The new Scottish Schools Guidance is a charter for groomers
The Scottish Government aims to drive a wedge between parents and their children
This is adapted from a thread by @STILLTish
So the new guidance for Transgender “kids” in schools is out for Scottish folks. Having looked at many of these guidance packs I see many common themes.
Signed off by Shirley Ann Somerville. Cabinet Secretary for Education and skills. Apparently they will be producing something on “Gender Equality” , which we used to call “SEXism”. But we don’t talk about that any more.
On the plus side they did actually get the legally protected characteristics correct. Yes, it’s #SexNotGender that is legally protected.
They acknowledge that we have a problem with men who abuse women but they seek to provide reassurance. It’s not “trans” people that we should fear it’s “abusive men”. The kind that would gain entry to a rape crisis centre? The type who think rape victims should be open to men?
Anecdotal tales from trans people are littered throughout the guidance. One of them may just be a male who was excluded from the female showers? Seems odd to frame a girl’s desire for bodily privacy as “discrimination” but this is where we are.
Naturally, it includes statistics (self-reported) that claims a whopping 64% of “transgender kids” face suicidal ideation. Remember this, because they repeatedly say there is NO SAFEGUARDING RISK and parents can be kept in the dark.
They intend this guidance to be used in Primary Schools and, of course, they use the captured language of “sex assigned at birth” as if we randomly allocate kids into a sexed category. Also what does “live as a girl” mean?
Note the use of age 12 as an age in which children are deemed to have capacity for “certain decisions”. This is important because it redefines our children as able to make adult decisions. More on this later.
Frequent reference is made to #HateCrime and legal sanctions, how to report a crime and, remember, a hate crime is defined by how the recipient receives it. There is no objective test. Note also age of criminal responsibility is included in the guidance.
A male pupil who identifies as a girl may wish to hide their sex from fellow pupils. This means a girl may be undressing with a male and completely oblivious to their sex or totally aware but not able to express her concern.
The “transgender” pupils are allowed to access the facilities, including changing rooms, that validate their gender identity and don’t correspond to their sex. Who is in charge of protecting girls in the Scottish Education system? Sadly the people who think this guidance is OK.
Any parents or pupils who express concern are to be “educated” to dispel any “misconceptions”. A male, in a male body (which they all will be) is inappropriate in a female space. Girls have the right to male-free changing regardless of surgical status.
Really mixed messages in the guidance. Schools are going to be left to navigate this terrain and legal implications. This is cowardly. My “trans-identifying” (and male) kid was accommodated without breaching girls boundaries. That is the way to do it. Girls aren’t validation aids.
The guidance does cover the right to single-sex sports but here they say the kids should be able to choose which team they play on. Later they accept sex-specific sports but only if they are deemed to be “competitive”. Again a hopeless fudge.
We still have guidance to schools to check no girls are suffering “breast-ironing” but here the binding of a girls breasts is normalised.
That guidance on breast ironing and #SafeGuarding.
Some research on the harms of breast binding. Link from @BayswaterSG for any concerned parents with “trans-identifying” offspring.
Recall that we have just been told of a massive risk of suicidal thoughts. Not a “child protection issue”? No need to tell the parents because WE might cause our own child “stress” and we might be a “risk” to our kids!
Parents have good reason to be careful of “affirming” our teenager’s “gender identity”. We don’t want them to be part of the inevitable tsunami of regret-filled detransitioners. There will be an epidemic of this within a decade. It’s already started.
The school then offers itself as a safe space for a teenager to disagree with their parents and the school will, it appears, “affirm” teenage rebellion against a parent. It seems creating a wedge between parent and child is somewhat of a theme in these trans guidance packs.
I have looked at dozens of these transgender guidance packs. Blogged on a few. Here is one I did on how parents are routinely demonised/schools encouraged to lie to us.
https://gendercriticalwoman.wordpress.com/2020/07/31/putting-the-loco-in-loco-parentis/
Of course they signpost parents to the controversial charity “Mermaids”.
The schools are recommended to celebrate “Transgender” identity. This, despite knowing that for many kids this means becoming a lifelong medical patient. That should never be “celebrated”. It is grossly irresponsible.
I wonder if they celebrate gay males and lesbians with a list of role models? Here they decide Juno Dawson is a suitable role model. I wonder if they thought about the impact on young gay males?
Juno Dawson famously said being gay was a consolation prize for men who were too scared to transition. This was in a, now removed, article for Attitude mag. Bit homophobic Juno!
Here is more nonsense. Lesbians are same-sex attracted. So are gay males. This guidance detaches the, legally, protected characteristic of SEXual orientation from sexed bodies. No wonder we need LGB alliance. What about the gay kids in these schools?
Just in case parents were in any doubt the guidance reminds staff there is no need to inform parents and quotes some scary human rights stuff. I am always wary of groups pushing “children’s rights” to give informed consent. They don’t stop there.
Here they are explicit that any child of 12 is presumed to have sufficient capacity and has the right to engage a solicitor to embark on “medical treatment”, by which, they surely mean cross-sex hormones. AGE 12!
I took a detour to have a look at some of the resources they recommend. One of them was a YouTube series called My Genderation. This was a propaganda puff piece for a female on puberty blockers from age 9. They are not a “pause” by the way. 98% progress to cross-sex hormones.
I noted the filmmaker (Fox Fisher) who was involved in promoting trans identity to kids. This film ends up in a “trans museum” showing amputated breasts. Fox also has an interesting attitude to homosexuality which is looking like a theme.
This was an aside shared by Fox at a Mermaids weekend camp for “transkids”.
Here’s a link to the document. I didn’t cover all of it but here’s the primary source for anyone who wants to address any other issues.
Intel on one of the resources in the guidance. This book Beyond Magenta was on the reading list. I am told it has now disappeared but I always download the documents. Wait for it….
Via @DrBruceScott Sex at six years old!
Thanks for this Tish. Part of me wants to crack a joke at the “progressive” Scottish government, but honestly after reading this I just can’t go through with it.
The Scottish government is literally telling kids that they are wrong, their bodies are wrong, their sexual orientation is wrong, and that to be normal they should subject themselves to what is effectively medical self-harm.
Let alone telling girls that their desire for privacy and dignity is wrong, and that they need to allow males into their private spaces. We are crying out for schools to challenge misogyny and male entitlement, and this is just 100mph in the opposite direction, telling girls that they are hateful if they object to the presence of boys and men.
I enjoy a dose of schadenfreude but there will be absolutely none to be found when this disaster is plain to everyone and we are counting the toll in children’s irreversibly damaged bodies and mental health. There will be nothing to be said and nothing to be done that will be able to make amends for the wave of misery that will break over us.
If the "health and wellbeing of every child and young person must be at the heart of our decision making" why is the Scottish government encouraging teachers to deceive children about the material reality of their lives?