School newsletter tells girls how to bind

[ErrolTheDragon]

There's a piece in the Times today ... parents not happy at the content of a newsletter produced by the 6th formers

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nonsuch-high-school-sixth-formers-told-girls-11-how-to-bind-breasts-k7slvrbkr?shareToken=a84af706d3b638e2ea3d2d53ea04e29d

As a parent of a student there, I didn’t even know of its existence until reading this thread, so thank you. DD has a copy but hadn’t read it so we’ve now discussed it. 95% of the newsletter is fine in my opinion (and I am a pretty conservative Christian who isn’t entirely comfortable with much that goes on around LGBTQ rights etc). The issues are entirely with the links. If the breast binding question “how do I bind safely?” had had a brief answer along the lines of “breast binding can be dangerous so please discuss with your doctor before considering it; here’s some links that discuss it” then I would be ok with it. And I’m ok with links to basic safe sex advice but not those ones! I am planning to complain to the school.

Having a look at the screenshots on twitter, I also find the section about the GRA to be problematic. Particularly the part of the discussion about the ‘spousal veto’. Now I guess this has come from sites that simply cannot understand that marriage involves two people and that changing someone’s legal sex has implications for the other spouse. I expect a teenager to not understand the implications, but a teacher approved this???

Why on earth would you be ok with something merrily explaining how to bind your breasts? Not ‘why you don’t need to do this’ or ‘love your body, no matter what’?

Safe Schools Alliance excellent guide for parents/carers:

"How to Complain to your Child’s School
What Can Parents Do?

We are often asked by parents how they can complain when their child’s school is undermining safeguarding. Fortunately there are well established procedures in place to deal with situations like this. "(continues)

safeschoolsallianceuk.net/2021/04/16/how-to-complain-to-your-childs-school/

There is incorrect information about the GRA snd a very confused discussion about sexuality.

One of the links goes to a page selling fisting gloves. Even if the rest of the newsletter was fine (which it isn't) the school has lost its mind letting sixth formers link out to anything without checking those sites thoroughly.

@saraclara

The media (surprise surprise) are not reporting this fairly. From what I've read of the newsletter (assuming there isn't a page missing) it doesn't tell girls how to bind breasts. The thoughtless error was providing links to sites that include that information.

By providing the link, it absolute DOES tell girls how to breast bind. Instead, it should be shouting from the rooftops that all girls (and boys) should embrace their bodies regardless of how they ‘identify’. That the vast majority of MtF people don’t have their penis removed. That wanting to hide their bodies is as a consequence of the male gaze. That the vast majority of women also felt negatively about their bodies.

Teenage children are very susceptible to being manipulated. They look up to their older peers - I can remember being at an all girl’s school and would have taken the word of any 6th former as gospel over that of an adult. This ‘newsletter’ is dangerous.

@toffeebutterpopcorn - To be fair to the school, they send out loads of newsletters many of which are put together by sixth formers covering a wide range of topics eg STEM, women’s rights, arts, sports. Recently they have started ones related to BLM (following the well publicised protests last year, they are taking loads of action in this area). They generally encourage the girls to write about what interests them and that’s not a bad thing provided there’s appropriate staff oversight which clearly there wasn’t here.

So they can link to sites about self mutilation, chemsex, and fisting for 11-year-olds, but they can't define lesbian, man, woman, or safeguarding.

To the six former at that school on this thread, do you genuinely believe that this sort of situation is beneficial to women and girls?

@Chdhzhzh

I am a sixth form student at the school. I haven't read much of it, I don't think there is anything wrong with it, they have just put links to other website they haven't explained it themselves and it's such a tiny part of the newsletter just a little box with links. At the end of the day it's just providing information to those who need it. Thanks for asking.

Ok, well here are three things I think are wrong with it:

1. The message behind breast-binding: what happened to the message about loving our bodies and not needing to change ourselves? Would you also be OK with a newsletter for younger girls explaining the best way to make their breasts look bigger and promoting breast augmentation surgery? If not, why? And how does it differ from promoting binding and mastectomies?

2. The actual act of breast-binding: it is dangerous. It is bad for your body. It can actively harm your lungs and breast tissue. This is not a safe message for anyone let alone impressionable girls who look up to sixth formers. Would you also be OK with a newsletter that told younger girls the best ways to lose weight or to vomit after meals or the best blades to use to self-harm? If not, why are you OK with a newsletter telling them how to breast-bind?

