The Vale of Glamorgan Transgender Inclusion Schools Toolkit is due to be adopted by the local council on Monday. It is already in use in Merthyr Tydfil and is set to be adopted in Rhondda.
The insulting stereotypes on the cover and the title itself give some indication of the confusing message to children within the contents. “The body we are born into does not define who we are!” sounds like a positive statement – whether we are male or female should not restrict what we can do or dictate our interests, we should be free to be whoever we want to be. But it is misleading in this context. Correct, our bodies don’t define who we are but they do define what we are: male or female, boy or girl.
Boys and girls are male or female children who exist in the world. What the headline in this context actually means is that having a male body is no restriction to being a girl – in which case ‘girl’ has been redefined as a child of either sex with a particular personality type. What initially appears to be challenging gender stereotypes in fact reinforces them as the reality, while biological sex is relegated to a position of irrelevance.
It is important to recognise the difference between ‘challenging gender stereotypes’ and ‘blurring the distinction between the sexes.’
It is worrying that guidance is being recommended which forces schools to adopt new ideology-based language and definitions of words. Words have meanings. ‘Gender’ and ‘sex’ have distinct definitions which should not be used interchangeably to mean the same thing, as they are in this guidance. The replacement of the word ‘girls’ with ‘cisgendered females’ redefines girls as a ‘gender identity’ rather than a sex, taking away their recognition as a distinct group protected as the female sex under the Equality Act 2010. The redefinition of homosexuals as people whose sexual orientation is towards the ‘same gender’ rather than same-sex attraction fundamentally alters the meaning of ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian.’
In both cases it is the most vulnerable children who are affected: the gay and lesbian children who are being influenced to understand themselves as ‘straight’ (but in the wrong body) and girls whose rights to single-sex spaces are taken away, along with the right to have any boundaries with the male sex or to define their own reality without being seen as ‘transphobic.’
It is of great concern that ‘gender variant’ is being conflated with ‘trans’ and that children are being taught a new model of understanding their non-conformity as being ‘born in the wrong body.’ Teachers especially need to understand the social contagion that has led to unprecedented numbers of teenage girls, mostly lesbians, redefining themselves according to this model after learning about it from Tumblr and trans YouTube vloggers. Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria is a completely new phenomenon: there needs to be a debate about the numbers of young lesbians disfiguring themselves with harmful breast binders and planning their double mastectomies. Teachers should not be expected to unquestioningly support pupils to self-harm as this guidance suggests.
We cannot base schools guidance on least likely outcomes. Transgender youth organisations frighten parents with the threat that their child may commit suicide if not allowed to ‘transition’ although they present no evidence to support that contention; in fact by far the most likely outcome is that a child’s gender dysphoria will naturally resolve without intervention. Around 80% of children with gender dysphoria will grow out of it during puberty and we can’t know which ones; gender confusion in childhood is far more predictive of lesbian or gay sexual orientation in adulthood rather than transsexualism.
Transgender adults represent the minority outcome and yet we are basing schools policies on the assumption that all these children are transgender. Once we label a child ‘transgender’ we set them on a pathway of social transition followed almost inevitably by a medical pathway very few come off once they start. If they start in early puberty they are likely to lose both fertility and sexual function. We don’t yet know all the outcomes of this medical treatment as this is so new, so these children are unwittingly taking part in a medical experiment.
This schools guidance does not reflect the thoughtfulness and need for caution expressed by the clinical professionals at the Tavistock gender clinic nor the ‘watch and wait’ approach advocated by The Royal College of Psychiatrists. Teachers are left uninformed about the current debates in this area amongst professionals in the field.
They may also be unaware that the guidance is misleading on Equality law regarding single-sex facilities, sports and accommodation. Girls have rights and protections based on their sex as females which this guidance makes no reference to.
