Being gender critical at work, Jk Rowling etc NHs

[DoubleScreens]

I can't believe this is even my reality. I work in a very big nhs trust and I have cancer, I already have a thread about my manager asking me if she was safe to be in a room with me after she googled my medication and realised it's an antipsychotic, (it is but I take it for bipolar as a mood stabiliser) then she asked if I was safe to be in work with my mental health conditions .

ANYWAY! My reason for this thread is that I own this. Up and I use it every day it's on my desk as I like it, and my manager's deputy has decided it's totally inappropriate for me to have this mug as 'Jk Rowling is a terf'

Also she's angry with me because I had to renew my ID badge and I refused to put pronouns on the badge as that is a requirement now, but I think it's ridiculous so I refused and my manager is saying I'm transphobic and homophobic which is so awkward because I'm married to a woman.

I just couldn't believe it, I don't see patients any more because of my cancer treatment, why do I need to put my pronouns on my id badge?

Although a spider, leaf & downhill skier also sound adorable @MarieDeGournay

Doublescreens this sounds incredibly frustrating - I'm also in a captured organisation which makes us do a whole mandatory training block on our impartiality & then 'recommends' we use pronouns in our email sig which (IMO) is a pledge of allegiance to the genderwoo, flying in the face of impartiality.

If you don't want to get into your GCness while dealing with your other significant issues, just keep telling them you're remaining impartial re:pronouns for the benefit of your service users. Do they not know it's a very divisive topic for some people???

no it doesn't have jk Rowling on it. She's totally jumped the shark with the transphobia crap

How completely ridiculous.

Honestly I would be looking at putting in some form of grievance about this. Her behaviour is horrifying! I seriously hope she isn't working in a mental health trust.

Good grief. Your manager is as thick as mince. How on earth do these people get jobs as managers?

Bollocks. Second-gen anti-psychotics like quetiapine are a fairly common treatment for bipolar disorder as a mood stabiliser.

Why do people spout such utter shit with breathtakingly misplaced confidence?

OP, as others have said your manager is way over the line. Document everything and if you have the mental energy (but I'd understand why you may not), consider raising a grievance. I hope your treatment is going well.

Just seen the pic of your mug. I thought from your OP you meant the mug had 'JKR is a terf' on it. Your mug is a perfectly normal mug! Wtf! Your manager is batshit! Please raise all of this with HR.

Oh my god , I also thought your mug said "J K Rowling is a terf".... but that mug is totally innocuous (and quite nice, I might get my Potterhead friend one).

I would actually be tempted to raise a grievance against this woman, she is not normal.

You know I have never clicked on the blue m before! I wondered where you all hid the gin

💐

If this wasn't so serious you would want to laugh.

This woman is definitely the one who is a threat.

I feel half tempted to forward it to the Daily Mail or Telegraph so they could do a big expose on NHS madness.

But obviously wont, as it could identify you.

There needs to be a Three Broomsticks protection society.

I'd advise anyone who is experiencing discrimination at work for expressing beliefs that are perfectly lawful, to consider joining the FSU. Even if you're not a member they may be able to give some general advice.

I won't go into details here, but I found them extremely helpful after I lost some work as a result of my GC beliefs. They helped me through litigation, got me a good lawyer and I ended up with an apology and a settlement.

I am very glad I fought back.

just keep telling them you're remaining impartial re:pronouns for the benefit of your service users. Do they not know it's a very divisive topic for some people

This sounds like a good possibility.

And even send a note to HR saying this is what you feel is appropriate at work, and could they message staff that use of pronouns is a personal choice not a work obligation.

I miss read what she was saying about the mug, I thought the mug was quoting JKR in some of her GC beliefs. Looks like it is just a Harry Potter mug, yes the manager is being ridiculous!
Trans people don’t just get legal protection if and when they have gender reassignment, ‘being trans’ is a protected characteristic.

I suggest you start collecting evidence and get ready to go to your union. Get as much as you can in writing. I also assumed the mug would say 'I ❤ JKR' or something similar!

Trans people don’t just get legal protection if and when they have gender reassignment, ‘being trans’ is a protected characteristic.

"Gender reassignment" isn't necessarily surgery or some sort of permanent change. "Being trans" is not a legal term. The legal term is gender reassignment.

LoobyDop · Yesterday 12:39

I’m really sorry this is happening to you, DoubleScreens. I also work in healthcare (private, not NHS) and this morning have lost a gender battle I’ve been fighting for months.

I'm sorry to learn that, it sounds like a complete nightmare.

DoubleScreens

I think that the advice so afar to record each incident and comment is good. How about writing a precis of the earlier incidents, if you can't recall the dates and times, explaining how it started.

Alternatively, type square brackets (one of these [)flowers square brackets.

Yay!

But please don't tell my wife I'm sending flowers to other women...

Occy health had no right to tell her your medical details. All they should have said if she was quizzing them is "she is fit for work" I would be complaining about that

It’s not that clear cut. Typically OH assessments include asking the employee for consent to share relevant info with managers. Otherwise, how could a manager make reasonable adjustments for illness or disability?

Like others I expected the mug to actually say something bluntly terfy! Now that I’ve seen the mug I would say….

You are obviously as ill informed as the op's manager. You appear to discriminate on the grounds of mental ill health and do not understand that medication works by reducing and controlling symptoms. Many people live quite "ordinary " lives while using appropriate medication for their mental health conditions. I am horrified by your comment

'Being trans' is not a protected characteristic under the law. The protected characteristic in the Equality Act is gender reassignment. Gender reassignment under the law doesn't just mean surgery. You may have had inaccurate information from a biassed source.

A little update. I have spoken to the freedom to speak up guardian, and I have spoken to HR. Sadly both got back to me too late to really do anything yesterday but I've made an appointment to call the freedom to speak up guardian after work.

I've written down a contemporaneous note of what happened in the meeting, how it made me feel, how my managers deputy has ignored me for 3 days after the meeting with the big boss.

I have drafted an email to my manager but I've got an appointment with her on Monday anyway so I might bring it up to her then, or I might just keep quiet about the whole situation.

I've been totally ignored by my deputy manager and she walks off if I talk to her or try and get involved in banter.

Then she also made a comment on Thursday morning which to me indicates that she has been told by the big boss that I have bi polar because out of nowhere on Thursday morning she said she had less debt because she had got on top of her bipolar..

Oh and I've spoken to my union rep. I will be supported in all meetings

Well, I'm definitely wishing you best of luck, poor you, being stuck with such a nasty ignoramus.

freedom to speak up guardian

I never knew there was such a thing.

But this certainly seems better news, as well as having the union represent you.

Really hope all goes well at the meeting.

In the meantime I hope you can switch off from it all and have a good sunday.