A school in the UK has told a six-year old’s parents that all children who cannot understand or accept that a peer is ‘gender-fluid’ are to be viewed as ‘transphobic’.
All kids who struggle to accept another’s gender fluidity are to be viewed as ‘transphobic’, one UK school told the parents of a six-year-old in a letter.
The correspondence was prompted after the parents contacted the school over their child being confused by one fellow schoolmate — who reportedly identifies as “gender fluid” — changing their appearance from day to day.
According to a report by The Times, the school told the two parents — who are Christians — that pupils in the school would be viewed as “transphobic” if they showed an “inability to believe a transgender person is actually a ‘real’ female or male”.
“Feelings of discomfort and inability to trust or connect with someone based on their transgender status,” as well as a pupil’s refusal to use a fellow classmate’s “adopted name”, as well as the use of “gender inappropriate pronouns” would also result in children being branded ‘transphobic’, according to the school.
Meanwhile, the parents of the two children — Sally and Nigel Rowe — have expressed disbelief over the school’s position on the matter, as well as the current guidelines in place.
“I don’t think that a six-year-old has the cognisant ability to work that out, especially if the child is gender-fluid,” Nigel Rowe told The Times. “And the letter also said that we as parents would be deemed to be transphobic if we didn’t accept that position.
The parents of the confused six-year-old have since been granted permission for a judicial challenge against the Department for Education, who disseminated pro-trans guidelines to schools advising schools to take actions against “transphobia”.
Included within the guidelines is a recommendation that schools do not respond to press queries regarding trans issues, as well as to recognise that parents who are not the “most supportive” of their child transitioning may have their parental consent for the process bypassed.
“A parent or guardian may not always be the most supportive or appropriate person to assist the young person through transitioning,” the guidelines say.
“It may not be necessary for a parent or guardian to provide permission for a Trans pupil or student to take steps to transition as there may be issues raised of Fraser competence if parents will not consent,” they continue.
Also referenced in the guidelines as a source of external support for children is the NGO Mermaids, who have been accused of using intimidation and blackmail to push for fertility-compromising hormone therapy to be used on kids.
As of writing, both the six-year-old and his older sibling — who has also come into difficulty regarding transgender elements among his colleagues — have been taken out of the school.
However, the family — who live on the Isle of Wight — have reportedly experienced a significant degree of alienation from their tight-knit community over the incident.
“We have had verbal abuse from some of the parents,” Sally Rowe told The Times, describing one individual as saying “Shame on you — you shouldn’t even be showing your face in Freshwater”.
“Don’t talk to Sally, she’s done something really bad,” Rowe reported a pair of parents as telling their child as they walked past her. “And some just completely blank us. And one couple makes rude gestures to us if they drive past.”
“We know that there are parents at the school who support us,” she also noted. “But they have to whisper their support, that’s how scared they are of speaking out.”