THEGAYUK

Tag: Gender

All the latest breaking news on gender. Browse The THEGAYUK’s complete collection of features and commentary on gender and the LGBT+ community.

  • Tory MPs blasts questionnaire asking pupils if they’re happy with their gender

    Tory MPs blasts questionnaire asking pupils if they’re happy with their gender

    Asking a child what they feel about their gender described as “deeply destabilising” by straight, cis Conservative MPs.

    Wokandapix / Pixabay

    Two Conservative MPs have blasted a move by the NHS in Lancashire, in which a non-mandatory questionnaire was sent to year six pupils asking what they felt about their gender.

    MP Tim Loughton, who was the Children’s Minister until 2012, blasted the questionnaire saying that questioning children’s thoughts on their own gender identity was “unsettling” and “deeply destabilising”.

    In the survey, pupils were asked if “feel the same inside” as the gender they were assigned a birth – and then asked whether they considered themselves a boy, girl or other options.

    Loughton, according to TheyWorkForYou.com has a long history in voting against LGBT+ equality ranging back to 1998.

    Speaking to the Daily Telegraph about the survey, Loughton said,

    “At a time when children are growing up and having to deal with all sorts of challenges of the modern world, now they are being asked to confront their gender, which for many will be unsettling.

    “Forcing children to question whether they are the right gender so early on can be deeply destabilising.”

    Children not forced to answer optional questionnaire

    THEGAYUK.com reached out to Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust to asked whether the questionnaire in question was forced onto children. A spokesperson responded, “The questionnaire was given out to as part of the Universal School Health Needs programme to assess the health and wellbeing needs of children and young people. Questionnaires are provided at Reception / Year 1, Year 6 and Year 9, and are developed according to reflect the needs of children within these age ranges. Completion of this questionnaire is optional”.

    Fellow Conservative MP, Jacob Rees Mogg also criticised the survey saying,

    “It is quite intrusive – these are private matters in a family. The problem with this approach is not just with the question but with the intrusive survey that invades people’s privacy and assumes the state has a role in a matter that actually belongs within the family.

    “These questions are not likely to be helpful. The child is too young – if they have these sorts of issues, the parents are the right ones to discuss it with, not a state survey.”

    Gender question removed?

    Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed to THEGAYUK.com that the gender question is under review for future surveys. In a statement they said,

    “We are constantly reviewing how to capture sensitive information in relation to the needs of children and young people both through universal screening and more targeted approaches. All questions are in the process of being reviewed as we are moving towards a digital platform instead of the current paper based system.

    “We are working with our commissioners, Lancashire County Council, to develop this and there is agreement that more consultation is needed on questions about gender and other sensitive health issues in the assessment.”

  • Sadiq Khan plans to make London’s toilets gender neutral

    Plans to turn public toilets into gender-neutral spaces were unveiled this week, by London mayor Sadiq Khan.

    London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has plans to turn the capital’s toilets into gender-neutral spaces, a move that he hopes will reflect the capital’s incredible diversity. Advocates of gender-neutral spaces see the policy helping trans and non-binary people feel more comfortable.

    Sadiq’s “London Plan” will call on building planners and developers to include more gender-neutral toilets in places like leisure centres, shopping malls and cinemas, in a bid to reflect London’s diverse population.

    Gender-neutral toilets are usually toilets in separate cubicles, with a shared hand washing and drying area. Doors and walls of each cubicle are floor to ceiling length. These spaces could house baby changing facilities and have better access for people with disabilities.

    “We need a range of toilets to reflect diversity”

    Mr Khan said, “I have vowed to be a Mayor for all Londoners so I am determined to ensure that everyone has the ability to enjoy our great city to its fullest.

    “Toilets are a vital public service and can help to shape the experience of the capital for those who live here and for those visiting.

    “We need a range of toilets that reflect the incredible diversity of this city – giving people the confidence to move around London with dignity.”

    Guidelines

    The guidelines are only advisory for planners, however, many councils have adopted the ideas.

