British Schools Capitulate to Gender Ideology

Asleep at the Wheel, a damning report from Policy Exchange, a conservative think tank based in London, has revealed the majority of Britain’s secondary schools are exposing children to hard-line gender ideology without parental consent. Under the Freedom of Information Act, Policy Exchange asked 304 random secondary schools in England to clarify their policies on gender, with specific reference to self-identification, transitioning, toilets and changing rooms, teaching, and parental notification. Of the 154 schools to reply, the key findings were as follows:

• Only 28% of schools inform parents immediately when a child discloses feelings of ‘gender distress.’
• Four in ten schools operate policies of gender self-identification.
• At least 28% of schools are not maintaining single sex toilets, 19% are not maintaining single-sex changing rooms, and 60% are allowing children to participate in sports with the opposite sex.
• 69% of schools are requiring other children to affirm a ‘gender-distressed’ child’s new identity.
• 72% of schools are teaching that people have a gender identity that may be different from their biological sex.
• 25% of schools are teaching that some people or children may be born in the wrong body.
• 30% of schools are teaching pupils that a person who self-identifies as a man or a woman should be treated as a man or woman in all circumstances, even if this does not match their biological sex.

This is particularly concerning in the case of parental consent, as it appears almost three-quarters of schools are either misinterpreting the law, or are guilty of over-reach in their loco parentis duties:

The Children Act of 1989 states explicitly that parental involvement in the life of their child is paramount. No other body is to assume parental responsibility for a child unless the court intervenes. The law is clear that parental involvement in a child’s life should be prioritised. Parental responsibility “means all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property.” Those who have parental responsibility for a child should be empowered to make decisions for that child and receive information about them. This is especially important for the sake of children who disclose gender-distress at school.

What is behind the prodigious rise in gender dysphoria amongst the young, and why are schools so keen to embrace it? The report argues that the past decade has witnessed the growing influence of external (and often partisan) agencies, who have translated generous government funding into the installation of contested gender identity within schools—agencies such as Stonewall, The Proud Trust, and The Rainbow Flag Award. While this is no doubt the case, there are many other factors at play here.

Gender dysphoria is now unequivocally promoted by the mainstream, particularly in the case of ‘transwomen’ who (as biological men) are ironically considered to be one of society’s most oppressed groups. From drag shows for toddlers, social media influencers with corporate sponsorship deals, politicians who wear their feigned ignorance of gender like a badge of honour, celebrities who change gender according to the weather, and ‘Woman of the Year’ awards for men—society has cemented the notion that gender is exclusively a social construct.

Anyone who dares contradict this narrative faces vitriolic opprobrium. The author JK Rowling, whose crime appears to be believing only women menstruate, has received death threats, and witnessed a 74% drop in profits for her ‘anti-trans’ stance. Women’s rights campaigner, Kellie-Jay Keen (aka Posie Parker) was assaulted last month and cancelled by trans activists. But it’s not just high-profile cases. Teachers too have come under fire in the UK, despite the best of intentions. Kevin Lister, a maths teacher from Swindon, wassacked last year for refusing to use a student’s preferred pronouns without first obtaining parental consent. Clearly believing parents ought to be involved in such a fundamental decision marked Lister down as a blatant transphobic.

Then, there are the children themselves. These children are not only enthralled by social media, but have spent the best part of the last two years under COVID lockdowns, saturated in precious little else. Ten years ago, the now defunct Tavistock and Portman Trust saw just 250 referrals for its Gender Identity Development Service per annum, most of whom were boys. Fast forward to the present, and of the thousands referred to gender clinics, teenage girls make up 90% of them. This is hardly surprising, given that girls’ mental health is affected earlier, and also more negatively than boys. Moreover, many schools are now ‘celebrating’ record numbers of pupils with ‘gender identity’ issues, in much the same way they used to celebrate a glowing Ofsted report. In terms of the mental health of the nation’s children, this is unsustainable.

With the possible exception of Katharine Birbalsingh, I’m not sure how many education professionals would advocate a return to Victorian values, but there is certainly something to be said for a more ‘stiff upper lip’ approach. It is no surprise to me that my favourite (and I believe best) teachers were always the strictest, and while compassion and kindness certainly have their place in the classroom, there is a danger that our education system is simply being overwhelmed with fripperies. Far more crucially than that however, is the simple fact: the trans ideology is unquestionably dangerous and has irreversible consequences.

While the long-term effects of chest binding for girls are unknown, a study of almost 2,000 participants revealed 97% experienced negative side effects. These include shortness of breath, chest pain, and scarring. The most common medical intervention, puberty blockers, are marketed as reversible, but several studies suggest this is not the case, revealing lasting developmental consequences for the adolescent brain. Meanwhile, the long-term effects of cross-sex hormones are substantial: including infertility, heightened risk of cancer and blood clots, and a six-fold increase in heart attacks and strokes. And then there is gender-reassignment surgery itself, with one in ten surgeries resulting in death and one in three patients experiencing somatic morbidity, not to mention the need to take puberty blockers and sex hormones for life.

While we should naturally exercise caution in drawing widespread conclusions from last month’s mass murder in Nashville by transgender shooter Audrey Hale, the causal narrative connecting gender confusion and violence is not difficult to conceive. Such heinous crimes should encourage restraint from those in authority, pushing such an agenda onto impressionable minds. Prime Minister Sunak has expressed his concerns, promising new guidelines for schools by the summer, but I’d go further. Schools should not under any circumstances be actively encouraging children to question their identity. Instead, they should be focussing on their actual remit: the three R’s (reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic). Gender ideology may be the latest fashion, but it has irreversible consequences for those who fall victim to it. This is tragic, because as we know only too well, four out of five children who question their gender grow out of it. It’s time for a return to sanity: adults who protect children from the most foolish of notions, and teachers who educate rather than indoctrinate their students.

This piece first appeared in The European Conservative, and is reproduced by kind permission.

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