To ask school why DS was told there are 72 genders?

[Ersorrywhatnow]

DS - 13 - came home from school & said he had a ‘weird’ Philosophy & Ethics lesson led by a new-ish ( non-binary/trans) teacher where they discussed sexuality and gender and 72 genders were mentioned. They covered some of the ‘main’ ones like pansexual, bisexual, trans etc

I told DS that there’s not 72 bloody genders. But am curious as to what materials were used, where they came from and whether or not this was a genuine discussion as DS said it was stated as fact. So for example
When they discuss Judaism or other religions the teachers don’t state ‘god exists’ they talk about belief systems and how they are similar, how they’re different etc

it sounded like this lesson was more - this is fact.

or so I just leave it, knowing that DS is sensible, and knows that gay, trans, bi etc people exist in the world and that’s fine ask the school what the lesson was exactly?

I’m gay, BTW, so this isn’t some anti LGBTQ thing

Since when is pansexuality a gender, it’s a sexual orientation isn’t it?

In our secondary school the kids have declared "pronoun fatigue" - basically, they're fed up of it all, remembering all the flags, symbols, acronyms, pussy footing etc

I'm wondering if pronoun fatigue is prevailing. 🤔

Utter claptrap.

why are they teaching this at school.

I wouldn’t be happy and would want answers from the school

Wait sorry it isn't pussy footing.

Would it be "gender neutral feline stepping?"

I'm not even sure. Anyway 😂

I would email the Headteacher questioning what your son has been taught and since it was a supply(?) teacher ask them if the regular teacher would have taught the same.

I'm sure I read somewhere its 100 genders and counting but never seen a list of them and what they mean. If you find out please post!

Ash is trans I believe. so not transphobic. Or possibly non-binary, I don't actually now nor does DS. Ash has long hair but a beard, wears make up and 'feminine' clothing, and answers just to Ash, no surname, and doesn't answer to the usual Miss or Sir, obvs.
And no, not a Science teacher.

If there are only two sexes (which there are) and bisexuality is being attracted to both men and women, how is pansexuality different?

OP, I'd follow the example of a PP and ask the school who produced the materials for the lesson and how it was framed (e.g. as fact or belief?)

Transgender Trend have a schools resource pack which includes advice on creating a culture within schools of acceptance of gender non-conformity without denying biological sex, so they may be a good avenue for advice and guidance on how to approach the issue if you decide to take it further.

Not a supply teacher, sounds young so I think a NQT with a permanent role in a humanity subject but many of the teachers at the school have other responsibilities or run club outside their subjects.
An English teacher is an ex- England sports woman so runs that sports club after school for example, Science teacher is a chess geek so runs chess club, Geography teacher is also a fairly successful script writer so teaches creative writing etc
They tend to match interests and expertise of teachers to clubs and subjects which obviously is usually a good thing and we're lucky to have such an engaged teaching staff

It's perfectly possible to be non-binary and transphobic. I would question why they are pushing the notion that sex and gender can "match".

Of course Ash is trans. Ash is a very common name chosen by the trans community. Not Ash Ketchum by any chance? I know several, because Pokemon is very trans friendly. Also popular with young autistic people. There's a clear connection.

You should ask to see the teaching materials and follow up as needed. School should not be teaching this to our children.

72 genders, but only 1 name as they are all called Ash :)

Please tell me cakegender is a joke. I mean, it's a joke. Right?

Don't get me wrong, I'm very committed to cake. But....

TBH, the word "transphobia" has become so meaningless, probably everyone on the planet is transphobic in some way by now. Which is unfortunate, because I don't doubt that there are some transpeople who encounter genuine discrimination or harassment because of their trans status, which needs to be identified and stamped out, but it gets lost among the white noise of "misgendering" and "deadnaming" and "having a genital preference" and "recognising biology" and "using the word 'woman' to describe a biological woman" which are all "transphobic".

It's like a role playing game - send them all to see Dungeons and Dragons at the cinema instead.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4758401-isle-of-man-children-in-y7-told-there-is-72-genders-wtf

I thought I was having deja vue!

This.

My ds had the same lesson today from his form teacher x one of them is called mayonnaise on a chair I couldn't believe it until I googled it 😳

Ash might well also believe that being gay is about being ‘same gender’ rather than same sex attracted and that lesbians can have penises. Which is an explicitly homophobic view IMO.

Did you know that according to Nancy Kelley of Stonewall, lesbians who aren’t open to relationships with the opposite sex are ‘sexual racists’, OP?

Ffs. What a load of bollocks. 'Ash' sounds very confused. Sexualities aren't the same as genders. There are two genders and the rest are just attention-seeking names for personality traits. Even the two actual genders are nothing more than a bunch of sex-based stereotypes anyway.

This utter obsession with defining and labelling yourself and finding a special tribe to belong to used to primarily be the preserve of teenagers. It's even more tedious in adults.

Surely it shouldn't be so complicated

There are male and female, biologically and sometimes very rarely intersex
Some people prefer being called male, even if they're biologically a female but this doesn't make them male as they are biologically still female. However it's kind to refer to them by their preferred name
Some people prefer to wear different clothes/hair/makeup and have various relationships

Job done

I couldn't care less what people wear or do but I did care massively when a man (I knew him from an old job) decided he was female as he wore a wig and makeup. No hormones, no changes. Then came into my women's only gym class as "he was a woman now"

I left and haven't been back

If you google it you'll find 72 or 128 are both things. All nonsense obviously. When I teach it in pshe I approach it like personality but only 2 sexes.

In sociology it's a different matter and from all the feminist perspectives including lib fem and intersectional fem. Gender is the means through which the patriarchy works.

In p and e I'd expect questioning of the whole concept, that's what philosophy is!

Well out of the 72 genders, I've decided I'm a number 24

Astral gender: Having a gender identity that feels to be related to space.

But that's only when I've taken my pain meds.

Not a science teacher then I take it?