    The Mayor’s plans also call for management, surveillance and cleaning procedures to be agreed at the planning stage. It also calls for the installation of free drinking fountains.

    There are many businesses and public spaces that have already adopted gender-neutral facilities, the Barbican Centre, as well as Channel 4’s headquarters, have non-gendered toilet areas.

  • Adam Lambert just reminded us all that he was doing Gender Fluid waayyy before Piers Morgan was getting all angst about it

    8 years ago… Piers… Genderfluidity is not new.

    So another week another outrage about gender fluidity from Piers Morgan… It happens a lot on twitter.

    Well, our favourite American Idol legend, Adam Lambert reminded us that he was going gender fluid waayyyy before Piers was getting his knickers in a twist about it.

    Taking to Instagram, Adam shared two covers from his first ever album, For Your Entertainment, saying, “I was feelin my gender fluid (and fully photoshopped) glam rock fantasy.”

    The album, Adam’s first, was released 8 years ago.

    Giving some insight about his first release, Adam revealed that many retailers were actually “uncomfortable” with the initial cover and the record label cowed to them, providing a second image for the cover.

    He said, “The powers that be released a second cover for retailers who felt ‘uncomfortable’ w the original. (Even though I was still fully painted) Hahha seems so funny now…. but just 8 yrs ago it was a much different climate.”

    We’re not so sure Adam… that the climate is that different, judging by comments by Piers.

  • Grindr is no longer just for men – new update allows women and trans people

    One of the world’s biggest hookup apps for gay and bi men is about to get a massive update.

    In a new update, Grindr, one of the world’s busiest dating and hook up apps for gay and bi men will add options to cater for women and trans people. New options will include, trans woman, trans man, non-binary and “queer”.

    Users will also be able to choose which pronouns they prefer including “they” and “them”.

    In an article in Grindr’s online magazine, the company said, “The trans community navigates tricky waters when it comes to online dating, from confusion over their gender identity to harassment to sometimes worse.  Grindr gets this and they’re doing something about it.”

    To accompany the changes, Grindr has created an entire FAQ section, written in consultation with the National Center for Transgender Equality, and includes information on gender identity and help, it says, to help non-trans people “interact respectfully”.

    It also provides insight on how to go about hooking up with a trans person as well a helpful article on what it means to be transgender, non-binary and cis-gender. It also includes advice on asking a transgender person about surgeries that they may have had or not.

    It also has resources to help transgender people feel safe, with a number of numbers and contact details for people to call should they find themselves in trouble.

     

  • This Brighton church welcomes its first non-binary, trans man ordained minister

    A Brighton church is the first to welcome their first non-binary, trans man minister.

    Rev. Peta Evans is to join the church in Brighton as an Associate Pastor. The Village Metropolitan Community Church is a church which was created by LGBT+ Christians, their families, their friends and allies.

    The Reverend’s first sermon is due to be given on the 8th October at 6 PM at the Village MCC. In 2010 Peta left Brighton to train a clergy intern in North London and now is returning to Brighton

    When not ministering, Peta is a care-worker and tailor.

    Rev. Peta said, “Returning to Brighton, I am excited to serve again in the community which first welcomed me and supported me in both my ministry journey and my gender transition. I would love to see the sincere passion and integrity of The Village MCC reach out even more widely to people of all ages, gender identities and walks of life.

    “I am also enthusiastic about reclaiming the Bible from those who have tried to make it a weapon against those who are different, and I’m starting a group for Trans people to do just that, ReTranslation, to look at the text for themselves without past interpretations getting in the way. I have a love for Celtic spirituality, which weaves together the practical and the spiritual, finding depth and delight in all things, no matter how mundane, and for creative expressions of spirituality, which I hope to share with The Village in the coming months.”

    Rev. Michael Hydes, Senior Pastor of The Village MCC said, “I’m looking forward to working with Rev. Peta. Their rootedness in Celtic Christianity and experience working in the Trans communities are just two of the many gifts they bring to their work. I know we’ll all be enriched by their participation in our church life and leadership within our community of faith.”

