When I clicked on the link to PutThisOnTheMap.org, I had no idea what I was about to see. Ten minutes later, I was grinning.

Like some of the people in this promotional video for the Reteaching Gender and Sexuality campaign, I am transgender. Like everyone who is lesbian, gay, bi, trans or some other gender/sexuality minority (or has been mistaken for someone who is), I have dealt with trans-and homophobia.

Put This on the Map is a queer activist organization, which sponsors the Reteaching Gender and Sexuality campaign. This national campaign educates people about LGBTQ issues through workshops for young people and adults and screenings of its award-winning documentary Put This on the Map.

The Reteaching Gender and Sexuality campaign is teaching people that being heterosexual shouldn’t be assumed, that we don’t all neatly fit into a girl or boy box and that having knowledgeable, supportive adults who provide safe spaces and protection from bullying should be the norm. Visit PutThisOnTheMap.org, if your school or community could use some reteaching.

—Leo Johnson, 15, Contributor

George Washington University athlete Kye Allums is beginning his third season on the women’s basketball team and making history as the first publicly transgender person to play NCAA Division I college basketball.

Kye was born female, but his teammates, coach, school and even the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) have all been supportive of his decision to come out as male. The NCAA will allow Kye to continue to play on the women’s basketball team as long as he does not start any hormone treatment. (Testosterone, a hormone prescribed to some transgendered men, is also considered a performance-enhancing drug illegal under NCAA anti-doping regulations.)

As for locker rooms and other details, George Washington University has pledged to work with Kye to find a solution that makes everyone happy. Not only has the university been supportive, but in Washington, D.C., people have the legal right to use restrooms and dressing rooms that reflect their gender identity or expression. It’s so refreshing to see this kind of support for transgender men and women. The considerate policies of George Washington University, the NCAA and the capital are starting to eliminate some of the obstacles Kye and many like him face.

Of course, the NCAA and organizations like it still have a long way to go. Right now it’s not clear how the NCAA would respond to other situations related to transgender people. What would the NCAA have done if a male basketball player came out as female and wanted to be on the women’s basketball team? Transgender athletes are beginning to raise complicated questions, and it’s time national sports associations set standards for answering them—after all, Kye surely isn’t alone.

But aside from letting Kye continue to play basketball-and keep his scholarship-the acceptance of George Washington University and the NCAA does something simple: it allows Kye to both be himself and be part of a team that calls itself a family. And that’s a great start.

—Meg Gibbon, 18, Contributor

Let’s pretend for a minute: You’re a girl who walks into a grocery store. You pick up some milk and a loaf of bread. At the last minute, you decide to buy a magazine, just some light reading for a lazy afternoon.

You get home, and you start to read. But here’s the problem: the articles are mostly about ways to sexually please men. OK, so I’m sure we can all see what makes this a bit weird. Why are women’s magazines only focusing on ways to give sexual gratification to men? Now, don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying men shouldn’t be able to enjoy their sexual experiences, but why do these articles assume that the only role for a woman, in a heterosexual relationship, is to please her partner? Whatever happened to mutually enjoyable sex? I sure haven’t seen men’s magazines with the tagline, “Ten Ways to Please Your Woman.” And why do women’s magazines assume every woman has sex with men? That kind of assumption is what you would call “heteronormative.” It completely dismisses all the women who do not identify as heterosexual. And what about the women who aren’t sexually active?

The real question, I suppose, is why do women keep buying these magazines? It has to be stressful—and frankly a bit sad—to only be concerned with pleasing your partner sexually, without ever getting any satisfaction yourself. Wouldn’t it be better if these magazines encouraged couples to communicate to find out what pleases both partners? But unfortunately, sensationalism sells. These magazines promise a quick-fix for all relationship or sexual worries-and that can seem appealing, even when deep down we all know life doesn’t quite work that way.

—Taylor McCabe, 18, Contributor

If we were to hold a competition for the most ridiculous competition ever, Genuine Ken would take the gold. In a contest hosted by Genuineken.com, men can nominate themselves, or women can nominate a man they know, to be voted “The Great American Boyfriend,” based on how similar the man is to a Ken doll of Barbie-and-Ken fame.

There are oh-so many things I can say about this. The first that comes to mind is that it would take approximately 3.4 seconds for someone to call this competition misogynistic if they were looking for Genuine Barbie, The Great American Girlfriend. But nobody seems to be making a fuss. And the guys nominated apparently do have to be something akin to perfect—at least on the surface. They are judged on “date-ability,” personal style, personality, general hotness and overall KEN-ability.”

At the Genuine Ken Web site, visitors can vote simply (thumbs up or thumbs down) based only on a man’s picture or by rating him on a one-to-five scale in five categories: hotness, personality, style, “date-ability” and hair. Which means, yes, three of the five criteria are based entirely on looks. So does that mean that three-fifths of what it takes to be “The Great American Boyfriend” is just being attractive? Call me old-fashioned, but maybe other qualities, like intelligence, honesty or kindness should come into play?

And maybe it’s just innocent fun—a guilty pleasure, like watching reality TV. But judging men based on the ideal of a doll seems like we may be getting a little shallower than we ought to be.

—Taylor McCabe, 18, Contributor

Lady Gaga is a popular singer and musician, known for her elaborate outfits and videos. Her first album came out in 2008, and she has since sold over 13 million albums. She appears on the cover of the September issue of Vogue Hommes Japan dressed as her male alter ego, “Jo Calderone.”

I’m not a Lady Gaga fan; all of the information above came from five minutes on Google. My interest in the photographs of her cross-dressing doesn’t lie in any interest in her music, but rather in the fact that I’m gender-fluid. This means that I identify as someone whose gender shifts between male, female and neither, as does the way I present myself to the outside world.

What’s Lady Gaga’s motivation for this stunt? Publicity? An opportunity to introduce “Jo Calderone” to the world? Real gender identity issues? I can’t tell you for sure, but I can guess that it’s probably just publicity.

This isn’t the first time a celebrity has taken advantage of taking on an LGBT identity. Anyone who remembers Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” can tell you that. Perry sang, “Ain’t no big deal, it’s innocent,” denying—both in the song and outside of it—that she has any actual attraction to girls.

How will Lady Gaga or “Jo” handle this? We don’t know yet, but I don’t anticipate tact and sensitivity towards transsexuals and cross-dressers. It’s not something most celebrities seem interested in bothering with.

—Leo Johnson, 14, Contributor