Teacher's

Following staff ‘training’ by LGBT Youth Scotland I and other members of school staff were alarmed at the speed at which gender identity ideology was promoted within our school community.  Other members of staff who took part were enthused. Here are some quotes from staff regarding their thoughts on the outcome of the training: 

• One staff member wrote they now understand, ‘the importance of being young person led and not perceiving LGBT identities as a child protection issue’. 

• Another said they would now have, ‘the confidence to ask young people about their gender identity and the pronouns they are using to establish their identity for themselves and socially among others’. 

• And another indicated, ‘gaining an appreciation of the spectrum of gender identity’.

After an assembly encouraging

children to ‘be whatever gender identity they wanted’, an S2 boy confided in me. 

‘I feel uncomfortable about it, but thought if I say anything the school will be angry. I feel intimidated by K (a trans identifying girl). She asked me, ‘what gender are you?’, but I don’t know. She wants others to do the same as her.’

The lives of some of our most vulnerable young people and their families were affected. 

I received emails on two occasions, requesting that parents are not informed when their daughters have chosen to self-identify as boys, one as young as 13 years. These emails were sent from the LGBT club teacher and not a guidance teacher, nor was there any diagnosis of gender dysphoria. 

Emails have continued announcing name changes, in one case the seventh name, and pronouns of a number of girls wanting to be boys.

The acceptance of gender identity ideology in our schools has created ‘trans kids’, in our case all girls. Staff are asked to ‘affirm’ the desires of the girls even knowing many of the girls have other mental health issues and are not receiving psychological help. Autism features among the trans identifying girls too.

A number of boys have expressed their discomfort and embarrassment to me personally at the possibility of a self-identifying girl using their changing areas or toilets, but feel silenced by the fear that their legitimate feelings of non-consent may be perceived as ‘transphobic’. In one case a boy

was told by the PE teacher that it was ‘equalities’ and should not say any more.

I have spoken extensively with the headmaster and depute heads and joined our council’s staff equalities group. I have been listened to fairly but the situation remains unchanged.

Here are some comments from S3 pupils:

• It would be embarrassing for girls when dealing with sanitary products knowing there may be a boy in the next cubicle
• It’s weird
• It’s awkward
• I avoid all eye contact across sinks
• You can hear everything
• I wouldn’t like a person of the opposite sex to come out of the one beside me
• Pink/blue is annoying

My child was bullied for not using different pronouns for a classmate in Primary 6. The classmate changed name and pronouns several times. 

My child was reprimanded, sent to the head teacher and ostracised in the playground with messages of 'be kind' hurled. 

I also have first hand experience with my daughter - bullied and intimidated into affirming gender ideology in the name of inclusion.

She may be suffering anxiety over this and has even missed school, but she knows her truth.

My child was cancelled via Snapchat message by a friend who said she 'can't risk being associated with you, for my future' because she said that she'd read JK Rowling's essay and it didn't seem that bad.

My son got admonished and piled on in class because he referred to an absent friend as 'he', a very obvious male who decided 3 days before that he was now 'she'

Daughter (14 at the time) was added to a WhatsApp group at her private girls school, instructing on how to 'trans' and what to say to doctors. When she objected, moths of ostracism, late night harassing phone calls and bullying followed. Ring leader physically threatened my daughter

My 16 year old daughter has, for 2 years, been the target of a hate campaign that spread through her year and beyond school - because she said she didn't believe TWAW. She was called a transphobic **** and attacked on social media. She was told to educate herself, yet she's the one who's read loads on the subject and made up her own mind. 

Friends were told not to speak to her or they'd be shunned. She was excluded from chat groups and in real life socialising. Luckily a few friends have stayed with her. 2 privately said they agree with her, some have decided they can agree to disagree.

Friends son got a behaviour point for saying 'Goodbye, Sir' to his 'non-binary' bearded male teacher, when leaving the classroom. Apparently he was supposed to use their first name. Seems a bit extreme to me. 

My daughter was removed from her friendship group of 6 girls because they invited a new girl in who would change gender at a whim.  She had different names for how she identified at certain times. All the girls but mine participated in this. 

When the girl would switch gendered, my daughter would continue to call her by her given name. The others would disparage her for 'being hateful'. My daughter said she wasn't doing that as the girl was quite clearly a girl. 

My teenage child is dyslexic and as part of this at times struggles with short term working memory and language processing. He can find it difficult to remember and use the ‘correct’ names and pronouns of trans and non-binary peers. 

Especially when these are changed regularly – sometimes on a weekly basis. When he made a mistake and misgendered another pupil he then had to deal with hostility from that pupil and disapproval from the class teacher. 

My son described how this was a genuine mistake and he finds remembering to use pronouns confusing. I believe that a school policy of compelled speech on gender identity/pronouns is ablest in approach and doesn’t allow for pupils, like my son, who find auditory and language processing difficult.

In a school corridor my son made a comment to a friend which was overheard and misinterpreted by and older trans identifying pupil. 

This comment did not relate to the trans identifying peer or mention anything to do with gender. 

The older child became aggressive to my son and also elicited the support of a larger group of trans/non binary identifying older pupils (S4s & S5s) who were angry with my son and shouted/swore at him and chased him in a school corridor.

The parent of the trans identifying pupil works within the school and stated to the Guidance Teacher that they wanted the police to be called and my son charge with a ‘Hate Crime’. 

The Guidance Teacher was able to defuse this situation and set up a meeting between my son and the other young person. During this meeting the trans identifying pupil was again upset with my son – hostile and swearing. During this meeting my son (who is usually emotionally contained) was in tears and felt pressured and obliged to apologise to the older trans identifying pupil.