  • 8 Ways to Survive Being a Sissy

    Performance artist Nando Messias shares some tips on how to survive when you’re an effeminate man.

    8 Ways to Survive Being a Sissy

    For more insights come see Where 4 Roads Meet: Death and the Sissy, showing at Toynbee Studios on the 12th of October. Tickets on sale now. 

    1. Pile on the makeup

    As war paint, like Quentin Crisp, “blinded by mascara and dumb by lipstick.” Don’t listen to the objections. No matter what you do, you will always look like a girl and you will most definitely always stand out. So have fun. As jeweller Harry Winston put it: “People will stare. Make it worth their while.”

    2. Wear a bold perfume

    Choose any of the following: Poison, Opium, Coco, Amarige, Angel or Insolence. Aromatics Elixir if you don’t like florals and Giorgio If you’re on a tight budget. I wear Fracas myself but you can’t have that because it’s mine. Anything with a huge sillage will do the job. Throw caution to the wind and douse yourself with gay abandon. The effect you want is that of an invisible protective shield around you. It might not ward off the haters but it should at least keep mosquitoes away in summer.

    3. Carry stiletto heels

    My strong advice is to wear stiletto heels on all occasions. Failing that, carry a pair in your bag at all times. The thinner the heel, the better. If in danger, run. Mind, you might stumble, so practice in advance. If you choose not to run, you can always use the heels as weapons.

    4. Wear a cape

    This is genuine advice I actually received from a police officer following a bashing I suffered once. “Next time,” he suggested, “wear a cape until you arrive at your destination.” A cape! A mother-fu*king, sodding, cape. As if A CAPE would make me any less conspicuous. Perhaps if I added a top hat and a walking stick, people might mistake me for Count Dracula and then I would fit right in, officer.

    5. Take taxis wherever you go

    Or, even better, hire a driver-bodyguard. You know you deserve one.

    6. Take self-defence classes

    But only in heels and makeup.

    7. Become a recluse

    Refuse to come out. You might become a legend like Greta Garbo or Maria Callas.

    8. Become an artist

    It’s worked for me and generations of effeminate men before me. I went down the performance art route myself and have been warmly embraced by a coterie of fabulous misfits I now call family.

    Somehow I seem to have survived as an effeminate man. Don’t erase your difference. Don’t try to fit into a mould. And whatever you do, stay safe and don’t let the bastards grind you down! Remember Madonna: “and if I fall, I get up again now, I get up again, over and over…”

    For more insights come see Where 4 Roads Meet: Death and the Sissy, showing at Toynbee Studios on the 12th of October. Tickets on sale now. 

    by Nando Messias

    Nando Messias‘ work straddles performance art, dance and theatre. His performances combine beautiful images with a fierce critique of gender, visibility and violence. He has performed at prestigious venues such as Hayward Gallery, V&A, Tate Tanks, Roundhouse, Royal Vauxhall Tavern, Tate Britain and ICA, among other spaces across the UK. He has also worked extensively on the international circuit.

  • Some people were NOT happy about #NoMoreBoysAndGirls

    A TV show which aimed to take a class of children and make them gender neutral in order to create gender equality later in life was not responded to well by some quarters on Twitter last night.

    In this bold, engaging and provocative experiment, Doctor Javid Abdelmoneim aims to find out whether stripping away the pink and blue will change the way this class of seven-year-olds think.

    Being gender neutral

    Taking over one Year 3 class from Lanesend primary school in the Isle of Wight, Doctor Javid aims to remove all differences in the way boys and girls are treated to see if, after six weeks of gender neutral treatment, he can even out the gaps in their achievement across a range of important psychological measures from self-confidence to spatial awareness.

    However some on Twitter just did not get it!

    https://twitter.com/Southendman1972/status/898002964463398912

    https://twitter.com/jparry1975/status/897719097500282880

    https://twitter.com/DougWood_/status/897925774564577280

    https://twitter.com/SebastianRose_/status/898060824950034432

    https://twitter.com/BerkeleyHunter/status/898039641596624900

    https://twitter.com/wolfbane1997/status/898020780231069697

    Well, it made for depressing reading:

    https://twitter.com/karenomfg/status/898011903540285441

     

  • Dr Javid takes a look to see what happens when you raise children gender free

    In a bold experiment, Dr Javid is taking a class of school children and raising them gender free in a brand new show for BBC 2.

