Teachers who discuss sex-based women’s rights with transgender colleagues would be considered “transphobic” under a policy proposed by members of Britain’s largest teaching union.

[ChristinaXYZ]

Over-reach by a trades union again - why can none of them get round to defending women?

And if you are still a teacher who is member of the NEU then a reminder that Affinity is a trades union that does not do politics and does cover teachers.

"Teachers who discuss sex-based women’s rights with transgender colleagues would be considered “transphobic” under a policy proposed by members of Britain’s largest teaching union.

The National Education Union’s trans and non-binary network has proposed that anyone who expects trans people “to participate in discussion or debate about their rights and/or identities” is transphobic.

The draft proposal of a transphobia definition, seen by The Telegraph, also cited “propagating ideas, concepts and misinformation harmful to trans people and which erase and ignore trans history, such as trans as an ideology or contagion”, as an example of transphobic behaviour.

The policy neither outlined what it meant by “trans history”, nor what “ideas, concepts and misinformation” would be considered harmful to trans people.
It further defined transphobia as a “rejection of trans identity and a refusal to acknowledge that those identities are real or valid” or the “incorrect use of pronouns”.

A whistleblower close to the teaching union told The Telegraph: “I am extremely worried by this. I’m from a Left-wing background and I hate this nonsense.
“We need free speech. Women need safe spaces. If this definition is accepted, anyone who says ‘You can’t logically self-identify as the opposite sex’, you’ll be a transphobe.”

The source added: “I think it will mean that teachers will be too scared to speak up in schools and they will go along with the NEU policy.”"

Read the full article www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/10/10/teachers-who-discuss-womens-rights-trans-colleagues-could-transphobic/

Excellent idea.

Brilliant, @MrsOvertonsWindow That's what we need.

An Australian teaching union is trying to do much the same thing, but I don't know whether they have the same protection as we do. Can't link as it's paywall protected, but here's the guts of the issue.

Australia’s academic union has issued a warning to “gender critical” researchers while resisting an internal push that could have led to their expulsion.

A motion drafted for the national council of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) described gender critical research as “hate speech…masquerading as academic work” and declared that gender critical ideology was “not welcome in society or in our union”.

The motion was amended shortly before the council, an annual forum of hundreds of NTEU delegates, to “condemn the use of gender critical ideology when used to promote or defend transphobia”.

The amended version, which passed without further change, said “gender critical ideology” was “a term that is used to defend transphobic ideology and when used to do so is not consistent with academic freedom”.

Well it's certainly having a chilling effect on me. I am currently challenging our slt to make our trans policy more in line with the Cass review and safeguarding and less sexist (I'm sure you can imagine the gist of the trans policy: immediate change of pronouns good; telling parents bad), but I'm scared to keep going with it without the support of my union.

Stop cheerleading for the party that has systematically dismantled our rights for 12 years with no sign of fixing it.

Keep writing to your MP with examples of how much damage this shit is doing and ask what he is doing about it.
Vote for a party who actually know what a woman is and will protect and strengthen our rights.

1. I. Am. Not. Cheerleading.
2. I am writing to HER very regularly. As previously stated.
3. Which party would you suggest, then?

I've read here that the SWP and the SDP know what women are. What happened when you wrote to them @teawamutu?

I have not written to the SWP (although have engaged via Twitter etc) because they don't field candidates in my constituency yet. If ever they do, I will - I wrote to them all before the last election. Labour and the Lib Dems didn't even bother to reply. WEP gave quite a good answer as an individual, but the party's stance is so demented that I couldn't possibly vote for them.

I want to vote. I want to vote not-Tory. I'm demoralised and angry but I will not go back to Labour until they stop spouting anti-women shite. Doesn't mean I love the alternative.

The WEP's stance is drmented? Have you seen what the Tories have done and continue to do the country? They put male sex offenders in women's jails. They're suggesting that natal girls wait while transgirls use their spaces. They contaminate legistlation with gender woo. All the time lying reassuring women that they are fixing it.

How is that any less demented @teawamutu?

The WOMEN'S EQUALITY PARTY is bought and owned by a man with a trans kids, and prioritises the feelings of males over the reality of women.

The WOMEN'S EQUALITY PARTY, which has one job.

