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This resource from @Transgendertrd is really important for parents and teachers looking to understand the new RSE curriculum, due to be rolled out in the UK in September, but there are a couple of things I want to add re "inclusive language" and "intersex". (Thread) https://twitter.com/Transgendertrd/status/1276202677983154180
Let's begin with some stats. The average primary school in the UK has 282 pupils. The avergare secondary school has 965 pupils. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2019
All of the RSE guides, looked at by TT, will tell you that "Intersex" ppl make up 1.7% of the population. So, this means, in the average primary school, ~5 pupils will have a DSD, in the average secondary school ~16 pupils will have a DSD.
So, what are these children being told about themselves? In one example provided by TT, we are told "Intersex: Describes someone whose biological sex is not male or female".
This is obviously untrue. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, intersex is a political label for 40+ rare, complex medical conditions that affect reproductive development, not a "third sex" or "other sexes". https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/differences-in-sex-development/
International declarations of intersex rights recognise children with DSDs right to he registered as male or female and to accurate information about their diagnosis. https://oiieurope.org/malta-declaration/
These children also have a right to dignity and privacy surrounding their medical history and for any discussions to be sympathetic and sensitive, putting the child and their needs at the centre.
DSDs can come with all sorts of complicated feelings, e.g. issues such as ibfertility, the ability to have sex, understanding that your body parts are different to other boys and girls, etc, or that your puberty is not as straightforward as it could be.
When @dsdfamilies commissioned a survey, a couple of yrs ago, of kids with DSDs and their families, accurate information and peer and mental health support were key issues identified.
https://www.dsdfamilies.org/download_file/view/130/223
https://www.dsdfamilies.org/download_file/view/130/223
None of the RSE guides live up to this simple ask and basic expectation that ppl with rare, complex medical conditions be allowed to discuss and learn about them in an appropriate setting with appropriate information.
It seems "inclusive language" does not include actual intersex ppl. Instead, these children are let down. No one is thinking about how *they* will sit in these classes too, while they hear their teacher tell them they "cannot be male or female".
They will have to sit through the stigma of being misrepresented and othered, having more confusion heaped on them by ppl they should be able to trust. That's 1.7% of our kids let down, because no one bothers to fact check, or go and talk *to* the people they are talking *about*.
LGBT+ orgs need to stop looking at intersex through an ideological gaze, while only ever asking what we can do for them. We don't exist as props. We have needs. We're real ppl. These are real children, not "fun talking points" and curiosities.
I have no pithy ending for this. Please, if you are writing to your child's school about RSE resources, take the time to raise the issue of "intersex inclusion" and the damage this does to actual intersex ppl, especially kids who are just learning about their themselves.