    Dr Javid takes a look to see what happens when you raise children gender free

    The BBC is set to broadcast a programme which aims to see if kids can go gender free.

    Is the way we treat boys and girls the real reason we haven’t achieved equality between men and women?

    In this bold, engaging and provocative experiment, Doctor Javid Abdelmoneim aims to find out whether stripping away the pink and blue will change the way this class of seven-year-olds think.

    Being gender neutral

    Taking over one Year 3 class from Lanesend primary school in the Isle of Wight, Doctor Javid aims to remove all differences in the way boys and girls are treated to see if, after six weeks of gender neutral treatment, he can even out the gaps in their achievement across a range of important psychological measures from self-confidence to spatial awareness.

    Who is Doctor Javid?

    As a doctor, he knows there are basic biological differences between the sexes, but he believes our biology can’t fully explain why men and women’s life chances – from pay, to careers are still so unequal in the UK. Even a quick shopping trip reveals just how much childhood has changed since Dr. Javid was growing up, with a tsunami of pink and blue clothes and toys aimed at different genders. A visit to Professor Gina Rippon at Aston University, one of the UK’s leading experts in brain imaging and neuroscience, reveals there is no such thing as a male or female brain type and instead the brain is a plastic organ, shaped and moulded by experiences, in which childhood is key.

    Shocked by the children’s own polarised opinions on how boys and girls should live their lives, Doctor Javid commissions Dr Stella Mavroveli from the Psychometric Lab at University College London to assess between boys and girls behaviour and psychological traits from confidence to self-esteem, empathy and social skills. Upset by the results, Dr Javid sets out a series of interventions both in class and at home, to tackle these differences. Will Doctor Javid’s gender neutral mission produce meaningful change when he later repeats his tests at the end of term?

    There are two episodes in this series, episode 1 will broadcast tonight at 9 PM the second programme will air on the 23rd August, both will be broadcast on BBC 2

    No More Boys And Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free? is produced by Outline Productions for BBC Two

     

  • LGBT hate crime cop has slammed Tesco telling them use gender neutral signs for tampons

    The hate crime officer for Sussex Police has told the UK’s largest supermarket that they should start using gender-neutral signage.

    Sergeant Peter Allan from the Sussex Police force has hit out at Tesco on Twitter for using signs which suggest that Tampons are “feminine hygiene” products, calling their in store signs a #Fail. The force’s Trans equality advocate suggested that the retailer use the gender neutral “personal hygiene” for their signage instead.

    The officer wrote,

    “ Need to update. Especially with products 4 men on shelf. ‘Personal Hygiene’ perhaps…

    “Should be gender neutral if mentioned at all.”

    https://twitter.com/SgtPeterAllan/status/761650891183235072

    However, some people on Twitter did not take the proposal very well, with some suggesting that the officer had “lost the plot” and others suggesting that the force was being turned into a “laughing stock”.

    https://twitter.com/TitanicQueen/status/895580602874839041

    https://twitter.com/Yeovil070707/status/895618220635324416

     

    Meanwhile, another user, who identifies as a “taser” cop in London slammed Peter Allan saying,

    “He is not representative of the wider Police community. Most of us have common sense and don’t take issue with stupid nonsense! I despair.

    “We are law enforcement – believe me when I say most aren’t as utterly ridiculous as this person is”.

    Speaking to THEGAYUK.com a Tesco spokesperson said,

    ‘Everyone is welcome at Tesco. We regularly review the signs in our stores to make sure they meet the needs of customers.’

     

    THEGAYUK.com reached out to Sussex Police for comment.

  • BBC to air bold experiment to see if kids can go gender-free

    The BBC is set to broadcast a programme which aims to see if kids can go gender free.

