BBC Bitsize - Pronouns

[OhHolyJesus]

I mean I'm not surprised but Bitesize is used by schools through the country as a supposed reliable, unbiased source of education material.

mobile.twitter.com/SafeSchools_UK/status/1319025713475952641?fbclid=IwAR0rTBD2j5PKOeTKvYSSX90c4RUDmJDo7Zg613qnDBXNaAncv3J8epYWLSQ

You can complain here:

www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints/make-a-complaint

Or email your MP and cc MPs Safe Schools Alliance on info@safeschoolsallianceuk.

In the tweet thread there are some people already complaining. I'm not a defund the BBC kind of person but I can see why license fee layers are questioning what the BBC are doing with their money (there is a website 'BBC complaints' that's all about biased Brexit coverage).

@DimidDavilby

So glad our children are being taught acceptance and tolerance

Do you think it's good for children to be taught their boundaries don't matter, and that speech can be compelled?

They should he taught tolerance and acceptance fir the perfect bodies and personalities they have.

@Bessica1970

If someone identifies as non-binary, why does that bother so many people? It reminds me of when gay people were historically vilified because straight people couldn’t handle that not everyone is like them! It doesn’t hurt you if Gemma wants to be addressed as ze, so why have a problem with it?

You do know that gay people (gay men and lesbians) are currently being vilified by the "preferred pronouns" crowd for daring to be same-sex attracted?

Pushing the notion that if you aren't some ghastly 50's stereotype of a girl or a boy then you must be non-binary is regressive, outdated, sexist, homophobic nonsense.

www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zp6ftrd?fbclid=IwAR2Iqm23qX1dLO9_DTYXlIRiU8L8kY56wxNhwjxr7y4UXPlMMNwljrc417M

The link is still there. How dare they teach propaganda as though it's been accepted generally in society? I do not consider expecting people to remember individual chosen pronouns is inclusive. It's adding a massive memory task, I struggle remembering names but recognise someone's sex easily.

@Swallowzandamazons

I'm with CharlieParley. I refuse to be coerced or forced into lying. It's a power grab.

Absolutely.

It's a power play, easy enough to see once you take your "be nice", "be kind", "be inclusive", "they're not hurting anyone" female socialisation goggles off.

It hurts me to lie about what I see in front of my eyes. It hurts me to have to second guess myself and monitor my own speech because of it. It hurts me to be forced to accept genderism as "the truth" of the world when in actual fact it is only one way of looking at the things, one that I happen to think is at odds with facts, science and material reality. So no I'm not going to "be kind" in the face of that.

To quote MB I'd rather be rude than a fucking liar.

@Bessica1970

Why should anyone be required to put that sort of emotional work into someone else’s comfort/happiness, especially if they barely know them? Is it a reasonable expectation, or is in an imposition?
Why is it then when confronted with various explanations that don’t fit their opinion, instead of engaging and putting forth something a bit more substantial than ‘why can’t you be nice you beastly people?’ they flounce off?

No one is having it on their Facebook page.

Fortunately, quite a few women have read the DFE advice, and are pointing out how they are in breach of it.

www.facebook.com/bbcbitesize/posts/3865530130123944

"Remember that just because a person uses certain pronouns at one point doesn’t mean they can’t change their mind."

Remember that if you're going to use a pronoun that people don't usually associate with your sex, you can always change your mind on a whim. It's best to do this when all your classmates seem like they've got your pronouns right and are comfortable using them. This keeps everyone on their toes and makes sure everyone always feels slightly on edge. It also ensures that the conversation always revolves around you!

Datun the FB page is very cheering!

The FB page is brilliant-there’s the odd crazy trans activist there, trotting out their catchphrases such as “no one cares what’s in your pants” and posting that scientific American article. But unlike three years ago there are reems of people shutting them down

Love this response to ' It takes nothing from you to be considered towards others and use their preferred pronouns' on the Bitesize facebook page:

Yes it does. Incorrect pronouns have real life consequences socially, culturally, legally, medically. It is forcing your belief system on others and forcing us to capitulate to your belief system through our speech. No. Sex matters, and pronouns are sex based and obfuscating sex causes real problems. It is not my responsibility to validate your subjective feelings about yourself or uphold your beliefs

Yes, I don't think you would've seen those replies year ago. So many more people are fully cognisant of the issues now.

I have deactivated my fb so I can't see any of the lovely comments by women wiping the floor with a DFE mop! Could someone do a screenshot??

