TACT: Teachers Against Conversion Therapy - who are they

[JoanSummers]

I saw this anonymous group promoted by the LGBTLD account.

They opened their Twitter account this month (June 2018).

Their first post on their wordpress blog also appears to have been published this month.

They have been given space for a series of 5 posts on The Queerness website 'analysing' the Transgender Trend resource pack.

They have no real mentions other than by the LGBTLD's and The Queerness.

The About page of their blog says:
We are a group of teachers, educators, parents and education psychologists concerned about recent attempts to encourage LGBT conversion therapy in schools, particularly in regard to transgender children and young people.

Section 28 was enacted 30 years ago, and repealed in 2003. We do not want a return to a culture in schools of shame, silence and stigma for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender pupils.

This site provides information and resources on how to support LGBT children and young people in schools and provides a critique of what we believe to be transphobic resources which seem to us intended to prevent or discourage LGBT children from being themselves.

Anyone have any idea who is behind them?

It will probably be the same old gang who promote binding and mastectomies as affirming life choices for girls, and encourage castration to save lives in boys, but get very litigious when this is pointed out.

I wonder if they are based in Leeds?

TAs start so many front groups. This one seems to have begun at the same time as Crowdfunder unsuspended Transgender Trend's fundraiser.

This is an answer to a question from Sharon Hodgson MP 8/6/18
^Victoria Atkins The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, Minister for Women
This Government firmly believes that a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity is not an illness to be cured. We are not prepared to see such activity continue either in the regulated professional sector or outside of it and have taken action to stamp out this bogus treatment.

We have previously worked with the main registration and accreditation bodies for psychotherapy and counselling practitioners, including the UK Council for Psychotherapy, to develop a Memorandum of Understanding to put a stop to this practice.

One major hurdle to tackling this issue is the lack of robust evidence on conversion therapy in the UK. We believe that an effective policy response must be built on a solid evidence base. That is why we included questions on conversion therapy in the National LGBT Survey, which received over 100,000 responses.

Officials in the Government Equalities Office are analysing the results of the survey, including those on conversion therapy. These results will be published shortly. As the Prime Minister announced last month, the Government will also publish an action plan setting out steps Government will take to address the survey findings.^

Seems like it's the next push.

If "This Government firmly believes that a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity is not an illness to be cured" then how do they justify funding medical/cosmetic treatments for trans identifying people?

If it is not an illness then the NHS should not need to fund medicines or surgeries. If it's not an illness then there is no reason to 'socially transition' children for their mental health, or drug their puberty away.

If it's not an illness why do trans identifying males get hair removal treatments paid for? Women don't. If they're women why aren't they treated like other women who have to pay for their own hair removal, if they want to do that?

Too many contradictions in all this.

Yes I totally agree, there's no sense to any of it.

gender identity is not an illness to be cured"

but the associated gender dysphoria that may occur as a result is.

Your mental illness (dysphoria) only occurs as a result of your deep seated belief in your gender identity? It's not, maybe, the other way round?

Honestly. Do people really believe this shit?

but the associated gender dysphoria that may occur as a result is.

According to the NHS:
Gender dysphoria is a recognised medical condition, for which treatment is sometimes appropriate. It's not a mental illness.

But I don't know what sort of medical condition they consider it to be if it's not a mental illness. Do the NHS think it's a physical illness?

I think it's possibly considered a 'condition' like autism? But conversion therapy isn't comparable to gay conversion therapy. Medical intervention is a kind of conversion therapy if used inappropriately i.e. on children.

transing kids is the conversion therapy.

Guardian article www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/11/trans-child-be-himself-understand-community

From here teachersagainstconversiontherapy.wordpress.com

TACT’s Opinion: Analysis of the Transgender Trend Resource Pack for Schools

The document uses the terms like “trans-identified” in place of transgender and describes a trans child as “an idea which contradicts material reality”.

This is what the pack actually says:
Teachers are important role models in being sensitive and accepting to a trans‑identified child without pretending to believe an idea which contradicts material reality. A teacher does not have to agree that a boy is a girl in order to support a child experiencing gender dysphoria, but can still respond in a kind and compassionate way.

The 'idea which contradicts material reality', is the idea that a boy is actually a girl, not the child himself.

Not sure what the objection is to the term 'trans-identified' - surely someone who identifies as trans is trans-identified.

More from teachersagainstconversiontherapy.wordpress.com

Encouragement of Conversion Therapy

Transgender Trend appear to advocate conversion therapy with a number of references that might be interpreted as encouraging schools to deny or suppress gender identity. “In our view schools should not be supporting the concept of gender identity or encouraging or supporting children to feel or believe they have a gender identity which is different from their biological sex”.

The part in quotes is taken from a statement by the Lesbian Rights Alliance. Interesting that TACT accuse lesbians of advocating conversion therapy.

For God's sake, I swear, if you would go on holiday for a fortnight, you could come back to trans-mayhem. It's one thing after another, I really can't keep up.

Us teachers need to form a sensible group that supports a child's difficulties with modern world teenage dysphoria without thrusting breast binders, hormones and stomach membranes under their noses.

That Guardian article is a definite push back against the Transgender Trend fundraising success. Seeing a future of artificial hormones for your child is "rather wonderful" ??? Textbook Mermaids.