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Scotland primary school draws flak after telling boys to wear skirts
If anywhere can pull this off it should be Scotland. But is it worth it?
4 Nov, 2021 10:46
A Scottish primary school has drawn criticism over its “virtue signalling” for encouraging male students and teachers to attend classes wearing skirts on Thursday in order to “break down” gender stereotypes and “promote equality.”
In an email sent to parents, Castleview Primary School, in Edinburgh, noted that the initiative was to spread the message that “clothes don’t have a gender.” It referenced a similar campaign in Spain, in which male teachers and children wore skirts to show solidarity with a male pupil who had been expelled last year for wearing a skirt. The email added that “pupils were keen to take part.”
The school said it wanted all students and teachers who “feel comfortable doing so” to participate, and even offered to provide skirts if nothing “suitable” was available at home. It also tweeted about being “so proud” of the 10-year-olds who came up with the idea after learning about the Spanish incident. The pupils had apparently asked if their school could support the aforementioned #LaRopaNoTieneGenero movement.
The school added that it “promote[s] respect, tolerance and understanding” and wanted to be “inclusive and promote equality”. It shared an article referencing the movement, which noted that “there is now an annual ‘wear a skirt to school day’ every November 4.”
According to the Daily Mail, the email prompted an angry response from at least one parent with a child enrolled at Castleview. She tweeted in response that the school should “let kids be kids.” The post has since been hidden behind privacy settings.
In a series of tweets, another parent said she “couldn’t be prouder” of her daughter and other students who had “asked for this”. She reassured others that the school was “not going to force anyone into anything” and shared the email it had sent.
However, other social media users weighed in to accuse Castleview of “virtue signalling”, with one person criticising the school for telling students “what to wear” in order to “prove something that doesn’t need proving”. “Most kids don’t care about this. Adults do,” the user tweeted, calling on the school to make a “policy choice on uniform” instead.
Several commenters were of the view that primary-schoolers would be “too young to understand” the issue at stake, and called on the school to “concentrate on the curriculum” instead of pushing its ideological agenda. Others asked why the school had given the students “only two options” and “not allow[ed] them to dress however they want[ed]” on Thursday.
Some, in contrast, pointed out that the school was only “supporting something the kids themselves are passionate about”, while others wondered what was “so offensive” about letting any child wear a skirt for a day if they wanted to.
Deuteronomy 22:5
“A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God.
‘It makes me so angry’: Mother backs teen transgender golfer as he sues
US lawmakers amid rights group pledge to ‘continue fight’
5 Nov, 2021 12:11
A 14-year-old transgender golfer has filed a lawsuit through a civil rights group against lawmakers in Tennessee, hitting out at laws stopping school athletes from participating on teams that do not match their gender at birth.
Luc Esquivel, a freshman at Farragut High School in Knoxville, has filed a lawsuit through the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) after he said new legislature stopped him trialing for a boys' golf team, leaving him "crushed".
Under a new law passed by state governor Bill Lee in March, student athletes are required to prove that they are competing in the gender they were assigned at or close to their birth.
“It made me – and still makes me – so angry,” fumed Esquivel's mother, Shelley, speaking during a period in which transgender rights in school sports have become a hot topic in the US, with several attempts to pass similar laws achieving varying levels of success.
“A mother wants to see their kid happy, thriving, enjoying being a kid. High school sports are an important part of that.
"I know how much Luc was looking forward to playing on the boys’ golf team. It’s heartbreaking to see him miss out on this high school experience, and it is painful for a parent to see their child subjected to discrimination because of who they are.
"I’m proud Luc is taking this step, and his father and I are with him all the way.”
When he signed the bill in March, governor Lee explained that he was taking the step to "preserve women’s athletics and ensure fair competition."
“This legislation responds to damaging federal policies that stand in opposition to the years of progress made under Title IX and I commend members of the General Assembly for their bipartisan work," he added.
Transgender rights campaigners have vociferously claimed that there are almost no examples of athletes competing in their transitioned gender denying cisgender rivals opportunities.
“When Tennessee lawmakers passed this discriminatory law, they could not identify a single instance of a Tennessee student facing any harm from a transgender athlete playing sports," said Hedy Weinberg, the ACLU of Tennessee's executive director.
"However, the emotional cost of this law to transgender student athletes is tremendous.
"We stand with trans students across the state as we challenge this law, and we urge other trans student athletes and their families facing such discrimination to contact us.”
Articulating his predicament, Esquivel said: “I was really looking forward to trying out for the boys’ golf team and, if I made it, training and competing with and learning from other boys and improving my game.
