Am I right to cross out "gender" on my child's school form and change it to "sex?"

[PerverseConverse]

I have a form for my child's new school which asks me my child's gender. I feel it should say "sex" seeing as gender is a social construct. Would I be wrong to cross out gender and write sex?

Yes I would change it. They need to record sex , not gender. If they need further clarification I would write 'My child is (fe)male, they don't 'identify' as anything'.

One of my kids started a new school today and I crossed out gender and write sex on the forms. I considered writing a little comment next to it explaining why, but didn't in the end. Might tackle that a few weeks into term!

The person who made this a transgender thread was Bluntness , who then flounced because it was becoming a transgender thread. That made such a peculiar read.

If a child is entering infant school they are as likely to identify as a cat as a girl or a boy. However the school is under no obligation to provide litter trays and allow them to attend in their birthday suit.

My child doesn't have a gender, she has no idea what that is. She knows she is a girl because of her body. How should I fill in such a form for her Bluntness?

Nicely put blueskies.

Yanbu in any way. Reminds me to do this on all forms

I don't believe there is a shared understanding of what 'gender' means. For many people it means exactly the same as sex (having in the past being used euphemistically.

In recent years, it has come to mean a different thing to some people eg gender identity.

The school's diversity & equality framework will be based on the legislation Equalities Act 2010. Their D&E policy will reference this.

Sex is one of the 9 protected characteristics so it must be recorded.

'Gender' and 'Gender identity' are not protected characteristics. Gender reassignment is.

(its worth checking your schools' Diversity & Equality policy, usually on website. Like some councils, many schools may have in good faith misquoted the 2010 act. This may mean that they also mis-apply it)

I'm not going to get into a trans debate on mumsnet, because it just leads to horrific abuse if you disagree
LMAO. Someone doesn't understand simple language. Please consult a dictionary for the meaning of 'horrific' and 'abuse'.

It would be interesting to know if the schools which are asking for children's gender rather than sex also have incorrectly quoted the Equalities Act in their policies.

Of cOurse. But this does not mean the form is wrong. It's not. It's correct. Gender is what's important and that's what the child should be registered with. This does not preclude any further discussions.

Bollox.

Sex is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act, how a child 'self identifies' is not relevant to what sex they are in the majority of school environments eg health, changing rooms, Ofsted reports, equality impact assessment, safeguarding etc etc.

If the school really means gender and not sex, I would have no idea what to put.

Sex is clear, material and definable. Gender is....what? Sexist stereotypes as far as I can tell. Is the school in favour of institutionalising sexist stereotypes?

From 'Bish' website for teens. The founder also provides resources/training for schools, youth groups etc:

July 13, 2017 'What’s Your Gender?'
(extracts)
"If you’ve had some basic AF sex education you might have been taught that there are only two sexes and two genders. Wrong. Sex and Gender is a lot more complicated than that.

You get to choose your gender your gender identity, whether you are a he/she/they or zie and you get to choose how you want to do your own gender. This is true no matter what body you may have, or what chromosomes you may have or how you feel about your body.

You can work out your gender by learning some more about different identities and seeing if any of those fit you, or you can try to understand your own unique gender for you. Hopefully you will find this [diagram opposite] useful" (continues)

For one, like I point out in this article, sex is a very complicated idea. It’s not just about our chromosomes (a lot of people don’t know what theirs are, XX, XY, XXY … ) but also; which hormones kick in, when they kick in and how they kick in; and then how genitals may take shape. Our genitals are on a spectrum in terms of: how much erectile tissue sticks out (clitorises and dicks and inbetween); where the prostate is; where the wee hole is; whether the gonads are inside or outside; vagina size. Many people are in the middle of this spectrum with how their bodies are configured.

Also sex, like gender, is not just about biology but is also to do with how we feel about ourselves and what society tells us about ourselves – it’s biopsychosocial."
www.bishuk.com/about-you/whats-your-gender/

The person who made this a transgender thread was Bluntness , who then flounced because it was becoming a transgender thread

👆THIS👆

Yes I cross out 'gender' and write 'sex'

I've also written 'they are four years old so they haven't decided yet' under 'religion' before

Yes I am that parent

Schools need to analyse data of the basis of sex and the other protected characteristics - exam results, attainment, participation, setting and groups etc. If they don't record one of the protected characteristics (sex), then they cannot evaluate the progress of members of that group. That's why they also record information about the other protected characteristics.

It's so very basic I can't believe we even need to have the discussion. It's SEX.

Thinking of it: Maybe you should not just cross out gender and put sex. Maybe you should learn something from transactivists, throw a tantrum on the oppression of society trying to erase your and your kid's identity as gender rejeting humans.
Surely triggering us with this gender shite must be a hate crime.

The solution, is perhaps, to have 'sex' & then 'gender identity if applicable'.

As I think Facebook currently has 60+ possible gender identity boxes, it would have to be an open box so as to be inclusive.

This would enable data of value to be collected.

That's what I did. The form wasn't rejected.

I did the same yesterday. Unfortunately it was a bilingual form with English on one side of the page and Welsh on the other - I completed the Welsh side (which did have the correct term for 'sex') but I did cross out gender on the other side. It's doubtful the school will even look at that side but I wanted to make a point.

Bluntness - knowing a child's gender is not important in any way. Biology is what matters.

I always cross out gender and write sex, unless it gives the option these days of agender, non-binary etc, as then it seems they really do mean gender. Otherwise I just assume they're confused between the two.

The bilingual form shows they really do mean 'sex', just that gender has become a euphemism in English. Can I ask, Mejon, does Welsh have different words for sex as in biology versus intercourse? Language with this distinction presumably wouldn't need a euphemism.

Thanks, R0wantrees

Interesting who publishes the BISH website (sponsored by Durex): Justin Hancock who says "So me and my mate Meg-John Barker write about this kind of stuff too. It’s aimed at a slightly older crowd than this website, so it’s probably a bit more advanced."
Is that THE Meg-John Barker?

I do. It matters, in my opinion. Sex shouldn't be erased in favour of feelz.

They shouldn’t be collecting / holding data unless it is needed (GDPR).
Perhaps ask them why they are collecting information about your child’s gender. There are reasons for collecting data on sex, so I wouldn’t feel the need to ask about that, but I always ask for the rationale for collecting data about my or my children’s gender.

Is that THE Meg-John Barker?

Awayfromitall Yes the author of the BACP Guide in the press this week re 'angry northern women' stereotypes. Also partner of Edward Lord.