Teen DC sharing a room on a school trip with DC of opposite sex

[TeenTimesTwo]

I am hoping not to be shouted at for this, but this topic is being discussed elsewhere in respect to girl guides and I think it is important for secondary trips. I suspect that some people here don't frequent AIBU or the other relevant boards.

Girl guiding have changed their rules to say that a boy who feels he is a girl can join guides and then go on camping trips sharing tents with other guides without any of the other guides parents being informed their DDs aren't in single sex tents . The boy does not need to have been seen by a doctor or having undergone any formal counselling. He just needs to 'self-id'.

If this can happen in girl guides it could happen in secondary school trips too, couldn't it? I can't say I would be happy if my 13/14/15yo was sharing with a boy, even if he felt confused over his gender/sexuality. You may think this would never happen, but I wouldn't have thought guides would allow it, so who knows.

There is a petition regarding asking the government to consult with women's groups before enshrining this 'self-identification' right into law. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/214118 . Note this isn't about stopping people going through counselling / treatment to help their body fit their sense of who they are. It is about considering the impact on girls (and women) if boys and men can just 'declare' themselves to be the opposite of their biology (and of course vice versa).

If you want to sign please do, if you don't want to, then fine. There are loads of other threads elsewhere for in depth discussion. I just want to ensure that parents of teens in education are aware.

[TalkinPeace]

Single sex sharing on school trips worked out fine for a gay couple DD knows

But as I say, the "self identifying" is the latest form of rebellion against parents
(Now that we are no longer shocked by long hair / race / drugs / gay)

But this one creates much too much of an imposition against girls who are still struggling to say #metoo

[NoSquirrels]

Not necessarily a single-gender environment. Because gender is limiting.

Sorry - this doesn’t quite make sense for the context, ignore! Was late last night

What I meant was some people will choose it as a single sex environment due to their own concerns (religious, cultural, social etc) and some because it’s single gender and we shouldn’t be excluding or prioritising either of those viewpoints.

[TeenTimesTwo]

But if there are now 70+ genders that will mean an awful lot of separate toilets and separate rooms ...

[HipposGoBerserk]

Thanks for flagging this up Teen.

I've tried to sign up three times now. I've yet to receive a clicky link email to finalise things. I'm frustrated as this is an important issue I'd like discussed in parliament. I've checked my email address. Anyone else had problems?

[TeenTimesTwo]

Have you checked your spam folder?

[snewsname]

I'm with you op. I wouldn't necessarily mind, but I would like to be given the choice to mind.

[HipposGoBerserk]

Yes I've checked my spam folder, sorry I should have said.

[Babdoc]

If this policy of forcing teenage girls to accept biological boys in their sleeping accommodation goes ahead, I can’t imagine any Muslim parents ever allowing their daughters to go on school trips or join GG ever again. So as well as trampling over women’s rights to their own space and privacy, you will be excluding an entire religious community. Ditto for women only swimming sessions.
Why do trans rights count for more than everyone else’s?

[NoSquirrels]

But if there are now 70+ genders that will mean an awful lot of separate toilets and separate rooms ...

Nope - third space. Male, female, unisex/unigender.

[HipposGoBerserk]

Received email link and signed.

[NoSquirrels]

Well done @Hippos

I want all the organisations like schools and GG and sports teams and community groups to be inclusive - I spend my time preaching tolerance to my DC whenever possible. But we need to be clear on all the unintended consequences of changes to law and practice. Being ‘intersectional’ is not much help if by doing so you exclude ‘sections’ accidentally by putting them lower in some notional hierarchy of equality.

[GlueSticks]

I can’t imagine any Muslim parents ever allowing their daughters to go on school trips or join GG ever again.

I can't imagine many teachers agreeing to organise and take responsibility for school trips either. I certainly wouldn't want the fallout if someone got pregnant on a school trip after sharing with a member of the opposite sex.

Parents really do have some rights regarding their own DC, and the right to know if their child is sharing with someone of the opposite sex is quite high on a lot of parent's priorities.