[KillerGremlin]

I thought the debate was surprisingly mature, it was pretty good. I think Prager was stretching his argument a bit though and at the end he and Perez both agreed that gay couples should be afforded equal rights.

I think it's an interesting argument, mothers can provide things fathers cannot, and vice versa. I don't think it is sexist, but definitely dated. Nowadays both parents are capable of working or staying at home, and roles are no longer assigned to a single gender. Some longitudinal studies that show that homosexual couples can raise normal children would help argue against the ideal "male/female" parent that we have decided is the social norm.

Also, the "ideal" 1 male/1 female aka mommy/daddy is a somewhat modern standard for raising families. No? I thought anthropologists and biologists pegged us and our distant ancestors as being polygamous.

As far as gender confusion or sexual confusion....4th and 5th graders should just be taught basic sexual mechanics. This is a penis, this is a vagina, masturbation is normal, etc. You don't need to really delve into the social dimension of sexuality. But certainly by middle school I think children should get the full rundown with sex education. By then you're not going to "change" a kid's sexual orientation. Trust me. In 2nd grade I wanted to TF my sweet teacher's rack. Same with my 3rd and 4th grade teachers...then in 5th grade I got this fat loser guy teacher. I think most kids are aware (to an extent) of their sexuality. The sooner you teach kids about sex education, the sooner they can become comfortable with their sexuality. If kids aren't comfortable with sexuality it can lead to risky sexual behavior, low self esteem, and other problems. But this is a whole different discussion. The point is I think sexuality is fairly concrete by the age of 8 or 9 at the latest...but I have always felt it is mostly biological so most people are either born hetero or homo.