Bank of England staff told to share pronouns and use ‘gender neutral’ language

[IwantToRetire]

... “while fostering a sense of inclusion among employees is, of course, a worthwhile objective”, he believed that training courses like the one given to Bank staff are “ideologically driven”.

“As a result, they may have the unintended effect of fostering an intolerant workplace culture in which some employees feel they cannot express certain, perfectly legitimate points of view,” the letter said.

“Our primary concern is that the ‘Trans Inclusion’ course appears to promote gender identity ideology while stigmatising gender critical beliefs, which are <a class="break-all" href="https://archive.is/o/P9CHb/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/08/28/left-has-captured-language-of-political-debate/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">protected under the Equality Act 2010.”
The FSU’s letter highlighted a part of the training that stated “using the wrong pronouns” is another example of a “microaggression”.

Full article in the Telegraph at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/08/31/bank-england-share-pronouns-woke-training-trans-rights-sex/

Can also be read in full at https://archive.is/P9CHb

I assumed this must be an old stories as I thought most institutions had given up on this nonsense. But appears to be recent'

You are a one-woman search engine-cum-archive yourself!

indeed. Bloody women educating themselves all over the shop!

Thanks all.

Sadly, I was busy yesterday so didn't do it. And I understand that the poster requesting this background will have muted yet another thread where their opinions were challenged.

But we will have it for next time and for those who are still reading along, they will have the knowledge. And they will have seen the tactics that some activists use to block expanding their own knowledge so they can better understand the people they denigrate (as we have seen previously), demonise and try to emotionally manipulate with emotional pleas or misinformation.

To be fair, it is the spread of misinformation that I find most troubling but hey ho. Muting threads because challenge is considered attack is sadly another activist tactic that we have seen all too often across social media. And (this is general) all too often from a person who is very quick to demonise and use derogatory language against someone who rejects belief over fact and evidence.

And yet, if we were to use this thread and others similar (by way of research into the question of which side of this debate cites ‘educate yourself’) we’d see quite conclusively that the phrase is being used far more by gender critical posters.

And when I asked for examples of how it’s used by ‘trans activists’, I was told by one of the GC posters: ‘I’m not required to produce “actual examples and I’m not bothered if you personally don’t believe me’. (Even though it’s apparently ‘trans activists’ who cite stuff without evidence.)

Its very easy to post links from
GC sites, from Graham Lineham’s blog, from places like that and to proof text using them. Heck, religious fundamentalists have been on to that trick for centuries.

And yet, if we were to use this thread and others similar (by way of research into the question of which side of this debate cites ‘educate yourself’) we’d see quite conclusively that the phrase is being used far more by gender critical posters.

This thread "and others similar" (arbitrarily decided by you) can't be taken as a sample of the whole of social media can it 🙄 as to evidence, I will certainly evidence important claims, this is not one of those, it's a throwaway comment. Various people have commented to back up my view, as I said, I'm not really interested in whether you agree.

Did you do any research for yourself? Or do you like to have your evidence delivered to you without effort from yourself?

All throughout these threads, have you actually followed links to the studies and the academic papers and the evidence that has been provided?

These days the "educate yourselves" order is usually found on threads in AIBU (until they're diverted to the Naughty Corner here), invariably from random ploppers. It genuinely is a known meme; the earlier poster was not being deliberately rude.

I have seen the phase ‘educate yourselves’ many many time from non GC posters

quite obviously i have no evidence but its been inferred that i am lying about other matters by two posters recently and i am not minded to pay any further attention to them for that reason

I'd certainly consider reporting any personal attacks which you feel have been made, @RufustheFactualReindeer

I do. But strangely I tend to like to do it from a diverse range of sources, rather than just those that agree with me.

So I find some of the links posted here by posters of different views are useful context. But personally I find reading the primary sources (like the good old Dentons report (for example)) is going to be far more use to me than a spectator article describing it.

I do. But strangely I tend to like to do it from a diverse range of sources, rather than just those that agree with me.

"Strangely" so do many women here on FWR. So if we summarise the problems with the Dentons approach you will be able to explain how they aren't problems?

Yep, my DD tried the ‘educate yourself’ tactic on me when she was 15 when I disagreed with her belief that she had a male brain in a female body and that I had ‘made her wrong’. Once I had explained that my (recent) degree in psychology had multiple neuroscience and neuropsychology components and that I would happily undertake to ‘educate’ her on why that belief was based on bullshit, in fact I could cite a dozen papers that dismantled the pop psychology myth of the very existence of a (natal) male v female brain, she never raised it again.

Glad to have you and your expert knowledge on the thread, @CautiousLurker !

With the greatest respect, I’m not going to waste my time for someone who has repeatedly commented that they are ‘not really interested in’ my views.

And yet, you never comment on them. And you never post any that you found convinced you. Yet, you continue to tell us that male people can be women. Do you or don't you have evidence to support this claim?

'Strangely'? Like yet another dig? Why?

I don't believe any regular poster would disagree that we should ALL be reading a variety of content, and original sources where needed. In fact, many of us here read carefully through sources work out where we agree and where we don't agree with them.

Thank you Cautious.

My teen tried this one on me too. I don't have your background but once I pointed out the lack of logic to the statement, and went through the studies and papers, they too realised that perhaps they should consider that statement to lack factual support.

Who cares who says "educate yourself" more?
They said it first, we repeat it ironically. Fixating on that phrase while refusing to look at any evidence as just another massive deflection.

I'm sure everyone can see that, tbh.

So, did you or didn't you go and do the research into where 'educate yourself' had come from initially?

But rusty, these days @Ereshkigalangcleg but tbh the male v female brain thing was one of the things that attracted me to studying psychology in the first place - there was a book about it @ 1997 by one of the Baron-Cohens if I recall correctly. Whilst there are very distinct differences in how male and female brains develop over the individual’s life time (in response to hormones during puberty, life experiences etc) until or unless we can scan babies at birth and map way their individual brains grow we can only rely on pathological comparison of deceased babies’ brain scans, which show no differences in infancy.

All fascinating stuff that basically confirms Prof Winston’s position that bio sex is encoded immutably into every cell of our bodies from conception and that, as neuroplastic as the brain is, there is no wrong brain/wrong body phenomenon.

I'm not sure why people who claim to have done lots of research are so reluctant to share it though, with other people if not the ones they don't want to waste time on.

When it may be the difference between terrible women continuing to complain and make things difficult, or seeing the light that "trans rights" should be considered more important than our humdrum female concerns.

Anyway. Pronouns: basic respect or compelled speech?

I only studied a few units of psych, and mostly from the behavioural side. So, I found the reliance on this thing called 'male brain' in female body interesting. I thought, well, a new development. Then I scratched the surface and actually read the studies and the papers and no ... it is not supported.

Yet, how many times do we see this repeated as if it really is evidenced and fact.

It is harmful misinformation.

I don't believe any regular poster would disagree that we should ALL be reading a variety of content, and original sources where needed. In fact, many of us here read carefully through sources work out where we agree and where we don't agree with them.

Yes, that's certainly what I do and have always done.

Compelled speech.

lol