This is what the guidance says about sports:
And this is what the Equality Act 2010 actually says:
The guidance states this about facilities which are normally segregated on the basis of sex for reasons of privacy:
Schedule 3 of the Equality Act allows for separate single-sex services where privacy is an issue and a member of one sex might reasonably object to the presence of someone of the opposite sex. The EHRC specifies the application of this guidance in schools in their Technical Guidance:
The schools toolkit gives this advice about shared accommodation on residential trips:
This is what Equality law actually says:
At no point in the Vale of Glamorgan transgender inclusion schools toolkit are the rights and protections of girls even considered, nor the views of their parents sought.
Given the shameful prevalence of sexual harassment and abuse of girls in schools, to take away existing protections and put them at further risk through so-called ‘gender neutral’ (but in reality ‘mixed sex’) toilets, changing-rooms and overnight accommodation is a willful act of negligence and dereliction of duty of care towards girls. Any guidance recommended for schools must be subject to normal levels of scrutiny before recommendation for use, but it seems that in the case of transgender inclusion schools toolkits one lobby group has been given free reign to direct policy without challenge.
Schools should absolutely be supporting children and adolescents who are suffering gender dysphoria or struggling with identity issues and schools need robust policies to ensure that these children are not bullied. However, this should not be done by enforcing the beliefs of one group onto everyone, or taking away the right to privacy and sexual boundaries of every other child in the school. The facts of biological sex differences are the basis of protection and safeguarding of children and no school policy should be attempting to obscure them.
Transgender inclusion schools toolkits are being written by transgender organisations and adopted by local councils all over the UK. Since writing about a selection of them last year, new guidance has been published for Forth Valley and Barnsley and there has been a new toolkit created with contributions from County Councils in Birmingham, Warwickshire, Kent, Sheffield, Oxfordshire, Doncaster, Nottinghamshire, Barnsley and Leicestershire, which is based on the Brighton & Hove Allsorts toolkit, the final draft of which was approved by Gendered Intelligence.
All parents are stakeholders and have the right to be informed of school policies which will affect their child. Please contact your child’s school and ask them which guidance they are using. Our schools pack protects the rights of all children and advocates a more cautious, thoughtful approach towards children and adolescents who are struggling with gender issues. If you would like to share this with your child’s school you can download it here: bit.ly/GNCpack.
The Vale of Glamorgan toolkit is disturbing as it seems by the article to raise more questions than answers but at the same time the person writing this article seems not to have a grasp of the difference between Sex and Gender, If the article is read the author interchanges the words sex and gender as if they mean the same thing, and they are not.when making a valid objection to what is happening in this field the words need to be used correctly as they are two different things. Gender is what the body is born as or the individual sees them selves as, either a Boy or a girl. If the perception is opposite the birth body, the person id deemed to be Gender Dysphoric. Many people seem to relate that someone is a “sex” which is inaccurate as sex is something we do in the bedroom with a partner, either “straight” sex, or gay. Gender is our body, sec is what we do in a bedroom with our partners. The terms are not interchangable, and increasingly to define our bodies on official forms it now asks your gender instead of your “sex”. Both camps for and against this both make the same mistake. At the same time it should be questioned why School authorities are allowing this sort of information to be pushed to youth that could be irreversibly scarred by a wrong diagnosis of a condition. Would it not be more sensible and productive to give a child good counselling with a medical professional rather than pushing a propaganda leaflet?
“Gender” is sometimes used as a synonym for a person’s biological sex. The word “gender” isn’t clearly defined and, if possible, should be avoided altogether.
I cannot believe how much action is and has been taken without thinking through the issues for all concerned and the reality unfolding here and now………… not to mention fairness and respect
I mean the unfairness of men who identify as women competing against women born women who have a physical advantage in strength and sometimes height and respect re women born womens ‘ spaces that should be protected
Janey i hear your comment n your reply, and it raises certain issues , though those are quite apart from issues raised over the meetings to “support” children over Gender issues in school. I am of the opinion that who, or whatever you may be, live and let live. This includes people who are ethnic, mentally challenged, physically challenge educationally challenged, people who have complaints and issues about things and even Gender Dysphoric people. The problem is that Gender Dysphoric people are gaining entry to schools and trying to teach children about “Gender Equality”, leading to the right for Gender Reassignment.