“Then, to have the legislature pass a law that singled out me and kids like me to keep us from being part of a team – that crushed me, it hurt very much. I just want to play, like any other kid.”
According to the ACLU, health care organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics have opposed the kind of legislation passed by Lee, with the National Collegiate Athletic Association backing transgender participation.
Federal courts in Idaho and West Virginia blocked legislation banning participation by transgender girls last year.
“There is endless research demonstrating the short-term and long-term benefits that flow from participating in team sports for kids growing up,” said Sasha Buchert, a senior attorney at Lambda Legal, which has organized the lawsuit.
“For trans kids, who often experience alienation and stigmatization, participating on teams with their peers is especially important.
"Luc just wants to play golf with other boys, to be part of the team, and to improve his game. Like all kids, he just wants to play.”
Leslie Cooper, the deputy director of the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, said the suit is the union's fifth challenge to an anti-trans law passed in 2021.
“We will continue to fight these relentless attacks on trans youth," she pledged.
"There is no reason, apart from the legislature’s desire to express its disapproval of transgender people, to keep Luc from playing on the boys’ golf team.”
I don't see where this kid has any advantage over other boys in the program, and probably is at a disadvantage. Nevertheless, the issue can't be dealt with differently for trans boys and trans girls.
These 'relentless attacks on trans youths' are meant to stop the relentless attacks of trans youths on girl athletes. There may not have been any examples in Tennessee, but there are examples elsewhere in America.
New US Navy ship named after gay rights icon & christened
by transgender veteran receives mixed reception
7 Nov, 2021 06:10
The United States Naval Ship Harvey Milk – named after the assassinated gay rights activist and politician – was christened on Saturday by a transgender veteran, to both praise and cries of “vile nonsense.”
The USNS Harvey Milk was christened in San Diego, California in a traditional Navy ceremony, with Milk’s nephew, Stuart Milk, in attendance.
Milk, who became an American LGBT icon as the first openly gay official elected in the state of California, served in the US Navy in the 1950s before being discharged over his sexuality. Less than a year after he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Advisers, Milk was assassinated in November 1978 by fellow board member Dan White, who had clashed with Milk over city policy.
A bottle of champagne was smashed on the USNS Harvey Milk on Saturday in the traditional manner by transgender Navy veteran Paula M. Neira, who currently works as a director for the John Hopkins Center for Transgender Health and as an assistant professor for plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Pronoun badges for staff at major UK retail chain
trigger calls for boycott
8 Nov, 2021 15:17
Marks & Spencer, a British high street favourite, has started offering staff the opportunity to wear a badge featuring their preferred pronoun, alongside their first name and the firm’s logo.
While the badges had been launched a few months ago, they have only recently come to the attention of the British media.
David Parke, UK food public relations manager at Marks & Spencer, shared a photo on his new badge on LinkedIn in October, marking International Pronouns Day.
Seriously!!! International Pronouns Day? You've got to be kidding!
“I’m so grateful that Marks & Spencer actively encourages us to share our pronouns at work, whether on our name badges or in our email signatures,” he wrote.
Parke added that the badges had already helped start some “necessary conversations around gender identity and non-binary experiences.”
The badges, which are optional, feature pronouns such as ‘He/Him/His’, ‘She/Her/Hers’, and ‘They/Them/Their’, along with the worker’s first name and the M&S logo.
Sasha Misra, associate director of communications and campaigns at the LGBT rights charity Stonewall, told The Sun that having pronouns on badges was the right way to create an inclusive workplace.
M&S are by no means the first high street store to make the move; Tesco had already made the pledge after an employee suggested rolling out pronoun badges in 2020.
While it may be popular with some employees, news of M&S’ move has provoked somewhat of a backlash on social media. Some people said they would look out for the staff members wearing the badges and make sure they wouldn’t ask them for help. “I can’t be doing with someone’s narcissism when I just need to find where the toilet rolls are,” one person wrote
Others noted that they couldn’t care less what gender, sexuality, colour, or religion any of the staff are, and questioned why anyone would want them to know, especially when they were just popping in for a pint of milk.
Another person said they would be boycotting M&S as a result. “Putting pressure on people to specify pronouns is compelled speech; political indoctrination; & constitutes belief discrimination,” they wrote. Some people did point out, however, that wearing the badge was optional.
One Twitter user questioned how many of these ‘oddballs’ there were in the UK. “Millions? Or about 5?”
While many clearly seemed opposed to the idea, a few people registered their support. “Excellent. Good to see employers being inclusive,” one person wrote.
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