keim-anti-lgbtq

[01:16:43]
Hi. Um thanks for having me here tonight, my name is Lisa Keim and I'm a resident of Dixfield. I um, haven't spoken about this book before. I first heard of this memoir, this comic book called "Gender Queer" from parents in this school district. I now know of course that it's at the center of a national controversy and I'm glad to be here tonight because it is in this room that this conversation should be taking place. With the parents of a community weighing in about what their child's education should look like. Education of our children is and should remain an issue of local control.
In this room there's a large group of people who care about children and their well-being and since this is our community and our children, this is the ultimate qualification to weigh in on every issue that touches them.
No one is more expert on a child than the child's parent. No one has greater right, authority, or responsibility for a child than their parent. As such, there should be respect here for disagreement. We are taking on a controversial topic. (I'm) not unfamiliar with there. But it can and should be done without demonizing or assigning negative motives to those of a different opinion.
The evidence is overwhelming that America's classrooms from the earliest grades are being used not to educate but to indoctrinate our children with radical ideologies, racially divisive theories, and distorted views on human sexuality (crowd claps "amen"). I would ask that in our proceedings that we not clap only because I know there are so many people that want to speak and we should get through this in respect for everyone's time.
The book Gender Queer is a perfect example of this but what is happening across America does not have to be Dirigo. As a community member and one whose children have been part of the Dirigo system, I want to see our school have a wholesome and welcoming environment that makes everyone feel accepted.
A study reported in the professional counselor journal supports what we all know to be true. Peer groups have a string influence on sexual behaviors, particularly among young adults. Peer group shifts in perception and values when it comes to sex and sexual activity will in turn impact sexual trends and patterns within peer groups. Peer group perceptions are formed within the context of the larger society and events, media, and social issues within the society. That is why we are here tonight. To shape the context of our community. In the realm of sexual trends, sexual activity, which impacts who we are in every way. The stakes could not be higher. Our children are gifts from god. We have a moral obligation to protect them, to help, and not harm them. The book Gender Queer inflicts harm. It is vile and pornographic in its content. It encourages confusion and normalizes a dangerous lifestyle with no mention of the real health risks associated with these behaviors.
If we were to include a book in our library on this topic, as education material, wouldn't we expect at minimum for the book to include the health risks associated with the behaviors so graphically depicted in this book. Engaging in oral sex for instance exposes individuals to viral and bacterial infections including chlamydia, gonorrhea, and herpes. Oral sex carries many of the same risks as vaginal sex including HPV. HPV is now thought to cause 70% of oral cancers in the United States, overtaking tobacco as the leading cause of oral cancers. It is well documented also that the more sexually promiscuous a person is, the greater is the increased risk of deadly and debilitating diseases. This is not mentioned in this book.
Sexual experimentation with many partners increases health risks for all kinds of cancers and STDs. It is no accident that Maine's first monkeypox vaccine is being given in Ogunquit. Do you believe that any book that promotes behaviors such as depicted in this book are healthy for our children? Supporters of this book would have us believe that this vile material is essential to the emotional well-being of young people with gender dysphoria. Some of us may believe that. Because the intersection of media culture, with scientific research does not often result in a better informed public. Do you believe that without this particular comic book, being present in Dirigo's library, that more young people will have suicidal ideation? We intuitively know this not to be true. That's called a gut check, and fortunately for our discussion tonight, there is also scientific studies that back up this instinctual knowledge.
A clinical study of children with gender dysphoria undertaken in Germany recently reported its findings published in October 2021. This study shows that peer relations and family functioning, not social transition status, such as pronouns, clothing, and hairstyle choices, to be the most important factors in the psychological well-being of children with gender dysphoria. The study only affirms what we know to be true. It is family and friends that are the most important element of the child's life. This study found claims that gender affirmation through social transitioning is beneficial for children with gender dysphoria could not be supported. This study should be a warning signal to school personnel who believe that a child should be allowed to transition socially at school without the knowledge of their parents. That this is an unquestionable infringement on parental rights.
The book also wrongly pushes us further down the road of accepting gender dysphoria as a one-way street. However, this assumption has been found to be unhealthy for children. As just reported in the telegraph on July 28th, a major transition clinic in Europe called Tavistock, England's only gender transition clinic, was just shut down in response to a review which found that the clinic's medics felt pressure to adopt an unquestioning, affirmative approach to gender identity, rather than going through the normal process of clinic assessment with young people. It was found that a significant number of children in the gender clinic were also presenting with neurodiversity and other mental health needs and risky behaviors which required more careful consideration. Finding that doctors were too quick to affirm a child's new identity without looking at other mental health or medical issues, the national health and social care of England closed the clinic and are moving the young people who believe that they are trans into regional centers that have a more holistic approach to treatment and look at other mental health and medical issues they may have.
I, when I read portions of this book, I think this young woman needed serious help.
The recent news story, sorry. The recent news story shows that pushed to force our children into a one-way street of transgenderism is ignorant of normal development and  overlooks mental health issues such as those that are described and normalized in the book Gender Queer. The message of this book and other material like it is dangerous to  the long term well-being of an adolescent. The majority of us in this room know this. We didn't need England NHS to tell us this, nor the recent study from Germany to confirm our essential value as families and parents to our children.
In the school that my tax money supports, I want to see wholesome material that supports a parent's unalienable right to the rearing of their children as their conscience dictates. No one is being asked to train and teach my child exactly as I would with the belief systems that I hold, but the school has no rightful authority to use public funds to purchase or make available offensive material that corrupts our children's moral foundation and the truthful view on human sexuality. This issue is one of the most politically charged in our nation and it ought to be. The stakes can get no higher. These are our children. They are not pawns in a culture war or specimens for an activist agenda. Dirigo High School can and should be a reflection of  our community, and offer material that our community supports.
This material found in Gender Queer is not essential to nor supportive of a child's healthy development.
I know very well the position your are in as school board members faced with two sides as there is on every issue. This is a long battle that's far from being decided across our nation and folks on the other side of this issue insist on silencing opposition through intimidation. There is no hate for any person in my opposition to this book. Only a deep concern for the well-being of our children and an obligation to stand for truth. They are worth the fight.
So I thank you for your time and I know it's a it's a great amount of it this evening. Um the essence of self-government governance of which we are capable and preserving is what we're doing here tonight, and I'm proud to be part of the process.
Um, I do have, um, the citations of the studies that I've quoted and I will leave them here and let you pass them around if you're interested.
[01:27:09]