On Monday, the Vancouver School Board approved a policy change aimed at accommodating gender identity and sexual orientation. The motive is admirable enough, to prevent students being singled out, bullied or otherwise discriminated against on the basis of gender. The complexity derives from the board’s determination to allow not just for actual gender, but “perceived” gender, i.e. the gender the student identifies with, as opposed to the gender on their birth certificate. Parents who questioned the change argued, quite reasonably, that six-year-olds aren’t qualified to understand all the intricacies of identity issues. Some of them can’t even use the toilet yet, much less decide which washroom to do it in.
Nonetheless, the school board forged ahead, even deciding to adopt new pronouns for those who would rather pick no gender at all. A last-minute amendment mandated that “xe, xem and xyr” may be used in place of “he/she” or “him/her”. These are “sex-neutral third-person” terms used to repair the failure of the English language to allow for 21st century gender sensitivities. The British long ago began using the term “one” – as in “one does wish for a glass of water” — to get around this problem, but it’s viewed as a bit cold and snooty, and therefore undesirable.In addition to new pronouns, the Vancouver board also goes to considerable length to protect “privacy”, including, it would seem, keeping the student’s chosen new gender a secret from his/her or xyr parents. A provision in the policy notes that while the student’s chosen gender identity will “whenever possible” be included in class lists and timetables, “communications between school and home shall use a student’s legal name and the pronoun corresponding to the student’s gender assigned at birth” unless otherwise requested. It’s the student’s right to decide “when, with whom, and how much information to share”. They will also have the right “to dress in a manner consistent with their gender identity or gender expression,” even if that is “not consistent with societal expectations of masculinity/femininity.”
Students will be enabled to choose their preferred washroom, or “a reasonable alternative washroom” if they desire “increased privacy.” In such cases the alternative arrangement “will be provided in a way that protects the students’ ability to keep their trans status confidential.” It is not spelled out how other kids will be kept from reaching the obvious conclusion when students are seen using the “alternative washroom,” but that is one of the many difficulties that arises when school boards try to make hard and fast rules related to anything as amorphous as a young person’s self-image, particularly at a stage in development when identity issues are notoriously fraught and individuals are not at a level of maturity ideal for making such critical judgments.
B.C. Schools adopt “xyr” pronouns, work to shut parents out of the loop
If you’re not mad yet, read the end bit:
The policy was adopted amid much controversy, particularly from parents who accused school authorities of pushing their own agenda with inadequate consultation with parents and medical experts.
“We’re talking about meaningful conversation with parents and the medical and mental health professions. This is not meaningful conversation. This is politics of division, it’s getting people upset and angry,” an angry parent told the CBC. But board members were unmoved, treating parents as a threat to their own children.
“I didn’t realize how much opposition there was out there in our communities to keeping kids safe and included and welcome,” said board chairwoman Patti Bacchus, who declared herself “proud” of the changes.
Patti Bacchus clearly defines “safe and included” in a very, very special way.
I don’t know what to say about this horrific nonsense that I have not already said. A lot of kids are going to be hurt by this stuff. A lot. We probably won’t know the extent of it for many decades, because the nature of the hurt will be both private and something that it is forbidden to publicly discuss for a very, very long time. But as adults, we cannot let ourselves be cowed by the officious little twits like Patti Bacchus. We have to stand up and speak out about how toxic and psychotic this crap is. Because the kids can’t.
Take some inspiration from Ron:
And this is the latest among the many reasons why my children will never ever go to public school.
areudirty
theartofmadeline
turnnoffyourmind
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blakekathryn
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izzy806
