9 yr old told off for calling non-binary teacher Sir

[Nowherecitizen]

My friend’s son was told off by a teacher at his school for referring to them as ‘Sir’. The teacher is male but identifies as non-binary.

Their title is Mx which the children are aware of. But the little boy simply looked at an adult who is visibly male and used the term Sir.

I have seen this teacher and they are 'masculine' looking but will sometimes wear a skirt and heels.

Friend’s DS felt bad and can’t recall exactly what was said to them but said the teacher was ‘very cross’.

AIBU to think this was mishandled? Surely the child should be reminded gently of the preferred identity of this adult but should not face a telling off?

What is the non-binary version of Sir anyway?

But why is Mx straightforward? We just had a policy at work which circulated in draft form, and said everyone had to be addressed using their preferred name and pronouns even if it wasn't on our staff database. I asked what happens when a temp comes in and tells us on their first day they want to be called "meow/meowself"?

Ms was brought in to help women (a real biological class of people) who didn't want anyone to know their marital status (a real legal status).
Mx is supposed to make people ignore someone's biological sex (which you can't do as you are human).

Teacher should be told off for breaching boundaries and expecting children to lie about what they see. Very dangerous and a safe-guarding issue in the school since being taught not to recognise a person's sex can lead to issues in recognising threats to the child - men are 98% of those who commit violent and sexual offences to recognising that someone is male is important for children. I would be writing to the Head and the governors asking why a teacher is causing a safe-guarding issue and what they are going to do about it.

Should we be more critical of gay people too?

Keep us out of it, this L and the LGB community I know are sick of deluded fetishists invading our spaces and flags and being used as part of this ridiculous ideology. Same sex attraction is NOT the same as thinking if you don a dress and a bad wig you magically become a woman.

LGB firmly and irrevocably without the T

The teacher was referred to by his biological sex.
That is not wrong.

The teacher trying to force validation for his own issues from children is very wrong.

If you aren't mentally healthy enough to have a child call you what you actually are, you aren't mentally healthy enough to be a teacher.

Why would we pretend female behaviour is the same as male behaviour? We know some men get off on wearing women's clothing, are you pretending the don't exist?

No, the teacher can stop being so narcissistic and be a man, which he is.

This happened

Again - in my opinion just because it’s the “convention of hundreds years of language” doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t consider the possibility of change and evolution. Human nature isn’t static has never been static I mean we evolved from primates over millions of years ago. We don’t know where human existence it will lead until the sun explodes so I keep an open mind with that in mind. Again my opinion - which differs from yours and that is absolutely ok! Not pushing an agenda or claiming my opinion is more valid than yours - only stating how I lead my life.

Neither, but I very much doubt this one is excellent. He is there for himself and is using children.

This x 1000. Kids shouldn’t be having to pander to some deluded adult.

Well if he has had to put up with it it's his own fault for choosing to take on that non binary bollocks, particularly when he teaches nine year olds and must know that most adults struggle with the concept, let alone young children.

What is the non-binary version of Sir anyway?

Well, quite. This is an example of why being "non-binary" is way more bonkers than being trans. At least trans people just want to be the opposite of what they were born as, including taking the Mr or Ms that goes with that new identity. Non-binary people seem to want to have their cake and eat it, then deny even knowing what cake is. It's the kind of exhausting semantic game that most of us grow out of by age 6. I have encountered trans people online who think the NB people are taking the piss.

(That said: although I am not a fan of Genderwang™ I do have to disagree with PP who say that "Sir" is in some way "biological". Even the most absolute sex essentialist would, I think, have to concede that terms of deference are social constructs. Maybe we need a gender-neutral Sir/Madam equivalent. I propose "Chief" or "Boss".)

Codswollop. Sorry, but it is. Daresay you will report me for saying so, but the entire gender thing is codswollop. It doesn't even have the coherence of most religions - though it certainly is one.
And children (and women) are not support persons for other people's narcissism.

This
FFS whatever next? Punishing a child for what was probably a slip of the tongue……and I am NOT having a go at anyone who identifies as non-binary……I am annoyed that a child was chastised for saying something quite politely IMO. Now, if the child had said ‘hey dude, hey mush or yo’ it might be justified.

This

Why is it that whenever a bloke declares his gender as anything other than boring old male, they often insist on dressing in an exaggerated way.

Its almost as if they are seeking attention ..,

Just a question - not sure how this works, but at the school I work at the staff are all referred to as Sir or Miss. What should the students actually say in that instance?

I’ve been called mr by mistake by a child and look in no way masculine! It was likely a slip of the tongue. Clearly at 9 years old it was not malicious!!

No problem with conventions evolving.

But that should only be if it benefits society as a whole.

Here we have a child being disciplined for recognising a man to be a man. Who is that benefitting?

Stop the world I want to get off!

Thank god my kids missed the timeslot for this crap and their school days are behind them.

No 'almost' about it. It's pathetic frankly, this crap should be kept out of schools and for their own personal time.

I think it really depends on what you determine to be beneficial for society as a whole - I see it the more people are at peace with themselves the better for society as a whole as in my opinion it then translates in less friction.

not sure if you read my post but I did agree with the OP in the sense that the child should have been corrected and not told off/disciplined. I don’t agree with the child being disciplined in this instance.

Totally. They never just wear a plain t shirt and jeans like millions of women do. It’s all Dick Emery’s Mandy.

If people are not at peace because they can't accept their biological reality - this is their own problem, not societies. They need therapy.

It is not right, appropriate or even realistic to ask everyone else to obfuscate reality on their behalf. Especially not children.

As an aside I am genuinely curious if someone feels they are non binary do they dress in a masculine way one day and a feminine one the next? Shouldn’t they dress in a mixture of both?