3. Sending links to Pre-teens and tweens telling them about "chem sex" and fisting is inappropriate and a safe-guarding issue. It doesn't matter that it's not explicitly spelled out in the newsletter. It shouldn't be linked to in the first place anymore than you would put links on a newsletter for young girls directing them to Pornhub.

DD has a copy but hadn’t read it so we’ve now discussed it. 95% of the newsletter is fine in my opinion (and I am a pretty conservative Christian who isn’t entirely comfortable with much that goes on around LGBTQ rights etc).

A great deal of the newsletter (that Ive seen) is rooted in Queer theory ideology. This seeks to remove and disrupt the categories of female/male, child/adult and sexual orientations. The removal of boundaries which inform Safeguarding principles.

Judith Butler (key figure) in recent interview with Owen Jones,
"I would say that at the beginning of queer theory, and I think I can situate myself among those who were part of its beginning, it seemed that the term queer was important precisely because it moved us away from strict identity categories.

So you know queer means deviating. Queer means odd, awkward, not following in a straight line, not following a developmental model of sexuality or gender or the transition from childhood to adult."

[code]twitter.com/satiricole/status/1345057369949167624[/code]

This is a men's sexual rights movement and profoundly harmful to girls.

Apologies link above, twitter.com/satiricole/status/1345057369949167624

@Chdhzhzh

I am a sixth form student at the school. I haven't read much of it, I don't think there is anything wrong with it, they have just put links to other website they haven't explained it themselves and it's such a tiny part of the newsletter just a little box with links. At the end of the day it's just providing information to those who need it. Thanks for asking.

Yes, 11 year old pupils need links on fisting, I did really feel like that was lacking in my school curriculum.

To the six former at that school on this thread, do you genuinely believe that this sort of situation is beneficial to women and girls?

The responsibility to educate as well as Safeguard all the children in the school (including VI formers) lies with the governors and staff. Its evident that both have been inadequate.

@Fernlake

So they can link to sites about self mutilation, chemsex, and fisting for 11-year-olds, but they can't define lesbian, man, woman, or safeguarding.

To the six former at that school on this thread, do you genuinely believe that this sort of situation is beneficial to women and girls?

That's it isn't it. Actually describing material reality would likely be a problem, but this isn't?

I’m not sure what age children are supposed to be getting communications from the school that isn’t copied to the parents? That is safeguarding 101 surely?

Pupils should not be expected/encouraged to assume responsibility which rests with the school.

“ The links on the newsletter took them not only to binding sites but to sites selling sex packs and talking about Chemsex and fisting.”

The University I used to work at disciplined the students responsible for including this kind of stuff in the SU newsletter. That it’s now been made available to children is horrifying.

That newsletter is just shocking. If my daughter were attending that school ,Id be raising a complaint and Id seriously look at changing schools for her. What on earth is going on?

I would want to know where they got it from and who suggested it would be a good idea to send this information out to younger students.
SSA say they’re being told of other newsletters.

This reminds me of a local girls’ grammar which through the 90s was known for its proselytising pro-anorexia groups. Older girls used to walk through the dining room making unpleasant remarks ridiculing younger students if they had taken big (ie normal) helpings. I can only imagine how much worse it would have been with today’s level of social media usage and Internet activity.

I would want to know where they got it from and who suggested it would be a good idea to send this information out to younger students.

How was the newsletter distributed, paper or by email?

I think the missing word in the above post is children

A great deal of the newsletter (that Ive seen) is rooted in Queer theory ideology. This seeks to remove and disrupt the categories of female/male, child/adult and sexual orientations. The removal of boundaries which inform Safeguarding principles.

'The Trojan Unicorn: QT and Paedophilia, Part II.'
Dr Em

(extract)
"The cultural anthropologist Gayle Rubin is thought of as one of the core theorists of queer theory, and like Foucault before her she made the case for the legalisation and acceptance of paedophilia arguing on the grounds of child consent. The University of Pittsburgh has declared that ‘Few thinkers have been as influential to feminist theory, gay and lesbian studies, and queer theory, as Gayle Rubin’ and that ‘in the late 1970s, she was perhaps the first to notice the importance of Michel Foucault’s History of Sexuality, which one decade later would arguably be the most influential work on early queer theory" (continues)
uncommongroundmedia.com/the-trojan-unicorn-qt-and-paedophilia-part-ii-dr-em/

@R0wantrees

I would want to know where they got it from and who suggested it would be a good idea to send this information out to younger students.

How was the newsletter distributed, paper or by email?

It was emailed to every student (girls school).