The U.S. is doomed

[cheap]

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/par...-1227085105637

A SCHOOL in Nebraska has instructed its teachers to stop addressing students collectively as “boys and girls” when getting their attention in the classroom.

According to independent news website Nebraska Watchdog, the teachers were last week given a training document asking them to refrain from using gendered expressions like “boys and girls”, “you guys” and “ladies and gentlemen” and instead say something like “hey campers” or even more bizarrely “purple penguins.”

The recommendations are part of a list titled “12 steps on the way to gender inclusiveness” developed by an organisation called Gender Spectrum. The handout also asked teachers to stop asking children to line up in rows of girls and boys, and ask them to line up depending on their preferences: “summer or winter, dogs or cats, skateboards or bikes.”

Step 3 suggests that teachers provide an opportunity for every student to identify a preferred name or pronoun at the beginning of the year and Step 6 asks teachers to inquire when they hear students referencing gender in a binary manner and ask “what makes you say that?” to start a discussion about gender stereotypes.

Lincoln Superintendent Steve Joel said the training manuals were introduced because the school district “wants all children to be successful and not feel like outcasts or be afraid to go to school,” Nebraska Watchdog reports.

According to Mr Joel, the school is currently in the process of rethinking how they use gendered locker rooms and bathrooms.

If teachers are offended by the training material, the are advised meet with their principal to discuss their concerns, Mr Joel said.

The program has received a range of feedback, with some parents praising the school for being inclusive, and other parents condemning the change.

[Ben73]

Is this real life.
Australia does some pretty stupid things with schools these days. Luckily it's only a minority.... For now.

[jimt3te50]

O.M.G.

Hey purple penguins, I think that's a stupid idea and you're all a bunch of *******

(no offence intended to campers with disabilities)

Seriously, what hope do our poor kids have?

[xxx000]

sounds like a talkback radio story of dubious origins but designed to 'keep you informed of radical things the govt might be doing' aka keeping the radio audience worried so that they'll stay listening.

A bit like those regular stories about schools supposedly not celebrating Christmas.
Really a storm in a teacup

[chevypower]

I'm sick of the radical left-wing ideology. How is saying "boys AND girls" not gender inclusive? Time to fight back against these morons. Next they will want to change the definition of "boys" to also include females.

[TheSneakiness]

This is what happens when minorities are allowed to express opinions.

What is worse is that people actually listen.

To me there are two genders, male and female. Not anything else. None of this I'm male but I think I should be a female.

To anyone who thinks otherwise I suggest you go and find the article on a UK transgender person who went from male to female and now wants to change back cause being female is too hard.

[strobe]

I think this is a good idea, but this is coming from someone who is a male but would like to be a purple penguin, so I might be biased.

[MAD]

This is what happens when you have too many places in college/uni for arts degrees.

[Adamz Ghia]

Originally Posted by strobe

I think this is a good idea, but this is coming from someone who is a male but would like to be a purple penguin, so I might be biased.

Post of the year...!

I've always said the world has too many public servants because when you sit behind a desk all day long you have nothing better to do than think up crap like this. Sack half of them or better yet, make them go out into the real world and things like this wouldn't be thought up as they would be exhausted from a real days work...

[Whitey-AMG]

What a crock...
They should be spending their time teaching the "purple penguins" not to bring guns and knives into school instead.

[chevypower]

Originally Posted by Bluey-GT

What a crock...
They should be spending their time teaching the "purple penguins" not to bring guns and knives into school instead.

I'm sure they already are. They are left-wingers.

[BPXR6T]

Reviewing gender based bathrooms and locker rooms. Yeah, that'll work, not. Left wing using kids for a social experiment. Poor form.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by chevypower

I'm sick of the radical left-wing ideology. How is saying "boys AND girls" not gender inclusive? Time to fight back against these morons. Next they will want to change the definition of "boys" to also include females.

But you said boys first.. that is clearly oppressing the ladies / girls / penguins / 'its' of the class.....

There will be generations of girls, (woops I mean... meh joke is already stale) who have emotional issues for being second fiddle.

Campers?? Penguins?? Purple ones at that?

Please tell me this is a joke.... right?

[cheap]

Clearly all Nebraska state approved application forms would need to comply...

Your sex: Male, Female or Purple Penguin

These PC people are plain *** MAD!

[JC]

Originally Posted by chevypower

I'm sick of the radical left-wing ideology............Next they will want to change the definition of "boys" to also include females.