The Tories have been asleep at the fucking wheel while public services were captured, and their cuts made outsourcing of thinking more likely, and dickheads like Crispin Blunt and Penny Mordaunt were genuine believers and encouraged it all. But we are now seeing some attempts to roll back.

It's not enough, it's not fast enough and it's not comprehensive enough. But - and this is an important point - they're the only main party that isn't desperate to go full self-ID and make it worse.

If I have missed evidence of Labour and the Lib Dems returning to sanity - Keir Starmer standing up for Rosie Duffield, Layla Moran admitting your souls don't matter as much as your body does, Lisa Fucking Nandy agreeing that male rapists don't belong in women's prisons even if they have said the magic words - I would be delighted and indebted if you would point me to it.

If you have none, then my original point stands. On this issue, bad as the Tories are, they are not as bad as the alternative right now.

What can NEU members do about this?

It's hard to know duvet.

It appears to be in direct contradiction of the law (Forstater judgement)
It sets up a "sacred caste" who appear to be unchallengeable. Given the safeguarding implications of the current Mermaids paedophile scandal in a charity embedded in lots of schools, it's unacceptable to silence over safeguarding.
It's anti democratic - it silences people and legitimate discussion about potential social / legal changes about competing rights / demands.
Given the serious implications of
Cass review, it stops teachers having legitimate discussions about the wellbeing of children.

It's toddler stuff - no arguments, no debate, no discussion as all we have is intimidation and bullying.

If it gets as far as conference, I'd take my subscription elsewhere to a union that can represent women and prioritises safeguarding children.

The policy of the NEU, like all trade unions, is decided by members. This has come from a motion and via a small group within the union.

GC women members could do the same and challenge it. I would suggest any member could contact the executive and share their concerns about it.

Trade unions aren’t separate entities from their members. Members decide the policy, the viewpoints etc. Through conference and elected members.

I'm not sure how seriously you are suggesting this, but I am not convinced it's a good idea.

Obviously I don't want to be harassed in the workplace for being a woman. On the other hand, I hope I am enough of an adult that a co-worker could say something about women's rights I disagreed with seriously and I could manage my emotions about it.

The National Education Union’s trans and non-binary network has proposed that anyone who expects trans people “to participate in discussion or debate about their rights and/or identities” is transphobic.

This is surely worded incorrectly?

All those orgs, trans spokespeople on Twitter - those people asking their peers to discuss trans identities or rights is transphobic?

I mean, I know everything is transphobic but is this what they mean?

The Tory Party drafted and passed policies that put male rapists into women's prisons. They continue to do so, so it's not a case of they're not doing enough. They're doing the square root of fuck all. Have you read the shit they're suggesting in the DofE, that girls wait outside so transgirls can use their spaces?

They didn't sleepwalk into this.🙄 They actively drove it as Conservative government policy. They actively resisted commonsense amendments raised by the HoL. They actively put rapists in places full of vulnerable women. They know how damaging it has been for women, but they're not doing anything because the Tory government doesn't give a shit about women and girls.

I am struggling with you thinking that a Labour MP talking shite is worse than the Conservative government actually putting violent men into women's prisons.🤯🤯🤯

And they have known how damaging it is for a long time. Hence them turning it into a culture war. At least the Tories know what a woman is? The Tory spin merchant that came up with that one, must have pissed themselves laughing at the people who fell for it.🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Okay, so what is your suggestion? Apart from pouring scorn on any other view than your own, do you have any ideas for things to actually do?

Don't vote Tory.

Vote for which party instead?

I can't tell you who to vote for. I don't know what choice you have, who your candidates are or your personal circumstances.

What I can tell you is a vote for the Conservatives is a vote against women's rights.

Given that in most cases the other parties are far more pro-trans, that will mean not voting at all for many. Which I am sure some will choose but it also has practical outcomes associated with it, including the possibility of a party that will push that agenda further winning.

I mean honestly, it's like there are three kinds of poison and you tell people not to drink poison A as it is caustic. When they ask which of the others you recommend - the one that makes you bleed out through your eyeballs or the one that kills your liver, you just say, make your own choice, just don't drink poison A.

It's difficult to imagine that is a good faith position.

Very well put.

What?

Can we bring this back to the NEU? I'm an NEU member. Shall I write to the executive? Would it be possible to pull together a network of gc teachers in the NEU? Would anyone be interested in joining me in this? I don't want to leave the NEU as they have protected me well over the years regarding other issues.