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/

A teacher might want to raise women's rights over all kinds of things - any school policy that they feel affects girl pupils or female staff.

Would transgendered people also be banned from discussing it or is it just the women who aren't allowed to voice their opinion?

Clearly if a white teacher approaches a black teacher with this out of the blue and does it more than once and obviously because the teacher is black then that's bullying and harassment but if it comes up in conversation - maybe a conversation about Black history month teaching or topics for example, well white teachers are still entitled to their opinion and to say it out loud whether that is an informal conversation in the staff room or a minute-taken discussion during a department meeting.

There is certainly no reason why Thomas Sowell, a Stamford University academic, who is himself black could not be mentioned. Nor should you assume a person's attitude to either Sowell or the EDI industry based the person's skin colour.

Good point @Fladdermus this article on the subject from transwoman teacher Debbie Hayton shows that the unions cannot assume that all trans people think alike and they are doing that, a form of transphobia in itself unherd.com/thepost/teachers-union-seeks-to-change-definition-of-transphobia/

@ValancyRedfern I'd join you in a letter.

Thanks @duvet I'm currently off work sick so probably not in the best state to take on an extra job, but this is so important to me! The NEU rep at my school completely agrees with me, but the regional reps and higher ups are totally captured. I know Kevin (whose surname escapes me) has some rational thoughts on this issue, and there's also Kiri Tunks who was a founder member of Woman's Place who is also reasonably senior in the NEU. We could definitely get some traction on an open letter I think. But I have no idea how to go about thus kind of thing!

That's certainly how it ought to be, but not, sadly, how I think it is. I've seen a person called out as a racist for mentioning Sowell.