Good grief. I haven't looked at Bitesize for a few years.

Why do the characters in that image have pink trout pouts/kissy faces? I find that as weird, alarming as the pronouns shite!

@Clymene

The took the first tweet down but it's back up again. I had hoped someone had realised that directing children to stonewall which is in direct contravention of the government's guidance on RSE

Actually if you look at the statutory guidelines then Stonewall resources are recommended for LGBT RSE lessons.

@Aesopfable

That picture is not just anywhere either - it is a changing room.

That was my first thought, too.

Bloody creepy, not so subliminal message of "girls, be kind and accept penis into your personal space if the penis owner chooses to announce themselves with the appropriate pronouns."

There's a difference between signposting resources and the requirements of statutory obligations.

@CuriousaboutSamphire

There's a difference between signposting resources and the requirements of statutory obligations.

Well given they signpost to Stonewall (and no-one else when it comes to LGBT content) then presumably the DfE considers that Stonewall resources are compliant with the guidelines.

As seen from the other thread an autistic teenager now has a criminal record fir asking a pcso if they were a bit or a girl.

This is the cloud we are expecting children to live under.

Declan :( This is what turned me, and quite a few others I imagine.

Where was the kindness and understanding (that's demanded of us) for Declan, who was dragged to court, fined and publicly shamed as some kind of villain, his face posted all over the internet for ridicule, for behaving how some people with autism behave? Being blunt and to the point is a well known autistic characteristic, and that he was charged in an absolute disgrace. Good to know some discrimination is absolutely fine and dandy.

The pic, if it posts, is another copper saying using their preferred pronoun lets them know they're in a 'safe space'. A.POLICE.OFFICER. The people some rely on for help when their violent partners are beating them, the people sent out to detain people with all kinds of weapons, the people involved in dangerous high speed pursuits regularly, the people who would be expected to help during a terrorist attack. Police officers are also at risk of being beaten, shot, stabbed, ran over, attacked with acid, insulted daily, etc. But the wrong pronoun makes them unsafe?? For fucking real?

What an absolute mockery, and they wonder why people can't take it seriously.

Some of Stonewall's resources (homophobic bullying etc) are very good. It's only since they adopted an anti women and girl misogynistic approach, promoting the "born in the wrong body" carp and telling untruths about puberty blocking drugs etc that it became apparent there were problems. You will find Stonewall recommended on all sorts of DfE publications. It will take a while for the inappropriate material to be identified and weeded out.
Transgender Trend is always a good place for people to start with their analysis of the inappropriate queer theory elements in SRE materials that have been written by adult lobby groups and aimed at children.
www.transgendertrend.com/wp-content/uploads/woocommerce_uploads/2020/06/Inclusive-Relationships-and-Sex-Education-in-Schools-RSE-2.09-0l5lp7.pdf

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. If you are preoccupying yourself with what other people think about you, to the extent that you feel they are persecuting you by referring to you when talking to third parties in ways you don’t like, you are setting yourself up for failure. All day, every day. If you feel that people not agreeing with your perception of yourself are being closed minded, you will find conflict wherever you go and whatever you do. You cannot find happiness this way.

It’s not about what it takes from me (other posters have articulated this very clearly). It’s about what it takes from you, enforcer of pronouns. If you’re waiting for everyone you meet to endorse your worldview, you will be disappointed. The best piece of advice I ever got was “try not to worry too much about what people think of you, it’s really none of your business”. Or as Elizabeth I said “I will not make windows into men’s souls”.

So no, BBC, I don’t think this is an easy, polite thing to do to make people feel better, because I don’t think it does that at all.

It's only since they adopted an anti women and girl misogynistic approach, promoting the "born in the wrong body" carp

Can you point to where they adopt this approach because I could only find one reference to it on their website which appears to say the opposite?

Here you are

There's been a bit of a walking away from the born in the wrong body phrase recently.

Any way let's not forget that Nancy Kelly is on record in the guardian saying that they are changing tack and don't expect people to believe what they believe ...

Bitesize has form for this bollocks.

Going through my emails, I recall complaining about similar dodgy wording before, but it seems our complaints were successful:

'Bitesize have again consulted with the BBC Diversity and Inclusion team, and taken advice on the wording used in the Bitesize Learning for Life and Work content.

Please be assured some wording has since been edited.'

Time to hold them to account. AGAIN.