The Gender Unicorn
Discussion
Nanook said:
230TE said:
My immediate reaction is to think that anyone taking an interest in the sexual orientation of schoolchildren should probably be on the Sex Offenders Register, but possibly I'm just an old reactionary dinosaur.
Yeah, I agree. With the 'old reactionary dinosaur' part.
aw51 121565 said:
Well, at least the Gender Unicorn makes a (less detailed) change to the Genderbread Person used in the UK...
Teachers are not happy teaching this stuff (actually, they deride it), as it makes "other" kids more prone to bullying (an unintended consequence) in their experience. And schools are getting pulled in Ofsted inspections if they don't cover all aspects of this issue. And this is in primary school, not secondary.
But the cherry-picked comments by the kids being taught this say it is really interesting and helpful.
Note to any Education Minister, present or future: listen to the staff at the chalk face, take on board their comments, act on those comments and stop micromanaging as the teachers actually know far more about the job than you ever will.
When you say 'teachers', do you mean yourself?Teachers are not happy teaching this stuff (actually, they deride it), as it makes "other" kids more prone to bullying (an unintended consequence) in their experience. And schools are getting pulled in Ofsted inspections if they don't cover all aspects of this issue. And this is in primary school, not secondary.
But the cherry-picked comments by the kids being taught this say it is really interesting and helpful.
Note to any Education Minister, present or future: listen to the staff at the chalk face, take on board their comments, act on those comments and stop micromanaging as the teachers actually know far more about the job than you ever will.
Can you suggest an alternative that does actually meet the need to acknowledge to primary aged kids that other-than-straight and other-than-cisgender kids exist, and indeed that any given child may be one or both?
Nothing can make a kid more prone to bullying than what those of us growing up in the era before this stuff was available to youngsters lived through - or indeed failed to live through. Bullying isn't a consequence of information.
Without this 'micromanagement' the vast majority of teachers in the UK, who are of course heterosexual and cis, would not acknowledge that this stuff existed. That's how it was before, remember? And it got LGBT* kids hurt, in our thousands. Hurt and sometimes dead. And the teachers who DID acknowledge it existed were targeted by school management and/or by parents. Section 28 wasn't all that long ago.
The Crack Fox said:
williamp said:
Already been done:
Other can include hybrid, of course...
Why do people need to tick boxes? In what scenario would anyone ever need to state this? I hate this sOther can include hybrid, of course...
t.i really couldn't care less how people define themselves- itsnone of my, or anyone elses business. Nor is it their business to tell me about their lives. I just dont care either way.
what i care about is how people treat each other, and what their personal goals, strengths and motivations are.
Johnnytheboy said:
Is the term still LGBT?
I heard a very PC Radio 4 programme the other week with two interviewees pointedly referring to "LGBTI" and "LGBTQ", so I guess one of them is going to be the next acronym.
The asterisk was me covering my bases. I heard a very PC Radio 4 programme the other week with two interviewees pointedly referring to "LGBTI" and "LGBTQ", so I guess one of them is going to be the next acronym.
I very often use LGBTQ because I know quite a few people who prefer 'queer' to other terms. You can end up with something like LGBTIAAQ if you're trying to be really complete with it, which really doesn't work if you can't remember/pronounce/spell it, so… yeah, catch-all asterisk. FlyingMeeces said:
The asterisk was me covering my bases. I very often use LGBTQ because I know quite a few people who prefer 'queer' to other terms. You can end up with something like LGBTIAAQ if you're trying to be really complete with it, which really doesn't work if you can't remember/pronounce/spell it, so… yeah, catch-all asterisk.
Seems they'd be better defining it as [^s]! I very often use LGBTQ because I know quite a few people who prefer 'queer' to other terms. You can end up with something like LGBTIAAQ if you're trying to be really complete with it, which really doesn't work if you can't remember/pronounce/spell it, so… yeah, catch-all asterisk. Johnnytheboy said:
Is the term still LGBT?
I heard a very PC Radio 4 programme the other week with two interviewees pointedly referring to "LGBTI" and "LGBTQ", so I guess one of them is going to be the next acronym.
The first one doesn't have carbs, and the second wasn't made up of 100% new parts.I heard a very PC Radio 4 programme the other week with two interviewees pointedly referring to "LGBTI" and "LGBTQ", so I guess one of them is going to be the next acronym.
I think anything that can be done to avoid kids having to go through the pain is worthwhile, I think it is a lot easier nowadays compared to in the past, massively so, but the main issue is really the home and the attitudes of parents.
I have three sons, I have been careful to make it very clear that I have no anti LGBT views, I think life is too short to spend much time on worrying over sexuality, it pretty much is what it is, none of this kind of stuff will turn anyone gay, which seems to be the fear, all it may do is make it easier for people to come out where previously they may have repressed it and followed the cultural norm of getting married and having kids, causing way more angst when it all eventually went horribly wrong.
I dont think you can make anyone gay like this, try telling a strait teenage lad he is gay and may prefer boys, may as well tell the dog he prefer salad to steak !
I cant imagine all the pain and suicides stuff like this has caused, imagine being gay in the ME or even the Mid West of America ?
I have three sons, I have been careful to make it very clear that I have no anti LGBT views, I think life is too short to spend much time on worrying over sexuality, it pretty much is what it is, none of this kind of stuff will turn anyone gay, which seems to be the fear, all it may do is make it easier for people to come out where previously they may have repressed it and followed the cultural norm of getting married and having kids, causing way more angst when it all eventually went horribly wrong.
I dont think you can make anyone gay like this, try telling a strait teenage lad he is gay and may prefer boys, may as well tell the dog he prefer salad to steak !
I cant imagine all the pain and suicides stuff like this has caused, imagine being gay in the ME or even the Mid West of America ?
FlyingMeeces said:
Nothing can make a kid more prone to bullying than what those of us growing up in the era before this stuff was available to youngsters lived through - or indeed failed to live through.
That's a massive statement to make. Any evidence to back up that nothing can make a kid more prone to bullying than this?School time and resources is limited. Why does this issue make the cut above many other issues. I would say that depression is far more likely to effect a much larger number of children during their lives. Why not have a lesson to teach children to help identify if they, a friend or a family member might be suffering instead?
I'm not saying the issue isn't important, I'm just struggling to understand why it's given such importance?
alock said:
FlyingMeeces said:
Nothing can make a kid more prone to bullying than what those of us growing up in the era before this stuff was available to youngsters lived through - or indeed failed to live through.
That's a massive statement to make. Any evidence to back up that nothing can make a kid more prone to bullying than this?School time and resources is limited. Why does this issue make the cut above many other issues. I would say that depression is far more likely to effect a much larger number of children during their lives. Why not have a lesson to teach children to help identify if they, a friend or a family member might be suffering instead?
I'm not saying the issue isn't important, I'm just struggling to understand why it's given such importance?
I very much hope that PSHE (is it still called that?) does indeed still help kids dealing with health conditions for themselves or in the family, but trans or gay etc children *are already there*, in numbers vaguely estimated to be up to about 10%, and the levels of depression and the death rate by suicide is absolutely sky-high in trans young people who are not being supported correctly.
voyds9 said:
gothatway said:
Doesn't help. Does it stand for something ?
It's a term taken from organic chemistry.Isomers are chemicals with the same atoms but arranged differently
The different isomers are termed cis and trans
Specifically, and please forgive the approximately 10 minutes of classics education my secondary school could afford, I think 'cis' is 'same' where 'trans' indicates a crossing-over.
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff