Conservatives for Women
Conservative MPs and councillors need to pay much closer attention
Written by Caroline ffiske, 1 September 2023.
The above tweet from a school in Norfolk a few months ago shocked me. Trans Joy and Gender Euphoria? Imagine a senior leader in a school inviting someone in to expand upon this narrative. What are the essential building blocks that need to be explained to pupils? That we all have an inner gender identity? The trouble is that we don't! That we should be encouraged (it's joyous) to prioritise 'gender identity' over our biological sex? But how can such a narrowing to regressive stereotypes be joyous? That we might want to take cross-sex hormones and contemplate surgery (it's euphoric)? But that will cause us irreversible harm, particularly if starting young! And also there in the bullet points: if a child comes out with a new gender identity, don't tell parents?
What was Norwich School thinking?
Then when another concerning tweet bobbed up from Norfolk I decided to investigate further. A parent shared a form for her child's Education, Health and Care plan. Clearly identified as being from Norfolk County Council, it asks for a
child's 'preferred pronoun'. Why? To endorse and promote this harmful ideology?
The outfit visiting the school, NorfolkLGBT+ is a charity that offers training sessions and resources to schools. None of its resources are available for review by parents or the public - a problem in itself. However, the books it recommends to schools gives an indication of the approach.
Books recommended to primary schools normalise the idea of transgenderism as a lifestyle choice. The book below explicitly 'makes being transgender seem like not a big deal at all'. The problem is that it is a big deal. For example, trans-identifying people apparently feel extreme pain if basic reality is refered to - that is a big deal. Such a painful existence should not be blithely promoted to children.
The book "I am Jazz" is included. Here is an extract. "I have a girl brain but a boy body". Sorry, but it is abusive to suggest this idea to children.
NorfolkLGBT+ recommends a book to secondary school children which gives extensive advice on how to live as trans, covering every element of ‘transitioning’. Their recommended booklist has many more titles promoting body disassociation.
NorfolkLGBT+ work with classes from KS1 up (5 year olds) and offers "1:1 support sessions with pupils". Are parents aware of this? The charity works with schools right across Norfolk, presumably promoting and normalising gender ideology and the idea you can be born in the wrong body. This should be of concern to parents and educators and those in child protection roles across Norfolk. We should not be normalising the idea that it is possible to be born in the wrong body - or that it is a positive thing to feel disassociated from your own body.
Depressingly, NorfolkLGBT+ also gives workplace training. Look at all these organisations who have had harmful pseudo-science and ideology explained to them. NHS Trusts of course.
Norfolk County Council also hosts materials that endorse ideology and pseudo-science. See this page about gender pronouns, an extract is below. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite so extreme. Because the narrative fully disappears biological sex. It's all just appearances and preferences.
Finally, a Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner endorsed an extraordinary document called Domestic Abuse in Transgender Relationships . Apparently transgender domestic abuse includes 'denial of your gender identity'. So if a woman says to her husband 'sorry my dear but you are not a woman', that statement of elementary and significant truth is 'domestic abuse' in the eyes of the then Norfolk PCC? This is outright harmful to women, scary. Why are people in positions of authority rubber-stamping this nonsense? Please read through the whole document. It is dangerous and alarming - and of course, authored by NorfolkLGBT+.
Norfolk has a preponderance of Conservative MPs, councillors, other elected positions. Gender ideology is pseudo-science that is harming lives and undermining important public norms and institutions. Yet it is being promoted all over Norfolk. More of our elected representatives need to take notice - and challenge its presence in our schools, our health service, and our public institutions.
