Saying ‘women have vaginas’ is transphobic?

[ProfessorInkling]

According to a science teacher at my DS’s school.

I acted dumb and asked how do you mean? She said, well, it doesn’t include transwomen who don’t have vaginas or trans men who do.

I said, well, you can’t identify-out of biology. She agreed. Sort of?!

Blah blah Stonewall training - cue other staff getting excited ‘oh yes Stonewall!!’

I don’t even know where to begin. They have mixed toilets. They have always been mixed. Challenging it seems impossible.

@hallouminatus I think you've chosen a part of the specification about female reproduction - then mother and woman could well be included in the mark scheme for any question on that topic.

But in other sections that lead to being able to identify the biology as male or female then the marks schemes would probably allocate automatic marks for male and female and queries/lower marks available for women and men, depending on the specific question - again dependent on the mark scheme! There have always been bands of marking allowing for more and less specific/correct terminology.

That and I was referring to about 10+ years ago (at A level to boot). So could well be utterly wrong about GCSEs and whatever is used nowadays!

A lot has changed since they could give women criminal records for, effectively, nothing without anyone noticing. There was Kate Scottow's successful appeal, there are many wanting to fight against what they see as oppressive use of power, and there's the disproportionate new Hate Speech laws in Scotland.

With the much greater amount of awareness now and many more willing to pitch in, I think this time round the Police will be shocked at the amount of resistance they get in attempting to squash one of the little people (little women).

Sorry, posted on the wrong thread. Still a great post though!

Have you raised it or will you raise it with the school's governing body?

It is astonishing and shocking that individual parents are having to take on individual schools about the whole issue. This is surely where the Dept of education , the EHRC should be intervening and getting general policy established. Not to mention exam boards...how would a marker deal with a child who says that men can give birth for example?

Oh good god I would kick off. Kid wouldn’t be attending this teachers class and I’d demand someone who’s willing to teach biology and not fantasy.

It may be that the science teacher teaches male and female rather than man or woman, because it is not species specific. But I don’t know. I know that we are trying our best to get the kids to use terms like “thermal energy” instead of “heat”. It may be that the science teacher just wants the students to use scientific language in science lessons and has nothing to do with trans issues. Also I would assume if kids are getting confused about people identifying out of their gender it would be safest to refer to sex in lessons. Getting the politics out of science and avoiding a can of worms.

That is mildly transphobic, as not all women have vaginas and not everyone with vaginas are women

No it really isn't. It's a medical biological fact.

It is however extremely confusing for any child learning English as an additional language, a child with autism or semantic pragmatic difficulties or other language difficulties.

All this inclusion without exception never includes any of these children/ young people does it?

I'm confused.

You can't use just 'female' to replace woman. In science.

You need to be clear and accurate.

You'd need to use adult human female/ juvenile human female etc.

Which is pretty long-winded!

Also the word female is currently up for repurposing. What then?

I'm confused.

You can't use just 'female' to replace woman. In science.

You need to be clear and accurate.

You'd need to use adult human female/ juvenile human female etc.

Which is pretty long-winded!

Also the word female is currently up for repurposing. What then?

Exactly!!!!!!

I've said this before but what is actually going to happen in the sciences? What about every medical and biology textbook EVER written? Are they going to be burned?
Are we going to teach children biology or fantasy? Women have vaginas. Men do not have vaginas. And if that statement is contentious then it just shows how far down the rabbit hole we have come.
It doesn't matter how many times you repeat the nonsense BTW. It still doesn't, and never will, change established science, evolution, biology, genetics, chromosomes, DNA, anatomy, physiology, and COMMON SENSE.

@WarriorN

That is mildly transphobic, as not all women have vaginas and not everyone with vaginas are women

No it really isn't. It's a medical biological fact.

It is however extremely confusing for any child learning English as an additional language, a child with autism or semantic pragmatic difficulties or other language difficulties.

All this inclusion without exception never includes any of these children/ young people does it?

Very good point. As an autistic adult I find it absolutely baffling.