11 yo DD taught in class that JK Rowling was transphobic

[amter]

So DD shared with me that in their class the teacher raised the JK Rowling vs Emma Watson issue, and the teacher (and most students) were very much of the opinion JK was wrong and Emma Watson in the right when discussing the issues/Emma taking a stand against JK.

FFS, I was worried about this nonsense, luckily DD and I (and DS) have been openly talking about gender stereotypes not defining sex, and that you can't change sex etc for a few years now. DD firmly believes you can't change sex and we have previously discussed what JK actually has said.

The conversation in class was led by a teacher and it arose from being supportive to gay and trans students. DD was saying to me that she supports her friends who are gay (apparently 3 girls in her class of 30, 2 of whom are saying they are also trans). DD wants to support them however she doesn't feel she can say anything at school about believing sex and gender are different and that gender stereotypes don't do anyone any favours. I knew this was coming but honestly did not expect this in year 7 term 1!

Just wanted to vent...

I hate to say this, but this could be a story you could go to the Daily Mail with - for all their faults they are very good at publicising when this nonsense goes too far (as it clearly has at your DD's school) and they have such a high readership.

At school we had hands up votes for which political party we'd vote for, after a term of learning about policies etc. (Modern Studies).

Many of us were delighted to go against the teacher's own choice (which he wouldn't tell us outright, but we had gathered from inference). TBH, I think he saw it as a mark of his good teaching that everyone didn't agree with him.

It's a fucking crying shame that 'teaching' becomes 'indoctrination, bullying and groupthink' rather than 'learning and growing'.

I would explain to kids it's impossible to change sex as we can't change our chromosomes but we can change our sexual organs and appearance by
Taking hormones having operations etc and living fully as the other gender
Which is all fine and dandy and to be accepted and supported in the right way but JK is quite correct and we can't actually change biological sex

Show of hands votes are illegal for trades unions for example. They are tailor made for abuse and manipulation.

A show of hands will make for intimidation and preference falsification.

@amter

Yes it was hands up vote, which is why DD went along with the crowd.

That is appalling.

I think when people are questioned what was bad about JKs comments, they will be hard pushed to find anything which is unreasonable.

Go to the next teacher parent evening with a women: adult human female t-shirt.

FYI my daughter has informed me that JK starting the Wummin/wimpund in relation to the menstruation post is transphobic. Omitting that transmen and NB people exist is transphobic.

I disagree and believe that we need a word for women.

It’s a source of tension in our house.

I’ll pull up a camping chair and a hot water bottle.

Not the main issue you’ve raised I know, just something that generally pisses me off in the media generally.
Lots of people, including other Harry Potter actors, spoke against what JKR said. Why is this framed as JKR vs Emma Watson?
Must everything be two women pitted against each other when actually this is one woman being criticised by a number of people both in individual statements and in articles, as well as supported by a number of other people in similar ways.
If they were going to discuss this, why not “here’s what JKR said, here’s some viewpoints criticising and supporting”. Why turn it into a fight between two women specifically.

OP, you must complain to the Head.

This misogynistic agenda is gaining traction in schools and the tragic thing is that the most enthusiastic supporters are young girls.

Girls are brought up to placate and please, to include and make space for others. The TRA movement preys on this.

Thankfully as a just quit the profession teacher I last worked in a school where no-one had drunk the kool-aid, but teacher twitter is full of nitwits - mainly young female teachers - spouting the kind of groupthink, fact-free nonsense that gets J K cancelled by teenage girls who think they're single handedly saving the lives of oppressed trans people.

Teachers are routinely telling young people that trans people are an oppressed and marginalised group.

Teachers are routinely telling young people that more trans people are murdered/have acts of male violence committed against them than any other group of people.

Teachers are routinely telling young people that trans people deserve equal rights.

The irony is that it is women who are the most oppressed and marginalised, women who are the most vulnerable to male violence, and women who don't have equal rights. This is what the girls in our classrooms need to hear.

There are no rights trans people don't have. There are many rights women don't have. Including those the TRA lobby are removing from us.

Girls need to understand that transmen are not asking for the same things transwomen are, and they need to be taught the connections between that and deeply ingrained misogyny in our society. The saddest thing is that so many women have internalised the patriarchy to the point where they don't even see what the problem is.

I would like to add here that I feel deeply sorry for transpeople who are just trying to live their lives in the way that makes them happy, and who respect the fears and concerns of women and want to ensure women have access to safe spaces. I know and acknowledge that TRAs do not represent the majority of transpeople. Transpeople need to have every right to be able to live their lives free from judgement, persecution and oppression - but the way to do this is not to erode the rights of others, nor to persecute others who don't want their identities removed in order to validate those of transwomen.

A truly balanced lesson on this issue would be this teacher showing her class the death threats J K Rowling received from these so called oppressed transpeople who are made 'unsafe' by her factual assertion that the realities of biological sex cannot be wished away. Interesting that so many transwomen who are part of this bullying brigade suddenly want to reembrace their penises when it comes to dishing out the rape threats, isn't it?

Anyway, I'm rambling in my fury. Get onto the Head. This needs to be challenged every time it happens. Teachers are not allowed to present one sided arguments on political issues anyway, so this teacher will need a reminder of that regardless of the Head's views on the trans issue.

