It?s a question of gender?

It?s a question of gender?

A subject of much scrutiny as of late is that of gender; equality, fluidity and neutrality. Most poignantly I would like to discuss the consequences and additional pressures this will impart onto the UK education system, utilising my first hand experiences of where gender fluidity could create further confusion.

Physical Education: when it comes to the requirements of recruitment of PE staff it is one of the sole subject areas when it is acceptable to identify the gender of the required cover. I once advertised a vacancy for a ?Qualified Teacher of Physical Education (male)? only to be questioned on weather it was ethical to specify the gender of the applicant required, only to have to explain how the school concerned was a small private school and the member of staff they were loosing was male and therefore they needed to appoint into the exact same role to ensure they could cater for all of the pupils and offer suitable changing room supervision.

BBC Breakfast recently interviewed Blair Hamilton, who plays for Stonehaven Ladies FC. She shared with the team how with increased levels of tolerance and acceptance when it comes to not just sexuality but more over gender. Recognising she was transgender from the age of 4, and later making a brave decision to undertake hormone therapy. Her message is to not be confined by our own anatomy, weather man or woman to make every effort to play sport.

Gloucestershire; renowned for its multitude of single sex schools. I would be interested to know how or if their entrance requirements have or would alter to facilitate equal opportunities for those individuals who identify to alternative gender narratives to which they were born? For instance girls schools offering: food or textiles as part of their design and technology syllabus but not present in the boys schools or hockey and netball instead of football and rugby. These conformist attitudes to stereotypes only work to increase the gender gap. I am sure the syllabuses have changed over the years to be less confirmative, but offering greater diversity also creates greater pressures on an already stretched system.

Gloucestershire University has recently built as part of the new business campus gender neutral toilets; though the ideology of inclusiveness is respectable the functionality of three cubicles to service a campus does cause quite the que.

Paloma Faith, (millennial pop star) has opted to bring her infant up without constraining it to a singular gender identity. Admirable and I can appreciate the freedom this will provide to the child?s development, avoiding all the gender trappings that plague early childhood development. However within the educational system, if other children have not been educated and informed, what social impact could this create?

So my question is has anyone considered the ramifications of these social developments in our education system as these pupils progress.  From the basic teachings of how to address a letter, the study of X and Y chromosomes in biology and in education recruitment for physical education staff when specifications are made on the required gender, this lends itself to more questions and ambiguity in teaching. The consequences can be witnessed first hand with Ashton Gate School ; a school which is trying to teach diversity only to not receive the supports of pupils parents who have chosen to boycott this forward thinking initiatives.

Foreseeing how the differentiation between societies acceptance of what is considered to be ?the accepted?, and its impact. Chile is believed to be the first county to have a Transgender school. Critically when an individual transitions they drop out of school, therefore to provide a safe and supportive environment for the individuals to maintain their studies this inclusive school named after the transgender Politian; Amaranta G?mez Regalad, caters for pupils as young as 6years of age. It is easy to understand why this choice has been made but by offering alternative school facilities, would that not cause more segregation than integration?

The whole subject finds itself in a catch 22, but educating young minds towards behaviours of acceptance, or moreover without boundaries of what is acceptable, will alleviate increased behaviours surrounding political correctness