SNP - Gender Ideology Gone Mad
Carolyn Brown is a widely respected educational psychologist who is clearly concerned about the rush to place children and young people on a medical pathway leading to irreversible surgery and hormone treatment.
"There are the practicalities of toilets and changing rooms, communication with parents and curriculum contents. The Scottish guidance says gender ideology should be accommodated for all of these. And yet this is an unevidenced belief system being promoted in Scottish schools by the Scottish government.
"There are growing numbers of detransitioners speaking out; they warn of the dangers of promoting the trans ideology to pupils. Detransitioners warn that transitioning not only did not help their mental health issues, it made them worse; in many cases, more suicidal."
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/gender-ideology-a-hindrance-if-a-pupil-identifies-as-trans-h9qnql0b0
Gender ideology a hindrance if a pupil identifies as trans
By Carolyn Brown - The Times
The challenges being experienced by schools and communities caused by economic factors are compounded by confusions presented by the Scottish government’s persistent push to recognize and legislate for gender identity ideology. This may be based on positive, inclusive, intentions but there is real naivety — if not arrogance — in the Scottish government’s refusal to listen and act on voiced concerns from women and families. This is critical in education.
There is a major increase in pupils self-identifying as ‘trans’. And those being referred to the Sandyford Clinic in Glasgow for treatment for gender dysphoria have significantly increased. From an educational perspective, there is a dearth of questioning. Why is this happening? What is appropriate support for these pupils? How should parents be involved?
The Scottish government’s guidance, ‘Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools’ was published in August 2021 and should have provided coherent answers to these questions. It does not. Even the title of the guidance is problematic as it assumes that the ‘trans’ pupil exists because the pupil says so. What is overlooked by the guidance is that there are usually many other reasons for a child or young person stating they are ‘trans’ — for example, autism, anxiety, abuse, bullying, body hatred and social contagion. These are the issues that really need to be addressed. The guidance assumes that the phrase ‘born in the wrong body’ is a well evidenced concept. It is not, and there is plenty robust evidence demonstrating this from decades of neuroscience, biological and psychology research.
The implications for educationalists and how they respond are significant. The recent Cass Report (an independent review for the NHS in England on services for children and young people who question their gender identity) highlights the importance of schools and how teachers affirming pupils’ self-identification as trans can be harmful not just in terms of setting those individuals potentially on a path towards unnecessary medicalisation but also just in terms of delusional self-perception.
There are the practicalities of toilets and changing rooms, communication with parents and curriculum contents. The Scottish guidance says gender ideology should be accommodated for all of these. And yet this is an unevidenced belief system being promoted in Scottish schools by the Scottish government. There are growing numbers of detransitioners speaking out; they warn of the dangers of promoting the trans ideology to pupils. Detransitioners warn that transitioning not only did not help their mental health issues, it made them worse; in many cases, more suicidal.
There is a pressing need to listen to these voices, and for education professionals to speak up about what is well established knowledge regarding child and teenage psychological development. What teenager does not feel uncomfortable in their own body? It is the job of all to reassure and support pupils to learn to accept their biological bodies and love themselves for who they are.
Carolyn Brown is a former educational psychologist with a large education authority in Scotland.
Gender ideology a hindrance if a pupil identifies as trans
By Carolyn Brown - The Times
The challenges being experienced by schools and communities caused by economic factors are compounded by confusions presented by the Scottish government’s persistent push to recognize and legislate for gender identity ideology. This may be based on positive, inclusive, intentions but there is real naivety — if not arrogance — in the Scottish government’s refusal to listen and act on voiced concerns from women and families. This is critical in education.
There is a major increase in pupils self-identifying as ‘trans’. And those being referred to the Sandyford Clinic in Glasgow for treatment for gender dysphoria have significantly increased. From an educational perspective, there is a dearth of questioning. Why is this happening? What is appropriate support for these pupils? How should parents be involved?
The Scottish government’s guidance, ‘Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools’ was published in August 2021 and should have provided coherent answers to these questions. It does not. Even the title of the guidance is problematic as it assumes that the ‘trans’ pupil exists because the pupil says so. What is overlooked by the guidance is that there are usually many other reasons for a child or young person stating they are ‘trans’ — for example, autism, anxiety, abuse, bullying, body hatred and social contagion. These are the issues that really need to be addressed. The guidance assumes that the phrase ‘born in the wrong body’ is a well evidenced concept. It is not, and there is plenty robust evidence demonstrating this from decades of neuroscience, biological and psychology research.
The implications for educationalists and how they respond are significant. The recent Cass Report (an independent review for the NHS in England on services for children and young people who question their gender identity) highlights the importance of schools and how teachers affirming pupils’ self-identification as trans can be harmful not just in terms of setting those individuals potentially on a path towards unnecessary medicalisation but also just in terms of delusional self-perception.
There are the practicalities of toilets and changing rooms, communication with parents and curriculum contents. The Scottish guidance says gender ideology should be accommodated for all of these. And yet this is an unevidenced belief system being promoted in Scottish schools by the Scottish government. There are growing numbers of detransitioners speaking out; they warn of the dangers of promoting the trans ideology to pupils. Detransitioners warn that transitioning not only did not help their mental health issues, it made them worse; in many cases, more suicidal.
There is a pressing need to listen to these voices, and for education professionals to speak up about what is well established knowledge regarding child and teenage psychological development. What teenager does not feel uncomfortable in their own body? It is the job of all to reassure and support pupils to learn to accept their biological bodies and love themselves for who they are.
Carolyn Brown is a former educational psychologist with a large education authority in Scotland.