@dropthevipers

I would be asking the Head of school if they are aware that some teachers are promulgating utter bollocks? (maybe word that differently, maybe not) Pure indoctrination which needs challenging directly-if you stand for this then what other nonsense will you let pass?

Oh I’d probably put it on those terms.

It makes my blood boil that the aren’t teaching critical thinking but group think. They aren’t saying ‘some people thing x, but others counter that y’ - it’s all x is evil, burn the witch.

@amter

Yes it was hands up vote, which is why DD went along with the crowd.

I would be objecting to a teacher asking for a show of hands on a very decisive topic. At school children are going to be worried about being bullied for wrong think or just not following the crowd.

If the discussions are a weekly thing I would be pointing out that the UK has a long history of fighting for the citizens voting, prevention of voter manipulation and the right to secret voting. All of which are fundamental to a democratic society.

Asking a class to vote on someone's personal views which are not examined in detail and original sourced is also wrong. Everybody is entitled to their good name framing a bias without facts is against the principle of natural justice. I presume it would breach the principles set out in the anti-bullying policy

Attacking a woman's reputatuon using personal bias and gossip is a form of coercive control. She was in the news after objecting to an intimidation tactic using SM. It reflects poorly on a teacher and the school to suggest that that level of personal harassment is ever within the norm of acceptable behaviours.

It just takes one ‘cool’ kid to turn the tide. Idiot teacher though. Teaching what exactly?

I would be complaining too, OP. That's unacceptable pushing an ideology in the classroom. The teacher should be ashamed.

I have some Philip Pullman hardbacks to throw into the fire pit for you, Arabella.

I’ve told my child the truth. The facts but to just say nothing in class, because you daren’t question it, which is beyond ridiculous.

The world gone mad!!

I would definitely be complaining about this, and I did so when my year 11 had a video in PSHE where a transwoman said that JKR was transphobic, even though she admitted she hadn't actually read what JJR had said!! FFS.

Schools should be teaching tolerance but also facts, and the ability to have a dignified discussion with someone that disagrees with you.

Joking aside, have you had any response to your request for a quote of JRK's views which is 'transphobic' @ArabellaScott? Over a week, over multiple threads, has there been one response? We have regular posters who will pop up on every conceivable thread going but has a single one of them given you a direct quote?

Wow, I would definitely complain. I would not be fobbed off.

Children are so impressionable at this age, how dare the teacher lead their opinions. They need to make their own choices about how they feel.

Its all so weird isnt it.
I cant imagine a music teacher asking the music class to dissect the political views of morrissey or roger waters. Why cant the TRAs just give it a bloody rest

@EnidSpyton absolutely amazing post! Sums it all up perfectly!!

My dd is a few years off secondary yet but I find this so bloody bleak and depressing. School should be a place for healthy debate not subservience to others thought policing.

Also 2/30 11 year olds in one class are already saying they're trans. Where is this coming from? At 11 I barely knew anything with any certainty (still the same at 38 tbh) so how are these young children deciding they're trans? It makes me want to hide the kids away from modern life until they're old enough to deal with it all.

Setting aside the issue of the topic, I find it really weird that the teacher outlined their own view of an event and encouraged/forced pupils to agree with it. I don’t remember my teachers doing that - it was always about asking us and encouraging debate and thinking. Only very occasionally would they give their opinion - and probably a lot of the time were just playing devils advocate. What skills have they learnt from this lesson? I think a critique of the teaching is worth mentioning too.

@amter

Yes it was hands up vote, which is why DD went along with the crowd.

I don't blame her but cannot help reflecting that this is exactly what it was like under the totalitarian regime I grew up in.

No one dared speak their mind, we all just went along with whatever we were made to understand was the acceptable view. What's worse, we'd all know how we really thought (some true believers, some dissenters, some didn't care) but the vote only ever went one way.

Agree with others

Complain
Go to governors
A show of hands vote is unacceptable
Lazy teaching definitely.

Please let us know what the head says.

@SickAndTiredAgain

Not the main issue you’ve raised I know, just something that generally pisses me off in the media generally. Lots of people, including other Harry Potter actors, spoke against what JKR said. Why is this framed as JKR vs Emma Watson? Must everything be two women pitted against each other when actually this is one woman being criticised by a number of people both in individual statements and in articles, as well as supported by a number of other people in similar ways. If they were going to discuss this, why not “here’s what JKR said, here’s some viewpoints criticising and supporting”. Why turn it into a fight between two women specifically.

I see where you're coming from on this and I don't disagree that Emma Watson is far from being the only cast member who belongs to the TWAW gang.

But I think it's possibly because Emma Watson is the self-appointed bastion of feminism, believing herself to be radical and challenging the patriarchy. Having pushed herself into that role, and being seen as a leading feminist, Emma Watson has then been the most vocal/critical of JKR.

Her long, rambling thank you to celebrate the anniversary pointedly ignores JKR completely while ensuring that literally every single other person is thanked, including the crew. It would have been easy for her to include a brief acknowledgement or thanks to JKR for creating the HP world, but apparently that's too much. Emma Watson has deliberately set out to be unpleasant to JKR while the others seem to only make comments like TWAW when backed into a corner or they're afraid the TRAs are after their blood, and even then they're a bit half-arsed.

Twitter was recently trending with all three of them for being shits to the woman that gave them their break, but every campaign needs a figurehead and I think Emma Watson is very happy to be leading the charge against JKR.