It does not matter who you are, Gender Dysphoric, or a person who is quite happy in their own body, you have to ask why this is happening. It is one thing to support a child with Gender issues, something quite different to actively encourage that hormones and surgery are taken at an early age. What are local education authorities doing about this, as they have a legal obligation to protect a child from harm whilst in their care?
This is insane. It arises because the government, blinded by its role as the leader of PC policies, does everything the trans lobby requires, including running the schools trans policies, and the lobby’s heavies silence any questioning let alone dissent. The asylum, if you like, is in the hands of the lunatics. I recently wrote to the Government Equalities Office as follows (inter alia):
‘It needs to be seen by all of us once and for all that this divorce of gender from its biological placement and its transfer into the head (between the ears, not between the legs, one may say) is based on a newly-fashioned mental construct that has no basis in or connection to reality; in other words it is a nonsense. It is no more than a fantasy that gender is not biological but exists in the mind of the person.’
And I asked them to ask themselves:
‘Is the new ideology that we have unleashed here benefiting anyone except the activists who suggested it to us, or is it bidding fair to damage a large part of society?”
And I ended:
‘Most of the transitioners are not actually transgender, that is to say they are not suffering from gender dysphoria. Most are unhappy for a different reason, but they see transgender as a panacea for their problems. Others are simply caught up in a social movement, what some of their peers are doing, and don’t want to be left out, think it will be fun to go along with it. This is the monster that you have created for us.
What has all this got to do with creating equality for transgender people? I am fairly sure that the great majority of transgender people have no interest at all in what the activists are doing, have no interest in changing society in this pernicious fashion, want only to lead a quiet life without discrimination or victimisation. How does it help a transgender person to feel and be equal when you adopt the agenda of the lobby in this fashion? What it does do, however, is create a considerate amount of hostility towards them, or at any rate towards the activists, as you may have noticed.
You have placed yourselves at their beck and call and let them ride roughshod over society, spreading their warped ideology into schools, drawing children and young people into their net and stamping on any dissenting voices. ‘
I think parents and schools teachers and governors should be consulted before they go ahead teaching this unscientific dangerous nonsense. I am a woman and refuse to be renamed cis anything. This trans cult mania is being pushed on us by the porn industry and pharmaceutical industries and those who provide surgery. Our children must be allowed to live in the healthy bodies they were born with.
Your sex refers to the chromosomes in your cells which you were born with. You are either male or female and visible genitalia indicate which you are.
Gender refers to roles commonly ascribed to male and female and can differ widely in different societies depending on all sorts of things including the level of education of a society or its religious culture.
In an educated enlightened society men can be homemakers, pastry cooks, firemen and engineers and any number of other things. Women can be homemakers, pastry cooks, firemen and engineers and any number of other things.
It is a delusion that you can change your sex. Born a male always a male. Born a female always a female. Your sex is unchangeable no matter how many hormones you take or what you chop off.
However we are all free to pursue whatever lifestyle we choose.
Children should be able to be children and be left alone to observe the world for themselves. They do not need a group of self interested adults interfering in their childhoods and raising all this utter nonsense and anxiety for them and their parents.
Sad, sad, sad.
LEAVE THE KIDS ALONE
Scout may i give you the definition of Gender, and also Sex, as listed by google, which is this,
gender
ˈdʒɛndə/Submit
noun
1.
the state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones).
“traditional concepts of gender”
ans the definition of sex is,
sex
sɛks/Submit
noun
1.
(chiefly with reference to people) sexual activity, including specifically sexual intercourse.
