I am crying and sad and afraid – watching yet more hate and fear-mongering thrown at trans children, specifically at girls like my daughter.

The BBC Victoria Derbyshire show (05/03/18) want a discussion on the Gender Recognition Act. An act that at present only applies to adults and only relates to birth certificates. Not, as they are discussing, access to changing rooms or toilets.

An act that bears zero relevance to the Girl Guides having a progressive policy of welcoming trans girls.

Yet the BBC gives air time to the worst type of bigotry – raising fear about the threat my young daughter poses if she goes on a camping trip with her friends. .

No wonder trans children are struggling in the UK RIGHT NOW

Take any other minority. Take Muslim children, or black children or Jewish children, or neuro diverse children.

Would the BBC give air time to a person saying that Jewish girls are a threat to other girls? Would they say that parents need to be made aware of any Muslim girls going on a camping trip?

Would they allow such hate to go unchallenged?

Why is it fine to throw my child under the bus time and time again?

And to have this dangerous, scary, legally and morally wrong rhetoric of trans children being a threat utterly unchallenged?

With two trans panellists who were clearly out of their comfort zone on the topic of trans girls like my daughter.

One trans panellist even seemed to agree, focusing on the importance of careful ‘trans’ risk assessments before camping trips for children.

My child is not a risk. She is not a threat. She does not need a risk assessment. She is not to be feared.

She would love to go camping with her friends. She is a child.

She’d love to stay up late and eat marshmallows and tell ghost stories and play and laugh

How dare the BBC present trans girls in girl guides as a safety concern?

How am I meant to keep my child safe when even the lovely Victoria Derbyshire gives space to this outrageous hate and fear-mongering?

How dare the panel nod and agree that this scare-mongering against vulnerable children is balanced?

I don’t blame Rebecca Root or Clara Barker both incredible women.

They did a better job than I could of at staying calm in the face of such prejudice.

They were brought on to talk about the Gender Recognition Act not to talk about trans children.

But wake up people! We know that those opposed to trans rights are targeting trans children.

We know they quickly turn discussions to focus on children.

This is their standard approach. One of the panellists was even the public face of a website which explicitly states trans children are a ‘trend’ simultaneously denying their existence.

They do this because focusing on children is an easy win for those opposed to trans equality. They are defenceless.

They know that, like today, trans adults are often hesitant about speaking up for trans kids, possibly as the experience of socially transitioned trans kids today is outside of their direct experience.

They know that the UK public are totally ignorant about wonderful trans children like my daughter.

It is hard to stir up fear about trans women when sat opposite kind intelligent articulate trans women.

But without any young trans children on the show it is easy to spread fear about an unknown.

It’s easy to paint trans girls as a scary shadow.

The people who know trans children like my daughter see how preposterous this fear-mongering is.

She is just like any other girl.

But those raising anti-trans fear know that the public don’t know any trans girl guides.

They rely on this ignorance. They don’t care about the impact of this fear-mongering on my child.

Can you imagine being a 10 year old girl, happy to be moving up from Brownies to Girl Guides, excited to be going camping.

And watching the BBC describe you as a threat to your friends.

No wonder trans children are at breaking point in the UK.

The UK is not a safe place for my child and with every ‘debate’ which allows lies and misinformation to go unchallenged it becomes more dangerous.

How am I meant to tell my wonderful kind sweet (brave, clever, strong, funny) girl that everything is going to be alright when I just don’t have hope?

This country is a scary place to be a trans girl.

I am scared and I have had more than I can bear.

This is not balanced debate.

This is hate.

This is intent to incite fear and prejudice against a defenceless and vulnerable group of children and the BBC has once again provided the platform.

This is not ok.

This is never ok.

World. Be Better.

P.S. The photo is not my daughter. But is a wonderful trans girl (Rebekah) who deserves all the care and kindness and happiness the world can send. That girl’s mum (Jamie) blogs here

Transgender trend ‘School resource pack’ – A teacher’s perspective –

The writer has more than 12 years experience in teaching, including head of year in secondary and within a SEND setting.