    Is the way we treat boys and girls the real reason we haven’t achieved equality between men and women?

    In this bold, engaging and provocative experiment, Doctor Javid Abdelmoneim aims to find out whether stripping away the pink and blue will change the way this class of seven-year-olds think.

    Being gender neutral

    Taking over one Year 3 class from Lanesend primary school in the Isle of Wight, Doctor Javid aims to remove all differences in the way boys and girls are treated to see if, after six weeks of gender neutral treatment, he can even out the gaps in their achievement across a range of important psychological measures from self-confidence to spatial awareness.

    As a doctor, he knows there are basic biological differences between the sexes, but he believes our biology can’t fully explain why men and women’s life chances – from pay, to careers are still so unequal in the UK. Even a quick shopping trip reveals just how much childhood has changed since Dr. Javid was growing up, with a tsunami of pink and blue clothes and toys aimed at different genders. A visit to Professor Gina Rippon at Aston University, one of the UK’s leading experts in brain imaging and neuroscience, reveals there is no such thing as a male or female brain type and instead the brain is a plastic organ, shaped and moulded by experiences, in which childhood is key.

    Shocked by the children’s own polarised opinions on how boys and girls should live their lives, Doctor Javid commissions Dr Stella Mavroveli from the Psychometric Lab at University College London to assess between boys and girls behaviour and psychological traits from confidence to self-esteem, empathy and social skills. Upset by the results, Dr Javid sets out a series of interventions both in class and at home, to tackle these differences. Will Doctor Javid’s gender neutral mission produce meaningful change when he later repeats his tests at the end of term?

    There are two episodes in this series, episode 1 will broadcast on Wednesday 16th August and the second will air on the 23rd August. Times to be confirmed, both will be broadcast on BBC 2

    No More Boys And Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free? is produced by Outline Productions for BBC Two

     

  • Government to “de-medicalise” the transition process

    The UK’s Government has announced radical new plans to “streamline and de-medicalise” the process by which transgender people can have their gender legally recognised quicker and easier.

    Today Justine Greening, the Minister for Women and Equalities announced plans that would end the medical process by which trans people must currently navigate in order to legally change their gender. In the announcement laid out today, people will no longer need a diagnosis of gender dysphoria or to prove that they have been in transition for two years before they can apply to legally change their gender.

    Minister for Women and Equalities Justine Greening said,

    “This government is committed to building an inclusive society that works for everyone, no matter what their gender or sexuality and today we’re taking the next step forward.

    “We will build on the significant progress we have made over the past 50 years, tackling some of the historic prejudices that still persist in our laws and giving LGBT people a real say on the issues affecting them.”

    Removing stigma from the Gender Recognition Act

    The consultation on the Gender Recognition Act, to be published in the Autumn will look to improve the recognition process and reduce the stigma faced by the trans community. Proposals will include, removing the need for medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, which is currently necessary in order to change a person’s legal gender. Proposals for streamlining the entire process will also be discussed.

    Trans advocate and Labour party candidate in East Worthing and Shoreham in the 2017 General Election Sophie Cook applauded the cross-party approach saying,

    “The Gender Recognition Act forces people to jump through hoops and undergo deeply personal and intimate examination of their life including medical evidence and, if you’re married, a declaration from your spouse in order to gain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).

    Since I transitioned in 2015 I have faced prejudice, abuse and even death threats and it’s time for Parliament to recognise the challenges that trans people face and work to eradicate bigotry in all of its forms.

    Despite, very obviously, being my true self and living my life in my true gender I do not have a GRC.

    My passport, driving license and all other documents identify me as female and yet under the law without a GRC my rights could potentially be in danger.

    There have been cases of trans women losing their lives because the lack of a GRC placed them in harm’s way, most notably inside our prison system.

    In the Labour manifesto we recognised that the act was out of date and pledged to change it and I’m pleased to see that the government is moving ahead with this reform.

    Everyone should be afforded the right to self-identification, no doctor, judge or politician can presume to know more about an individuals identity than they do themselves.”