“he enjoyed talking about sex”
synonyms: sexual intercourse, intercourse, lovemaking, making love, sex act, sexual relations, sexual/vaginal/anal penetration;
The second definition of Sex is,
2.
either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and most other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions.
“adults of both sexes”
synonyms: gender
“adults of both sexes”
By this definition anyone who had surgery would be of no sex whatsoever, or Gender either.
Although you say we are all free to pursue whatever lifestyle we choose, I feel ther is a certain vitriol with regard to your consideration of people who have Gender Issues. Quite apart from this observation, i agree with your final words on the subject, leave kids alone.
There is so much sense talked here coupled with justifiable outrage at the toxic PC mania of the authorities that I do not understand why there is not a movement formed to get its voice properly heard. Surely every parent virtually in the land would understand the danger posed for their children and would want to be heard saying as much.
Charles their is no protest group because in terms of schools nationwide there is little awareness by parents as its such a new phenomena
I agree Charles. The problem is that many let’s say most parents have no idea what is going on.
Many women are trying to get their voices heard. Check out: A Woman’s Place is speaking out in Wales.
I attended this event which eventually was held at a secret venu because of the activities of trans activists in their quest to shut it down.
Free speech, you’re joking! There were women there who did not want to be in photos as they feared for their jobs!
You could write a letter to your MP, not an email, that will be ignored . I am in the process of arranging a meeting with mine.
We can only hope that when enough adults find out what is happening, common sense will prevail.
I have been writing letters for months now (and I had an article in the Medicolegal Journal for December. My letters to journalists who appear to be on our side are usually ignored. My letters to government bodies (English, Scottish and Welsh) receive polite replies which simply restate their blinkered position, show that they have no understanding at all of the reality of things and say how proud they are of the way they are helping transgender people (in the equality stakes)!. I will try my MP.
The issue of trans should not be defined under the heading of PC; the meaning of which has become anything but political correctness.
The shape and content of our individual birth body defines our biological sex. To deny this as the trans lobby insists upon, is to stare into an ideological abyss and a life of deception of self and others. No one is born with the ‘wrong’ body.
There should be no question of changing the shape of the human body to comply with an outstanding and persistent delusion; that of our patriarchal rule of socially engineered behaviour and appearence; male dominanance, female compliance.
If male born persons wish to dress as ‘women’, so be it. However it does not transform them into female no matter how much they wish or insist.
Children deserve to be told the truth of human biology and sex; not this trumped up non sense and lies.
Such madness.
Excellent analysis Joan.
So well expressed! Why are influential sane people not creating and publicising a movement to put a halt to this dangerous madness? Our children are personally and societally our best and most loved asset, now and for the future. And these ghastly activists with their self-interested toxic rubbish are damaging them., Surely someone can get a movement going — and invite every parent in the land to join it.
Charles Lewis, i am sure that there are quite a few Transgendered People who would wish this issue would go away as they only wish to be included in society and participate in that society. The problem arises when so called Transgendered Activists (and their sympathisers) start this sort of thing in schools. I would like to know how schools are allowing these gender classes as to my mind they do not fit into the school curriculum in any way whatsoever.
It is the Department for Education, the Government Equality Office and the local education authority who are welcoming these destructive people into the schools — to teach the children about transgender !!
Charles Lewis, In broad terms they are not actually “teaching” anything. Allthey are doing is spreading their own opinion from their perspective, there is no teaching whatsoever. And how are they managing to be allowed to do this when it is not a subject on the school teaching lists? It is not on the curriculum just as Muslim extremism isnt. How come then it is allowed?
The ‘excuse’ is that ‘equality’ (for transgender people) demands it. It doesn’t, of course, but the TG lobby has managed to lead the government, who are totally blinkered by PC virtue-signalling, by the nose, so that the government has given them carte blanche to promote and spread in our schools their toxic propaganda based as it is on their ludicrous self-serving beliefs about ‘gender.