Young voices - some not allowed

[arethereanyleftatall]

My 15yo DD was invited by her school to go to a 'young voices' event. An event for children to share and discuss their views on a wide range of topics.
She was one of 8 from her school, many other schools attended with same numbers. Hundreds of pupils. She said there were many children their with pride pins etc on display.
She is gender critical and believes sex matters.
Basically her views were not allowed. She was shouted over by other pupils in the discussions and organisers did nothing.
They all had to write on a post it who their inspiration was, and pin in to a board. She put JKR. The board was being manned by the organisers. When she came back to the board her post it has been removed and placed on a 'hate' board alongside terrorist organisations etc.
She absolutely hated the day, said it wasn't 'young voices' at all, but 'young voices as long as you agree with us.'
She is petrified of being expelled/suspended/told off because of her views.

Any advice please on what to do?

Your daughter has been subject to less favourable treatment on account of her legally protected belief. I’d be raising hell.

It's really difficult to, because she now tbh just wants to hide. I'll give her some space to process first.

I would agree with any or all of those but not the press. The press are like Fiendfyre - you might get them going but once they start you can't control them.

Understandable - being publicly attacked is a nightmare for anyone - let alone a teenager.
She really doesn't need to do anything - other than be supported by those around her. But as a parent, I'd want to check that she's not getting any pushback from other young people in her school who've been indoctrinated into this totalitarian way of thinking. Some young people will be to scared of being bullied themselves so find it hard to stand up for others.
Which is why schools must uphold freedom of speech, foster open discussion and enable legitimate views to be expressed.

Thank you @MrsOvertonsWindow

Op's daughter you are fierce and amazing. You are not wrong and I am guessing that JKR would be touched by what you have done. Gender ideology often can't listen to dissenting voices because it brings down the house of cards. Stay strong

Firstly, well done to your DD. It takes guts to go against the consensus and I’m sure she must have felt very undermined when JKR was moved onto another board. Does she know whether it was a fellow student or one of the organisers?

I think I’d have my DD’s back here and take this up with the school in writing. While it is still fresh in your DD’s mind I’d get her to write up a very factual report of the day - just outlining what they were asked to do, the discussions that were had, the putting of JKR’s name on the ‘hate’ board - the more dispassionate the better in its main content. Then maybe she can write something about how it all made her feel - did she feel able to speak up? Did she feel listened to? Was her voice heard?

I think this should definitely be challenged or at least documented. Any letter you write can then be based upon your DD’s actual account and you can incorporate it into your correspondence with the school and/or the organisation.

As others have said, your DD is obviously seen by the school as an articulate ambassador for the school otherwise she wouldn’t have been chosen. You don’t want her to be sidelined in future because she doesn’t toe the party line on gender identity politics.

You must be very proud of your DD - I know I would be, and I would be equally as outraged on her behalf. I hope my own DD would be able to speak up like your DD. I’m sure JKR would be very proud of her too 😊

Pretty odd by implication to cast Hitler as a "divisive figure" unless you want to go "but the autobahns." And casts a very telling light on your values which apparently include diminishing murder on an industrial scale.

thats a good thing - get the local press involved, then the DM and all the rest - the more else the better

Is that the best you can do?

Your daughter / the attendees weren’t allowed their phones.

But I would be amazed if someone (one of the organisers) didn’t take lots of pics of the event, including the boards and post-its, for social media use, or to justify their budget to the council etc. There’ll be photos of it all somewhere. Maybe they’ll be stupid enough to put some of them up on their website at some point.

No need to shout at us sweetie. And the point is that Hitler et al aren't "controversial" at all - there's pretty much a consensus view on how to evaluate the morality of his acts.

LOL@comparing JK Rowling to
Bin Laden and Hitler.
That the best they can come up with? 🤣

Please don't let this thread descend and be deleted guys. I want to show it to my daughter.

I would be a proud Mum. Your Daughter has the intelligence to see through the brainwashing that goes on in all of schools. Well done her, she will go far.
What has your daughters Headteacher had to say about it ? No doubt they will be backing the group because they are brainwashed too.

I've just managed to find their Instagram page. Pride flags all over it.

Can I add to the praise for your awesome daughter, who has been very brave. This is disgraceful from the organisers.

Move along people,no hyperbole to see here.

OP could show it to the school as an example of the type of attempted smear and nonsense arguments that GC people - like her DD - are subject to.

Hi OP’s daughter, who I hope is reading this - you are admirable and remind me of my daughter.

This gender ideology capture is all getting dystopian like ‘1984’ (hence my username). Orwell himself is a bit problematical but there are a few quotes from his works that I think are relevant to how you are feeling today.

‘The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it.’

"There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against
the whole world, you were not mad."

‘However much you deny the truth, the truth goes on existing.’

Everyone knows you can’t really change sex - or they don’t because they have been lied to. The statistics all back up JK Rowling’s essays and tweets. And it’s all common sense. The battle is to make sure common sense isn’t overridden by an ideology which says it’s ‘kind’ but is actually dangerous physically and mentally (also borne out by objective science).

JKR is responsible for the killing and torture of just how many people?

Can we have this on record with your own name. Just so we are in the realms of libel and defamation...

Just here for solidarity with your daughter OP, I feel angry at how she has been treated.

She has been extraordinarily brave.
Does she know about Maya Forstater and her court case? That might encourage her. You could also write the Sex Matters about this event.

Has she read 1984 by George Orwell, or The Crucible? They are both extremely upsetting but if you could read them with her and discuss them she might see how she is not alone.

There is a well known Harry Potter quote:
“There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”-J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone^^

The Crucible, the play by Arthur Miller.