Please help! Gender not sex on a school 'protected characteristics' poster, just spoken to the Head!

[Vebrithien]

Good morning,

I started this thread before Christmas

www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4684558-today-i-found-my-bravery?page=1

The overview is that my DD's primary school is displaying posters by No Outsiders, which are supposed to show the 9 protected characteristics, but shows gender, not sex.

The (male) deputy head I mentioned it to, before Christmas, has not got back to me. The posters are still there.

I summoned up my courage this morning, and spoke to the Headteacher. She seemed surprised, as I said I'd already mentioned it to one deputy head, and that I'd picked up on it due to my school expecting Ofsted, and reissuing our equality training.

The Head said that it was surprising, as No Outsiders were an organisation whose specialism was equalities.

I replied that the EA2010 says sex, not gender. I also mentioned that there were some concerning resources produced by them, including an assembly where a dad wants to offer violence to children who do not accept his trans child. (I know no more than this)

The Head is going to talk to her other deputy head, whose responsibility this is, and to try to put us in contact.

Where do I do from here?

Can any one help me with evidence? What particularly is dodgy about No Outsiders?

Is there anything that states that schools mustn't misrepresent the EA?

Is there any DofE (or whatever it's called now) guidance for schools on the resources they used or how they represent the EA?

And, how should I go about finding out if the school uses other No Outsiders resources?

Please help, I want as much evidence as I can.

Still shaking with adrenaline from speaking to the Head!

Thank you @Tinysoxxx and everyone else who has been supportive.

Right side of history is such a patriarchal statement.

History is about and by the powerful more often than not.

The history of the subjugation of women is barely told.

OP you're doing brilliantly. Thanks for being so uncouth as to care about what children are taught and not just sucking it up like a good woman. Very gender non conforming and inspiring.

Yes - virtually any trans person is protected by virtue of the gender reassignment ground.

But some trans people are also protected by the sex ground in respect of their identified gender. That is just a legal fact.

Everyone demanding that this school do something to imply the Equality Act sex ground only applies in respect of biological sex are demanding it misrepresent the law.

I'm looking for a checklist of man/woman gender characteristics legally approved by the UK government so I can ensure the assignment at my birth is correct.

I've tried various wordings in a search engine but can't seem to find one. I'm sure a trans ally will be able to provide something though. Thanks in advance.

Go one then, what else does ‘sex’ mean if not just about biology?
A transwoman has the same protections under the EA as anyone with the other protected characteristics. They don’t have the protection of being able to use female spaces in certain situations though. That’s because they are male.

Christ who’d be a head teacher with this to deal with alongside OFSTED, absences, staff sickness, threatened strikes, budgets etc etc.

Why are you asking me? I’m just telling you what the legal definition is as set out by Lady Haldane. And that definition is that sex is not just about biological sex.

It is simple legal fact.

You might wish that it weren’t the case but it is.

Which TRA bingo card are you using today ELO?

The case being referred to was looking at the legal effect of an individual holding a GRC.

Lady Haldane stated that sex was not limited to biological or birth sex but also included those with a GRC (note she was very specific in this).

Without possession of a GRC, the protected characteristic in question is Gender Reassignment not Sex. It should also be noted that she stated that sex and gender reassignment were separate and distinct characteristics and were not to be conflated

The school poster is factually incorrect as the protected characteristic is sex not gender.

Everyone demanding that this school do something to imply the Equality Act sex ground only applies in respect of biological sex are demanding it misrepresent the law.

The law says "sex". It may turn out that this includes people with a GRC, although this is a recent development and may well be challenged.

What is definitely NOT a protected characteristic is "gender" (whatever that means).

Thanks for being one of the few posters to acknowledge the reality that the EA2010 ground is not limited to biological sex.

Perhaps you can try and convince those who are claiming otherwise.

Yeah, no. Sex is biological. I know that, you know that and Lady Haldane knows that.
Just like the earth isn’t flat, the moon isn’t made of cheese, Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, males can’t get pregnant.

Does your conscience ever prickle when you realise that your idea of being on the "right side of history" leads to males being put in women's prisons? Which leads to women being raped as a direct consequence of what you're advocating for?
Does it ever make you rethink your stance or are you too far gone down the rabbit hole?

Lady Haldane knew when she wrote her judgment that it was legally very contentious and that it would require swathes of existing legislation to be rewritten and reconsidered. She will be extremely strongly contested.

Rather like the Employment Tribunal judge who declared that GC beliefs were not worthy of respect in a democratic society, or Mermaids' decision to challenge LGB Alliance in court, I predict this is another apparent 'victory' that will turn out to have been another bullet-in-foot moment.

But keep whistling in the dark while the world continues to wakes up to the abuse, homophobia and misogyny inherent in gender ideology.

sex-matters.org/posts/the-legal-system/scottish-court-rules-that-sex-is-about-paperwork-not-biology/

That ignores that this is a children’s comms campaign - not a mere textual reproduction of legislation.

It’s really common in comms campaigns to describe the actual effect of a law rather than just the text of legislation.

For almost all practical purposes, discrimination based on gender is prohibited under the Equality Act, through a combination of the sex ground (which is not limited to biological sex) and the gender reassignment ground (which is broad enough to encompass anyone who is openly trans or NB).

No Outsiders should communicate what the practical effect of legislation is - not just the specific words used in the legislation. As we see on here, simply saying the protected ground is ‘sex’ gives rise to a lot of incorrect understanding of what is actually protected.

That’s not what LH said though. She was talking about the impact the wording of the EA.

We’re talking about the law.

Under the law, sex is not just biological.

No matter how much you wish things were different, simply claiming the law is something other than it is is just delusional.

What would "gender" as a PC even mean?

People with one sort of undefinable feeling or essence must not be treated less favourably than other people with a different sort of undefinable feeling or essence?

"I didn't get the promotion because of my internal and indescribable perception about myself?"

How would that work?

It is explicitly what she said.

“I conclude that in this context, which is the meaning of sex for the purposes of the 2010 Act, “sex” is not limited to biological or birth sex”

That ignores that this is a children’s comms campaign - not a mere textual reproduction of legislation.

Ok, and that means you need to explain what "gender" means in a way that children can understand.

Any suggestions?

You’re now equating the Court of Session with a first tier employment Tribunal?

Talk about grasping at straws.

I would discuss with Safe Schools Alliance and then write a formal letter to the Head stating that the poster quite deliberately misrepresents the law, in order to promote a political lobbying position, and that you want the poster either corrected to read ‘sex’ or taken down.

If the school continue to insist on teaching the children a factually incorrect statement wbout what the Equality Act says, in order to promote the agenda of political activists, then you regret you will be taking the matter further with Ofsted, the governors and department for education. Remind the school that the legal responsibility for the children’s education lies with them not any external group they may have hired, who will have their own agenda.

No-one ever gives a proper answer to this. If my child wants to know what gender they are, how do they find out?

The answers usually make vague reference to 'feeling like a girl/boy' which is circular - you need to know what a girl/boy is to know if you feel like one.

No it isn’t