School Video. Words just can’t convey...

[ConcreteUnderpants]

For all those who PM’ed and wanted me to put it on its own thread.
Here you go.

This is the video my year 6 watched at school (without any consultation with parents)
I’m just speechless.

They were also told about Robert/a Cowell and puberty blockers were mentioned, although I’m not sure of those details.

Head and deputy are the safeguarding leads at the school, so where do I start with the Governors? Overwhelmed.

As a midwife, I did a lot of observing-sex-at-birth. No assigning.
Sometimes, baby's dad observed-sex-at-birth and happily informed baby's mum. No assigning either.
Shock horror- sometimes they knew already 😉

I think it's quite a useful little film, and it's a good thing that this is being raised with 11-year-olds. My DS of that age would certainly know what it means to 'identify as a certain gender'.

I often chat to my kids about issues raised by alternative gender identities. It offers a chance for us to discuss the ramifications for feminist concerns such as women-only safe spaces (which are often raised on this forum, and which do matter to me). They need to be exposed to lots of viewpoints and collect as much information as possible to be able to consider this complex social situation from all angles, and treat everyone with respect, as they get older and can think in more sophisticated ways.

If schools must insist on teaching opinion like this, they need to clearly explain to the children that it is opinion.

@yeahbutnaw don't be so silly. Many of the people commenting here are L or B, never mind their children. Your wholehearted support of this video is clear evidence of it being utter nonsensical propaganda.

It is a disgrace that our children are brainwashed into believing such tripe.

What an annoying American voice.

"It's important to teach children to be tolerant and accepting.
That includes teaching them that LGBT people exist."

Oh, of course! I just don't see how a patronising exchange with a stuffed bear achieves this end.

Is it a local authority school? Can you complain to the Local Authority as well as the Governors? It's really shocking, and undermines trust in the medical profession.

The video teaches an obvious and bare-faced lie, namely that doctors assign gender at birth. We all know that that isn't true. Why are they pretending that it is?

No such thing as a "gender assignment". Good grief.

@Tanith

"It's important to teach children to be tolerant and accepting. That includes teaching them that LGBT people exist."

Oh, of course! I just don't see how a patronising exchange with a stuffed bear achieves this end.

Then campaign for better LGBT education in schools.

Whereas, more often, I see GCs campaign to remove LGBT education programmes.

I went on to Youtube to have a look at the comments.
I should have known - Comments disabled.
Of course they have, we can't have anything disturb the echo chamber.

"The very first thing doctors tell you when a new baby is born - whether they're human or bear - they tell parents if their baby is a boy or a girl. That's called gender assignment."

There's so much wrong with these two short sentences alone. Often sex has been identified before birth these days. Most births aren't managed by doctors but midwives, who will joyfully announce - if the parents don't know already - what SEX the baby is as they ease it out into the world. Gender, being a set of social stereotypes, would be completely irrelevant to anyone working with bears in a zoo setting, for example, and any vets using it would probably be laughed off the premises.

yeahbutnaw I have 2 LGBT children, now in their 20s. It would not have benefitted them in the slightest to be fed dangerous misinformation like this in such a patronising way at primary school.

Whereas, more often, I see GCs campaign to remove LGBT education programmes

That is so not the issue here @yeahbutnaw.
I really cannot understand why you think this is acceptable viewing for children.

@RoyalCorgi

The video teaches an obvious and bare-faced lie, namely that doctors assign gender at birth. We all know that that isn't true. Why are they pretending that it is?

If you want to get very precise, doctors don't observe sex at birth either.

They observe external genitalia and, based on this observation, the child is assigned M or F in official documents.

That method is imperfect. Depending on how you define sex - the external genitalia don't always match other sex characteristics (e.g., chromosomes, hormones).

I see GCs campaign to remove LGBT education programmes.

Well, that's a total untruth. Assuming "GCs" refers to feminists.

That includes teaching them that LGBT people exist. As someone who was once an LGBT child, I'd have benefited greatly from knowing that I'm not "abnormal" and that there are others like me

Don't you think you need to raise the bar a bit? I mean you can surely teach most of it without being scientifically incorrect, and gaslighting children.. no one can ever answer why lgbt kids are not worthy of the same level of education and safeguarding as the other children. Dont just be grateful for the scraps like this that people put together. Aim higher

@WinterTrees

"The very first thing doctors tell you when a new baby is born - whether they're human or bear - they tell parents if their baby is a boy or a girl. That's called gender assignment."

There's so much wrong with these two short sentences alone. Often sex has been identified before birth these days. Most births aren't managed by doctors but midwives, who will joyfully announce - if the parents don't know already - what SEX the baby is as they ease it out into the world. Gender, being a set of social stereotypes, would be completely irrelevant to anyone working with bears in a zoo setting, for example, and any vets using it would probably be laughed off the premises.

yeahbutnaw I have 2 LGBT children, now in their 20s. It would not have benefitted them in the slightest to be fed dangerous misinformation like this in such a patronising way at primary school.

Have you asked them that? Or are you, presumably a heterosexual person, presuming on their behalf?

@yeahbutnaw my children are brought up to respect anyone no matter who they are attracted to, what they dress and how they play.

However, I would like my children not to be taught biological inaccuracies and grossly outdated stereotypes of the male and female sex. This has nothing to do with respecting peoples choices in life.

That includes teaching them that LGBT people exist. As someone who was once an LGBT child, I'd have benefited greatly from knowing that I'm not "abnormal" and that there are others like me.

Yes, children should absolutely be taught to be accepting of others who are different from themselves - in appearance, culture, sexuality, race, ability etc. That's not remotely the same as peddling fake science and lies to them. Fortunately the tide is already beginning to turn. Future generations will look back on all this in horror and disbelief. The current discrediting of Stonewall is just the beginning.