School is encouraging gender neutral instead of ‘girls’

[Dinosaurhearmeroar]

Hi everyone,

I work at an all girls school and the senior team has advised that we try to stick to gender neutral language when we can e.g Good morning everyone / year 8 etc.

The senior team said that if we use ‘girls’ without thinking and without malice intent then they will support us.

I purposefully go out of my way to say girls because that’s what they are. I will continue to say this. Am I being unreasonable here? I don’t want to get in hot water but I also don’t want to have to change my language for about 3 students in a school of over 1,000.

Any thoughts/ feedback welcome!

Thank you

No of course you aren't being unreasonable!

Explain that you don't understand how the word 'girls' for female adolescents could ever carry malicious intent and you will use ordinary language as appropriate. You don't understand what they are trying to achieve by preventing you from using ordinary words and then promising you 'support' if you do so 'accidentally'. It more appears, from your position, like they are introducing a new disciplinary offence without consultation.

Have the parents been told yet? This has happened in our girls' school and I found out via daughter. I complained and now trying to move my child out. Toilets were changed from 'girls' to 'students'

The school seems to be marketing themselves to parents who really want a single sex school without being able to stick their guns and get girls to be proud of being girls.

What is wrong with the word 'girls'?

They who must not be named. They who must be quiet, invisible, subservient, good and kind.

'girl power' had its own issues, but I think I preferred it to this horrible erasure.

What are they going to call the school if 'girls' is beyond the pale? A school for ... what?

Alot of the single sex schools where I live are called xxxx school for girls or xxxx girls school. Are they all going to change their names?

I was quite relieved when we got all the clobber through for my DD who heads to a girls' school this September, to see that throughout they referred to "Your daughter" and "girls". I would just carry on using it - it will never be malicious so they will always have to support you!

Sproggs?

Teaching girls that there's something shameful the language that names them embodies hatred of women and girls. Of course there's another group in the world today who see girls receiving education as shameful and wrong:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/002e6a22-aa89-11ec-b5dd-c16e85f55725?shareToken=bf83801ca183274faa04e24a1408da75

So because a few girls claim to have a special identity the other 1000 have to pretend their sex doesn't exist?
Fuck that.

Surely "girls" encompasses "boys who want to be girls" anyway, so they would hardly object.
(Although whether "boys who want to be girls" should be in an all girls' school anyway is a whole other point of discussion they shouldn't, no discussion)

@Whatsnewpussyhat

So because a few girls claim to have a special identity the other 1000 have to pretend their sex doesn't exist? Fuck that.

Agree. And if parents want to support their daughter in being seen as their son instead then surely they should be moving them out of an all girls school.

Is it called 'x school for girls'?

@Justkeeppedaling

Surely "girls" encompasses "boys who want to be girls" anyway, so they would hardly object. (Although whether "boys who want to be girls" should be in an all girls' school anyway is a whole other point of discussion they shouldn't, no discussion)

I think the issue is more girls who identify as boys or non-binary within an all girls setting.

I worked in a single sex school until last year and I am so glad to be out of it and avoiding all this crap.

This is a huge issues in school. I work in an all-boys school and always use the term ‘gentlemen’ or ‘boys’ when speaking to a class. We are also meant to be gender neutral as we have a handful of transitioning students in our sixth form. It’s really hard to change to refer to them using their year group, so ‘gentlemen’ would be changed to Sixth Form etc.

Our linked school which is all-girls, now has a section on registration forms for asking about the students preferred pronouns! They had an incident when they accidentally ‘outed’ one of their students to their parents in the school report. Throughout the report they used he/him/his pronouns as the student identified as male at school, but parents had absolutely no idea. So the pronouns in the form are the pronouns that will be used on any school correspondence regardless of the students choices.

@Justkeeppedaling

Surely "girls" encompasses "boys who want to be girls" anyway, so they would hardly object. (Although whether "boys who want to be girls" should be in an all girls' school anyway is a whole other point of discussion they shouldn't, no discussion)

It's the transboys and nonbinary pupils they'll be thinking of. There are far more of those around than transgirls.

Have started a matching thread to see if boys' schools are doing anything comparable.

They had an incident when they accidentally ‘outed’ one of their students to their parents in the school report. Throughout the report they used he/him/his pronouns as the student identified as male at school, but parents had absolutely no idea.

Just for anyone not aware, the school has no authority to conceal a child's belief that they're the opposite sex from their parents. The Children Act is clear that schools work in partnership with parents and that only the courts can remove parental rights - not teachers in schools. Parents need to know this and start challenging schools doing this.
And this article highlights the catastrophic consequences in psychological terms of socially transitioning teenagers:

www.transgendertrend.com/teenager-says-theyre-transgender/

Thank you everyone - it’s very strange and I am not happy about it. To use the word “girls” accidentally is our only option as teachers ? Makes no sense - it is not an accident, they are all girls.

Yes!!!!! And to top it off we celebrated international woman’s day (quite rightly) but are being encouraged to avoid ‘girls’. It’s such a load of nonsense and I’m the only one who thinks this 🤦‍♀️.

I just know they won’t be - these conversations are not happening in boys’ schools.

My daughters all-girls secondary school is doing the same, with "gender neutral toilets" and using "students" instead of "girls" . Trying to tell the student body what to think and trying to wipe women off the face of the earth.... My daughter is 🙄🙄

Not that this'll be the reason for your school's stance, but wasn't there some research suggesting that when women and girls are reminded of their sex, their performance drops?

Same thing is happening at my all boys school so so t think it's a female specific thing

It's the transboys and nonbinary pupils they'll be thinking of. There are far more of those around than transgirls

I think you're right, but we've endes up in a very strange situation when girls can't be girls at a girls' school. Why are the transboys and non-binary students at that school? I wonder what kind of language their admissions office use!

I looked round the local girls state school for DD a few years ago, I noticed a conspicuous lack of using the word girls, there was a lot of talk of 'our students' at the open evening, and on the website too. I was keen on single sex education for DD, but have since learnt some things about the pastoral care at the girls school that have made me concerned. Social contagion definitely an issue there. I was relieved when DD didn't get a place, even though I initially thought single sex would benefit her.

Very different to my time at a girls school in the 90s, we were always girls or some of the die hard older teachers were clinging onto 'young ladies', which I hated.

I think it is really sad. Girls should be proud of being girls. What was it Adele said about being proud of being a woman and a female artist (sorry can't remember her exact words). Maybe you should remind the decision makers of this.