UK: Teachers should no longer say ‘boy’ and ‘girl’

Instead, teachers should say “learners,” according to guidelines reported by the Daily Telegraph. The organization, Stonewall, received funding from the government last year for programs against “homophobic, biphobic and transphobic” behaviour in schools. From 2015 to 2019, the organization received almost three million pounds in funding from various government funding pots. In addition, many large companies pay Stonewall generous amounts of money to participate in “diversity” programs.

Joint physical education classes for boys and girls

The organization recommended further measures to be taken in the guidelines for teachers. For example, children should attend the same physical education class regardless of their “gender” and be able to use changing rooms and showers according to their preferences. Stonewall also said that elementary school children should learn to use their “preferred pronoun” – in English, “he/him” or “she/her” or for transgender people “they /them”. Teachers should teach children to use the pronouns “they/them”.

Stonewall has established a School and College Champion Program consisting of hundreds of participating schools. A three-digit amount is payable for this and enables adherents to take part in competitions for particularly LGBT-friendly schools.

The conservative Safe School Alliance UK has criticized the recommendation to teach children of both sexes in a joint physical education class and to let boys compete against girls. It continued to call for separate physical education classes for safety and fairness reasons.

Recently, Stonewall caused a stir by demanding that the word “mother” be abandoned for the person who has children.

Ministers criticize Stonewall

Stonewall was founded in 1989 to lobby for gay and lesbian rights. In the past few years, the association has shifted its focus more and more to transgender issues. This has led to a partial split in the gay and lesbian movement.

Some gays and lesbians find that the organization is neglecting its traditional role and shifting unilaterally to trans-lobbyism.

More recently, several key ministers in Boris Johnson’s cabinet, including Secretary of State for Women and Equality, Liz Truss, have spoken out against Stonewall. Government agencies should no longer participate in and pay for Stonewall’s controversial Diversity Champion program, she said. Truss accused them of becoming “extremist”.

The former head of the NHS health service, Kate Grimes, who had supported Stonewall as a lesbian, recently accused the organization of being “no longer compatible” with NHS values.

Stonewall threatens safety in the NHS by advocating shared changing rooms and showers for men and women, trans men and trans women. In addition, these Stonewall pressures endangers freedom of expression and free debate on these issues. Incidentally, the number of young people seeking gender transition is at the highest it has ever been due to the advocacy from other organizations too, such as Human Rights Watch.

In New Zealand, where Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is still the country’s official head of state, the National Olympic Committee (NZOC) meanwhile nominated transgender athlete Laurel Hubbard for the Tokyo Games this week. The weightlifter – who still looks like a man – competes in the class up to 87 kilograms and is the first transgender athlete at the Olympics, reported the Reuters news agency.

“We have a strong culture of respect and inclusion. We are committed to supporting all eligible athletes,” said the NZOC.

Criticism from opponents, coaches and spectators

Hubbard’s participation in women’s competitions has caused displeasure among opponents, coaches and spectators. He, as a trans woman, is accused of having an unfair advantage because as a man, Hubbard had never competed in international competitions.

According to a guideline introduced by the International Olympic Committee in 2015, a trans woman must declare that her gender identity is female. This cannot be changed for four years. In addition, the athlete must prove that her testosterone level has been below a certain threshold for a period of at least twelve months.

Belgian weightlifter Anna Vanbellinghen, who competes in the same weight class as Hubbard, recently called the New Zealander’s nomination a “bad joke”. The situation is “unfair to the sport and the athletes” she said. Vanbellinghen, 27, pointed out that the retained benefit of taking steroids, even years earlier, is widely known. “So why is it still a question whether two decades, from puberty to the age of 35, the hormonal system of a man also gives an advantage [in competing against women]?”