To some degree they already do. My son plays soccer, and girls are allowed to play up to U10s, then they split into separate boys and girls (oops, purple and pink penguins) teams.

[Jason[98.EL]]

Originally Posted by chevypower

I'm sick of the radical left-wing ideology. How is saying "boys AND girls" not gender inclusive? Time to fight back against these morons. Next they will want to change the definition of "boys" to also include females.

yep agree

Just tried it on my 13 year old daughter as she walked into the room I asked her whats happening GIRL her answer was nothing much

She knows what she is

**** EDIT ****

just tried it again but this time called her a purple penguin and she was wtf dad i'm a GIRL not a penguin

[chevypower]

Originally Posted by JC

To some degree they already do. My son plays soccer, and girls are allowed to play up to U10s, then they split into separate boys and girls (oops, purple and pink penguins) teams.

It's the same group of people who think the Bible is sexist because when it says "man," it means both men and women; they're offended that it doesn't list "men and women." Now we have adapted and always say "men and women," "boys and girls," and now that's sexist because we're separating the genders. There's one thing I have come to learn about the left. You can NEVER make them happy! There's always a reason to be offended.

[superyob]

I would like to be identified as a being of non specific gender, race or species. That will clear up any doubts about who I am...

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by chevypower

It's the same group of people who think the Bible is sexist because when it says "man," it means both men and women; they're offended that it doesn't list "men and women." Now we have adapted and always say "men and women," "boys and girls," and now that's sexist because we're separating the genders. There's one thing I have come to learn about the left. You can NEVER make them happy! There's always a reason to be offended.

If they wanted to be really pedantic about it the word 'men' is in Women!

Perhaps we will soon hear of them wanting it changed to Woperson ?

[Lotte]

This article aside (which some points I agree on; and others I don't), this thread is rife with the kind of attitude that even 10 years ago, was a compounding component of mental illness in the gay community. Just a point, people within the LGBT community are twice as likely to suffer mental illness, and this attitude doesn't help.

Not only that, but to make fun of someones condition, whether it be mental (gender dysphoria - which is treated with psychological methods) or actually physical (transgender - which is most often treated by hormone therapy, and if that doesn't alleviate the stress, surgery), is appalling. Especially for a forum with such a damn good thread on mental illness on the second page of this very sub forum.

There are plenty of scientific studies out there on those who are trans or suffer from gender dysphoria if you're willing to look.

For a bit of an overview, and a lot of these links will be american, as that place is the easiest to find information for this particular issue.
More in depth article here, but here are some important summary points:

Suicide attempts among trans men
(46%) and trans women (42%) were
slightly higher than the full sample (41%).
Cross-dressers assigned male at birth
have the lowest reported prevalence of
suicide attempts among gender identity
groups (21%).

Prevalence of suicide attempts is elevated among
those who disclose to everyone that they are
transgender or gender-non-conforming (50%) and
among those that report others can tell always (42%)
or most of the time (45%) that they are transgender
or gender non-conforming even if they don’t tell them.

Respondents who experienced rejection by family and
friends, discrimination, victimization, or violence had
elevated prevalence of suicide attempts, such as those
who experienced the following:
— Family chose not to speak/spend time with them: 57%
— Discrimination, victimization, or violence at school,
at work, and when accessing health care
• Harassed or bullied at school (any level): 50-54%
• Experienced discrimination or harassment at
work: 50-59%
• Doctor or health care provider refused to treat
them: 60%
• Suffered physical or sexual violence:
— At work: 64-65%
— At school (any level): 63-78%
— Discrimination, victimization, or violence by law
enforcement
• Disrespected or harassed by law enforcement
officers: 57-61%
• Suffered physical or sexual violence: By law
enforcement officers: 60-70
— Experienced homelessness: 69%

But for a feel good story, this family let their daughter become their son at age 5. Why? Because of the above statistics. Nobody wants their child being a part of those statistics. And guess what? Best choice they made. This article also conveniently links to an article about the science behind homosexuality, and how it's very much so a result of nature, though there is some evidence to support that you can change between home and hetero sexual (in other words, you can control your urges).
There was a time when homosexuality was seen as a choice, or attention seeking, or worse, a mental illness. It took campaigning from that minority to be accepted. Hell, it was even illegal, and for gay men, there was only one state where it was legal before 1970. And yet we still have people today, asking advice columnists on how to make their son stop being gay.
There was a time when women were seen as lesser than men, and it took the suffragettes developing a clever campaign to get women a vote. They were a minority.
There was a time when people didn't want to give up their African American slaves - but a minority fought for them.
But it still took another century before another minority campaigned against the fact that inter racial marriages weren't just frowned upon - they weren't even considered legal. There was a huge campaign in between the late 40's and late 60's, with 1967 marking the date the supreme court made all laws against inter racial marriage unconstitutional.

