School celebrated a Muslim LGBT activist on International Women’s day!

[Threemangoes]

AIBU to be annoyed at the school? I’m baffled as why have the school missed an opportunity here. They already celebrate lgbt history month and then pride in June at school.

Why is this issue that affects a very tiny minority is so heavily influenced in children’s curriculum?

I think for the primary school age range sexuality should not be an issue that is publicised. Why, please?

.+Also, can everyone stop calling her an LGBT woman?! A woman can't be all fucking 4!!*

Absolutely. That umbrella term LGBTQ is disingenuous and misleading.

And most primary school children wouldn’t be able to know why.

This would be incredibly difficult as we couldn’t have books featuring married characters, students couldn’t be taught about marriage traditions within religion, teachers who marry and name change would have to keep this a secret, we would have to call parents the adults at home, not mums and dads etc.

Can't they be thinking both? Unless they already have financial independence and an education.

TBH I don't think you really give a shit about the independence or education of Muslim girls, whatever their sexuality.

I totally agree with your point, @Simonjt, but FWIW my DD's school does refer to 'the adults at home' and it's considered good practice - precisely because not all children live with their parents. But yes.

@SarahAndQuack

There is no need to publicise as these are children who growing up in a world where they are learning about many issues - environment, poverty, the economy , social justice, racial diversity etc etc Bring aware is fine in all cases but the way this is being presented it appears that LBGT issues were being publcised.

But why is there no need to publicise LGBT issues?

@Simonjt
I think there is a difference between people wearing a wedding ring or changing their name which is part of their everyday life to inviting in a speaker who seems in this case to be introduced as part of the LBGT community. A teacher could have a same sex partner and wear a wedding ring. Is the fact that on a day which is specifically designated as International Women's day LBGT issues appear to be promoted

I'm pretty sure that being allowed to be attracted to and form consenting relationships with whoever they want without being shunned - or worse - by their entire community is a fundamental part of being able to live their lives the way they want.

This sounds awfully like the rhetoric of Section 28, with this 'promoting' and this insistence that same-sex sexuality shouldn't be 'promoted'.

Because there are TWO WHOLE MONTHS about LGBT issues (5% of the population) and ONE DAY about women (51% of the population) who's oppression and issues are far more complex and large.

Why are so many of you, so eager, to dismiss other women? It's almost a competition at who can make women disapear from public conversations the fastest. What do you think you're winning? Because the cake is a lie.

@SarahAndQuack

I don 't see there is a need to promote LBGT issues as I don't see a need, why promote an issue other than for basic information - being aware that we need to acknowledge we are not all the same and that we treat all people with research is fine but promotion is a different thing altogether. I would say the same about race and disability.

Er, yes. And there are ten whole months about straight people!

How on earth is a woman speaking at IWD making women 'disappear'? The only way that makes sense is if you really believe that because she's a lesbian, she's not really a woman any more.

I would agree with you if a biologically male trans woman had been chosen to represent women on IWD.

But a Muslim lesbian IS a woman.

But what do you mean by 'promotion'?

"Er, yes. And there are ten whole months about straight people!"

There aren't 10 months about straight people - there are 10 months which aren't LBGT. There is a difference. Regarding promotion - and admittedly I don't know what this speaker said - I do not see why there needs to be emphasise on LBGT issues other than information at primary school other than people are different and we treat people the same as that is how we should behave. The same applies to race and disability.

If this woman has overcome being Female, Gay, Muslim and (possibly) not white to make a difference then of course we should celebrate her.
The only “women” that should be excluded from IWD are those new fangled ones (to quote Ricky Gervaise”

But the whole point of having LGBT history month, or black history month, is because people recognised that, for the rest of the time, these subjects are not routinely included. It's to compensate for that. It would be wonderful if we could do away with them because education was generally inclusive, but it doesn't seem likely to happen soon.

I don't know what this speaker said either, but if you really mean we should just tell children 'people are different and we treat people the same' then aren't we doing them a disservice? Children aren't stupid. If a child says 'how come Ellie has two dads' and an adult responds 'now now, people are different, treat others how you'd like to be treated,' that child will very likely conclude that there's something shameful about Ellie's two dads. Same with race and disability, since you bring them up.

I think it's good if children can see positive role models.

I understand what you saying but we live in a society where we are have groups which are over represented in the way information is presented - LBGT issues and members of the LBGT community are in my view overrepresented.

Trans lesbians and non binary people with blue hair are arguably overrepresented.

Muslim lesbians are not, and I for one would have been very interested in hearing her speak.

So, you're now saying the issue isn't that primary school children aren't mature enough to be educated about same-sex sexuality, nor is the problem that you feel this sexuality is being 'promoted' (whatever that means) - it's that you think there's too much about lesbians?

So, out of interest, at your child's primary school, what lessons about lesbians have they been studying, that are part of the standard curriculum? I only ask, because my DD's school are actually really proactive about inclusion, and even so, I think the only mention of a lesbian anywhere in the teaching materials has been the (dire) book about Heather having Two Mummies, which is kicking around on the shelf.

I would have been really interested to hear a Muslim lesbian speak too - but I also think the point is that she'd have a perspective that'd be of broad interest. Having her as an example could show all the girls that they're entitled to be who they are, that they don't have to conform to patriarchy. For that matter it could show all the boys that girls can be whoever they want to be, too.

The issue is she could have spoken about being a muslim lesbian somewhere in, the emphasis was on being LGBT, and again for reiteration, TWO WHOLE FUCKING MONTHS.

We have ONE DAY, ONE, to talk to kids about period poverty or period shame in general, female genital mutilation, child weddings, girls in Afghanistan not allowed to go to school, Iran uprising after a woman got murdered for wearing the hijab wrong, wage gap, how women still do the majority of the mental load in relationships, women entrepreneurs, women's history about who invented things or wrote books and men took credit for it, ....

The list goes on and on and on.

But no... LGBT. On the ONE DAY. Again: ONE DAY

@SarahAndQuack

My child's school focuses upon how they should treat others, at primary age I do not believe they need to know anymore than some people live in different situations with regard to sex ie same sex or opposite sex. As far as I know they have not invited in anyone from the LBGT community to speak, clearly if the subject arose during a class activity then I would expect the teacher to respond appropriately.

I totally agree with post regarding this being one day which appears in this case to be focused upon LBGT issues rather than wider women's issues