As a teacher my first question is who has written this?

Who are the authors?

Usually on resources you see a whole load of signatories, accreditation and endorsing organisations. Here there’s nothing.

How am I meant to use it?

It is not a resource pack (it contains no specific resources) and I can see no practical application for it.

Looking at the linked website, ‘about us section’, the organisation claims to be founded by a group of parents who have created a website and twitter account but have no other stated organisation purpose or role which gives them legitimacy.

The website ‘founder’s’ primary previous job experience is being an ‘accredited communication skills trainer’ (read bullshitter?).

She mentions she founded a school and worked in various roles in the classroom and playground. This implies she is unqualified (if she was a trained teacher or head, or worked as governor, she would surely have mentioned that).

Reading more of her blurb it quickly links to a website full of naff stock photos and seems to be motivated to sell a book, which seems to be self-published.

Doing a cursory nose around the website’s FAQ section, the first FAQ they have chosen to address is very telling:

Aren’t you just transphobic?
No, we believe that transgender people deserve the same civil and human rights as all of us and should not face discrimination. As the term ‘phobic’ literally means ‘irrational fear’ we want to make it very clear that we are not afraid of, or prejudiced against, transgender people in any way.

Given the amount of prejudice content they are pedalling this answer is an immediate red flag.

It’s a bit like a organisation’s website (which is full of material that advocates racism) including a headline FAQ of : “Aren’t you racist?” Happily responding with – ‘No I’m not racist because racism actually means this’.

On to the publication in question

Despite being formatted like an official guidance document, the prejudice and agenda which came through from a brief look of the website are easy to spot.

The document starts by stating that it was developed in partnership with teachers and child welfare staff, again this is tellingly unspecific.

In these days of academies and free schools employing staff without specialised training to teach, the term ‘teacher’ has lost some of its protected status, and anybody who works in a school during the day from cleaners to ICT technicians has to attend child protection training about prioritising welfare. So you can see how they might have stretched some meagre credentials. Critically, it doesn’t state ‘welfare professional’ or name any specific roles such as ‘Head of Year’ or ‘Safeguarding Lead’

The introduction sets out its goal to “Manage the (se) issues” of official transgender schools guidelines.

The following content on Page 5 titled “why is it needed” is clearly anti-transgender rights and is scaremongering.

It is full of sensationalist soundbites equating gender non-conformity with sexual orientation, highlighting increases in referrals to gender clinics, and even implying that the internet is not to be trusted as it causes something they name ‘rapid onset gender dysphoria’ (thank goodness for Net Neutrality eh).

I almost give up at this point, I am not going to be reading their list of fallacies or ‘case studies’.

Both the title and details of the section ‘Transgender, gay, lesbian, ASD or troubled teenager?’ is very offensive not least to children who have suffered abuse or who have ASD.

As schools we have been tasked by the DfE to promote fundamental British Values of:

The rule of law.
Individual liberty.
Mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

I don’t see how this document can fit within these modern values.

I see no way that schools would touch this publication with a barge-pole.

Schools are time and money poor, therefore no one will have the time to read it, or the money to print it.

The priority of school leaders is the safety of young people and ensuring that they make progress.

For teachers this means reporting concerns on to the correct person and spending hours preparing lessons, marking and reporting data.

This document includes bad, unsupported, advice coming from a website with a clear agenda of prejudice against the children it claims to support. Reading it is a waste of teacher’s time.

If you are interested on how the Transgendertrend document fits within a long history of anti LGBT hate campaigns you should check out this brilliant review on The Queerness By Teacher Annette Pryce and Psychotherapist Karen Pollock:

Growing Up Transgender

Raising our trans child

prejudice

My Daughter is that ‘Scary Trans Kid’ the BBC warned you about.

Transgender trend ‘School resource pack’ – A teacher’s perspective