"But Lotte", I hear you say, "What's your point? Why are you demonstrating all these times that other minority, and [ultimately] not so minority groups, gained some rights and equality?"
Well grasshoppers, it's because all throughout history we have (if we are not the people who simply accept people for who they are) ridiculed - at best, at worst - assaulted or killed, people of groups like this. Saying "my daughter knows she's a girl, therefore all people with female plumbing are girls", is like me saying "well I know I'm straight, therefore all people are straight." It completely trivialises an experience that is hard enough as it is, without this rubbish been thrown about the internet, even though it's estimated 2-5% of the population are transgender (or suffer from some level of gender dysphoria).
Now gender dysphoria is a mental illness because it is unwelcome, and those people who are trans (AND PROUD OF IT!!!) don't identify as gender dysphoric because they welcome it and they either embrace it, and/or take hormonal treatment. Surgery treatment is usually only limited to those people who have such an issue with their gender identity (it is a daily struggle) that it is gender dysphoria, and it is the only treatment option (this is in the states anyway).

Yes there are a handful who want to reverse their surgery. But has anyone stopped to question why? Or do you just judge them, then tarnish the others with the same brush. I'm pretty sure everyone in this thread doesn't like being tarnished with the "hoon" brush simply for being enthusiasts. And yet here you are, doing it, to essentially a larger minority group than us.
The difficulties associated with the surgery, and subsequent social acceptance (or lack thereof) can be mentally debilitating. If you were constantly ridiculed for man hands or masculine facial features; or simply treated lesser in the work place simply for being a woman (hey, I've been there. I deal with that EVERY DAMN DAY! If I wasn't so sure I liked my boobs, I'd probably go for surgery too. Albeit, that's an extreme way for me to battle gender inequality in my career, but I digress, and I'd say it's a lot harder for someone who's work place knows they've had surgery), I'm sure you'd want to change back to being a man too. In fact, if I'd been through surgery and read this thread, I'd want back too. That being said, a higher percentage actually don't want to reverse their surgery. It used to be more of a problem, because the type of nonacceptance displayed in this here thread, was much more prevalent, and people just want to be normal dammit, or they made attempts at their own life.

Also, gender and sex are not interchangeable terms - they never have been. Sex is assigned to you at birth and refers to your physical attributes. Gender is a social construct, and is the origin of gender stereotypes across different cultures; and ultimately refers to the role you have in society (usually based on your sex, but not necessarily).

As a too late, didn't read summation:
Even if you don't think transgender is a legit thing, gender dysphoria/gender identity syndrome are legitimate psychological illnesses. Stop making fun of them. And stop politicizing them. It's ridiculous. Science isn't political, and it's not something to be dismissed because "I know I'm a dude, so all dudes are dudes." As with all mental illnesses, there is a lot more to it, and understanding goes a long ******* way, as demonstrated in that thread on page 2. I'll bump it if I have to.

As for the actual article:

According to independent news website Nebraska Watchdog, the teachers were last week given a training document asking them to refrain from using gendered expressions like “boys and girls”, “you guys” and “ladies and gentlemen” and instead say something like “hey campers” or even more bizarrely “purple penguins.”

Ha. No. "kids" or "drunk midgets" will suffice (that last one is a dylan moran reference, don't get your knickers in a twist). I'd put money on purple penguins is a suggestion of names that you could bring up with the kids, much the same way I called my Guides "fairies" or "sparklies" or "comets" or "amanis" depending on the group I was dealing with at the time. The kids came up with those names usually. But this may be a bit far overall - especially since trans people identify as the opposite or both.

The recommendations are part of a list titled “12 steps on the way to gender inclusiveness” developed by an organisation called Gender Spectrum. The handout also asked teachers to stop asking children to line up in rows of girls and boys, and ask them to line up depending on their preferences: “summer or winter, dogs or cats, skateboards or bikes.”

