, we are simply different people.
