School Children Given 'Pronoun Badges' to Prevent Offending Transgender Pupils
UK government pushes for new scheme to help promote inclusion of trans kids
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Schools in Brighton, UK, are giving their pupils special badges that indicate which pronoun they prefer to be called to prevent transgender children being 'misgendered.'
The Secondary school pupils across Brighton and Hove in East Sussex are being given the badges as part of the government's 'My Pronouns are...' scheme aiming to promote transgender inclusion and limit 'misgendering.'
The different badges say 'My pronouns are...' and the list includes:
She
Her
Hers
He him
His
They, them theirs.
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There is also a blank badge for pupils who are undecided about their gender or how they want to be identified.
Although wearing the badges is currently optional, the government has said it wants to encourage children to consider how being referred to using throng pronouns can offend transgender children and damage their mental health.
Trans rights campaigner Sophie Cook, claims 'misgendering' can be harmful to children.
The problem is that people look at one incident of misgendering and think it's just one word,' she said.
'But it's not just one word, it is that word ten times a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year.'
'It has a cumulative effect which chips away at a person's identity.'
Cook says that children are affected by misgendering specifically in a 'difficult development period.'
She added: 'In these situations, you will have people up in arms. But quite frankly, what difference does it make to those people?
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'It's a great way of making people think about identities of the people they're talking to.'
'There is far too much false moral outrage about things that do not affect the people doing the loudest shouting.'
The badges were given out in libraries, town halls and museums for Trans Day of Visibility last Sunday.
The badges also come with slogans such as 'my pronouns matter,' 'respect my pronouns, respect me' and 'gender is a spectrum.'
A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said:
'The badges and stickers help raise awareness that you can't assume someone's gender identity and the pronouns they use.
'We know from a range of evidence that gender is more complicated than is traditionally recognized.
'We all define our gender, and we should respect other people's identities and rights.
'We're proud of being a diverse city, and the council is committed to equality and inclusion for all people, including our trans and non-binary residents.
'Our equality and inclusion strategy rightly supports those who are experiencing the greatest disadvantage.'
