If a child asks in KS3 science class "is it possible to change sex?"...

[musicalfrog]

What answer would they be given by the teacher?

Well the answer is no but surgery and hormones can give the appearance of a sex change.

If I were a teacher who didn’t want to be fired I would politely say that we have a lot to get through today and will be concentrating on xyz.

Could you be fired for saying the first sentence @Lovelysummerdays ? Horrific if so!

Friends who are teachers are very careful what they say in front of students. Personally they know it’s a biological fact but certain children will weaponise facts. If you were to say the first then someone could take it as a personal attack and complain and then since we are in Scotland who knows which loon that could end up in front of.

Its a poisoned chalice of a question best thing to do is just pop it down in a corner and pretend it doesn’t exist.

How on earth can ANY mammal change its biological sex ???

It's just not possible.

@Lovelysummerdays weaponising facts. Smh. I'm in England so hopefully there's no avoiding the question here. I do think brushing over it just gives it more credence. We need teachers to be brave!

one of these threads 🙄 you say yes because there are people who have and we should teach children to be tolerable and respect everyone in society

Literally no one had changed sex, ever. It's not physically possible,

Can you explain why you think someone has?

Don’;t be so daft - no one in the history of humanity has ever changed sex. As well you know.
What we should do is teach children the truth.

As in change their chromosomes from, eg, XX to XY? What a revelation! 🙄

‘It is possible to have surgery and take medication in order to alter the appearance of primary and secondary sexual characteristics, in order to pass as the opposite sex to the one you are born into, and some people choose to do so.”

Then wait for your P45 to arrive in your pigeon hole, I guess.

And that the tooth fairy and father Xmas exists...oh wait, we do tell them that 🤔

The term “sex change” has been around for decades.

Are people honestly saying they have never heard talk of x having “had a sex change”?

The whole issue now is that gender is so prominent in discussion that people are behaving as if transgender is a new thing. It’s not. it’s just that it seems for some reason to have increased in discussion, mostly down to social media.

We need not to discuss the biology and need to call someone who claims to be a trans woman a man etc etc, there have always and will always be people who are genuinely transgender, and who genuinely feel they were born into the wrong body.

But the discussion needs to be around why a generation now feels the need to have such a radical shift in gender persuasion.

why are so many younger people insistent on being “they/them” for instance which also translates to being trans to many people.

By arguing about whether to answer a child’s question about biology is making the issue too black and white. And it isn’t.

I doubt that’s what the child meant

Or be factual and say you can change gender but not biological sex

In science class surely biology is what is being discussed?

And it's more prominent now because of social media yes, but also because activists are trying to change laws and the way society is structured.

Lovely in theory but mortgages to pay and all that jazz. I work for the LA and considering we are stonewall diversity champions there is much rolling of eyes. However the tallest poppy loses its head and discretion is the better part of valour etc. I would love to be brave and upstanding but somebody would claim it was a micro aggression and then HR would have kittens and I’d never get another promotion.

Some lies hurt people, others don't.

You would lie to children?

Are you a teacher?

You can't change your chromosomes, but you can change your body - for example, with hormones, grow breasts, gain facial hair and have gender confirming surgery to alter your body. This is what is meant by a sex change.

You know fine rightly they mean gender. Most adults don’t know the difference between gender and sex never mind children. No, I’m a senior manager in finance, but I am a mother and have no qualms about my children being educated on transgender, gender changes etc. my mum is a teacher and was so when many parents opposed children knowing what being gay meant. She rightfully said in the meeting about it, knowing about gay people isn’t going to make a child gay, but it will help them understand society and people and be respectful of them

Why would you lie and give children false information? It simply is not possible to change one's chromosomes and become male/female

It's science class.

They aren't talking about gender.

read my posts. A gender change is often referred to as a sex change. Stop being pedantic.

Given the social interchangeability between sex and gender I think it’s important to caveat it with explaining about gender reassignment surgery. I believe it’s pedantic otherwise.

You definitely need to make the distinction. They are at school to learn and will be able to understand if only it's explained to them.