Why aren't we doing this already, in all schools? It's a great way to get kids to learn more about each other. Seriously. WHY IS THIS NOT BEING DONE ALREADY?!?!?!?!?!?

Step 3 suggests that teachers provide an opportunity for every student to identify a preferred name or pronoun at the beginning of the year and Step 6 asks teachers to inquire when they hear students referencing gender in a binary manner and ask “what makes you say that?” to start a discussion about gender stereotypes.

Again, point above. NOT doing it is discrimination. Most ethnic groups with difficult names for the english tongue have a preferred name (ever seen that box on an employment form? I have - and I've filled it out and been ignored. BOOOOOOOOOO), so, you know, it would save kids doing what I did every damn year and correct the teacher when they called out my full name (which was reserved for mum when I was in deep ****, and nan because my pop called me snotty lotte with a grotty botty once and she refused to call me lotte again). NOBODY ELSE EVER CALLS ME BY MY FULL NAME! Except now work apparently, because I'm not allowed to have a preferred name, but Steve is.
Breaking down gender stereotypes is also good, because they're often used as a put down "you hit like a girl", "boys don't do sewing, is there something wrong with you".

Lincoln Superintendent Steve Joel said the training manuals were introduced because the school district “wants all children to be successful and not feel like outcasts or be afraid to go to school,” Nebraska Watchdog reports.

Hey look, this is actually a problem, and it's not limited to LGBT people. Good on them for actually trying to do something, albeit some things are plain mad.

According to Mr Joel, the school is currently in the process of rethinking how they use gendered locker rooms and bathrooms.

No. Just no. Going to the link above, to the girl who is a boy. If she's listed as a boy, she can use the boys locker rooms. She won't have had surgery so she'll be limited to the stalls, but nobody would know. And I don't think a 5 year old has the nouse to come up with something like this just to get a look at the girls or boys change rooms in primary school. Or the desire. I mean, I used to run around with the boy next door half nekkid in summer and didn't think twice about it till my older sisters friends made fun of me (pre teens) and I was suddenly really self conscious about it, because we were "different". Kids are amazing. Adults are ****. We could learn from them. Yes kids can be ****, but it's often learnt from their parents or the adults around them.
Not only that, but without looking at the actual training manual, making a judgement on it from an article (and we all know how journos like to take things out of context for a good hook!), is a little ignorant.

Yes, I may be taking this seriously. But I know trans people, and I have witnessed the **** they put up with. Stop it. Seriously. Can't we all just treat people like people and be done with it? I'm sure all those guys in the mental illness thread wouldn't like their dealings being trivialised like this. I know I don't.

Moral of this story: Make fun of some of the ridiculous ideas by the school, sure. But don't make fun of the people guys.

Also, I'm aware that many of the comments are merely about the article at hand, some (or indicative underlying attitudes) however have really gotten up my nose. As I have clearly demonstrated.

[smoo]

Originally Posted by chevypower

It's the same group of people who think the Bible is sexist because when it says "man," it means both men and women; they're offended that it doesn't list "men and women." Now we have adapted and always say "men and women," "boys and girls," and now that's sexist because we're separating the genders. There's one thing I have come to learn about the left. You can NEVER make them happy! There's always a reason to be offended.

And yet, these same self hating freaks will NEVER address the elephant in the room of Muslim attitudes to women or gays. Refer to the widespread feel good frenzy across Facebook last week of the 'hijab selfies' (by liberal middle-upper class self righteous delusional white women). It's not uncommon to see women and queers champion for the 'rights' of Muslims in Western countries, well lets just see how they fare in whatever will be the first EU country that falls to a Muslim majority.

Storm in a teacup you reckon... Nah this is just another stepping stone down the slipery slope of degeneracy for Western nations. Look at the development of the gay rights issue up to this day... Bit by bit they got there, to a point if you were to publicly denounce/oppose them, you'd be looking at anything from public slander, private details made public, death threats, unemployment, vandalism of private property, plenty examples across the western world in recent years. Indoctrinate or else.

As we are heading down this path, I guarantee you that pedophillia/pedofiles are where the whole gay scene was at 30 years ago. 30 years from now it will be another sexual orientation where these scum who need a bullet to the back of the head are treated as normal (well, some from the left treat them as such now anyway).

[Lotte]

.....wow......

[Falcon Coupe]

Time to close this as it's breaking many of the site T&C.

Some best have a read and brush up on what's acceptable here:
http://www.fordforums.com.au/announcement.php?f=2&a=2