Skip to main content

Gender neutral teacher causes controversy at high school

The teacher has used the title 'MX' (pronounced Mix) in lieu of Mr/Mrs and is causing outrage amongst parents. 

Has Gender Neutrality gone too far?

A teacher at a north western all boys Sydney high school has recently caused controversy with his notable gender neutrality stance.

The north western area where the school is located is generally known for it's conservative political views. No doubt this gender neutral teacher stands out... but for all the wrong reasons. 

Parents have complained that the teacher has used the title 'MX' in lieu of Mr/Mrs and is causing confusion amongst their boys. The teacher does not identify with being male or female and insists the students are to use 'gender neutral pro nouns'.

Gender neutral pronouns include 'they, their, them'. This approach has been tried in some schools in the US with the gender neutral teachers forced to move on to a different school. Not everyone is accepting of the gender neutrality movement. 

One father from the high school was quoted on the issue as saying:

'I don't believe my son has ever met a transgender person, these young boys are impressionable and I think someone should have consulted the parents.'

The NSW Department of Education has backed the gender neutral stance by suggesting that they support 'equal opportunity' in employment. 

The issue with the Gender Neutrality movement is that the human race is not genderless. If you are human you are either male or female. Its a factual question, not an identity question. 

Transgender people by contrast  are a completely different situation. Most people can understand a man who wants to be a woman and  a woman who wants to be a man. Gender Neutrality is to say that you don't identify with either gender and insist that gender neutral pronouns are used, where do we draw the line? 

Don't get me wrong there are some aspects of gender neutrality that can be beneficial to children. Such as avoiding gender labels when it comes to sports, this can help both genders recognise their full potential without being limited by their gender. However, the identity question of being gender neutral is still quite baffling. 

In surveys, they can now ask whether you are a) female b) male or c) don't identify with either. Again, maybe I'm alone here but it's not an identity question. Transgenders by contrast, at least pick a gender and work towards undergoing the transformation. Gender neutrality opts out of falling into any category at all. For me,  it's the same logic as saying 'I don't identify with being human'.  Maybe surveys can add a fourth option d) non human identity. Then we can start the Non Human Identity movement. 

There is scope for transgender individuals to be accepted by society, we still have a long way to go to over come the transgender phobia, but gender neutral? sorry, we aren't ready yet. 



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We won't achieve Gender Equality until Ardern's situation is viewed as normal.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern discovered she was pregnant only six days away from being announced as Prime Minister on 19 October 2017. At first she and partner Clarke Gayford chose to keep it quiet but since announcing her pregnancy the 37 year old has received a mixed response with some feeling 'betrayed' by the announcement, accusing her of being 'selfish' for putting her needs before her country and that she chose to have her baby at the wrong time and should have 'waited' until she wasn't prime minister. Others have suggested that due to the pregnancy she will not be 'fit for purpose' and cannot possibly handle being prime minister as well as being pregnant. Mainly because you know....'baby brain?' There has also been concern around the amount of time she will take for maternity leave. Ardern has stated that she is going to take six weeks off and that her partner Gayford will look after the baby. Ardern's situat...
2 comments
Read more

Goodbye, Mr Bean: As Dastyari resigns we need to revisit the legitimacy of political donations

Goodbye, Mr Bean: As Dastyari resigns we need to revisit the legitimacy of political donations Sam Dastyari has announced his resignation yesterday amid pressure from parliament and the general public. Dastyari, as we now know accepted a payment from Chinese based real estate company Yuhu Property Group to settle a legal bill. Chinese billionaire Mr Huang Xiangmo owns Yuhu. In 2013, Dastyari was being sued for $40,000 by an advertising company called  ' Diversified Communications ’ for preparatory work on the ALP campaign. This was when Dastyari was General Secretary of the NSW ALP. The contract was then cancelled when Kevin Rudd was given the flick (or the stab in the back, depending on how you look at it). The payment from Yuhu to settle the legal bill was around $5,000. You cannot help but wonder whether the 5k paid was the full amount disclosed? and why Diversified Communications accepted such a low figure in settlement? Dastyari's name has been dragged thro...
1 comment
Read more

‘Let them eat cake’ - How NSW Youth fell through the cracks under Berejiklian

Youth are being sold the carrot of NSW’s strong economy, even though they fail to benefit from it.  At yesterday’s campaign launch Berejiklian announced that NSW can ‘have it all’. Speaking to the crowd, she boasted about the lowest unemployment rates in NSW..ever. Berejiklian has pledged to spend billions on schools, hospitals and infrastructure.  The carrot for voters?  NSW’s strong economy.  NSW’s strong economy is conducive the astronomical property boom that Sydney experienced. Sydney’s median house prices experienced an 86 per cent increase in the last 5 years. Stamp duty from property has contributed to the budget surplus.  That surplus has been spent on infrastructure under Berejiklian and her predecessors, including the light rail project, West Connex and the demolishing of the ANZ stadium.  If you think that NSW will have never ending surpluses to spend in the coming years, you may be mistaken.   The spending spree wi...
Post a Comment
Read more