School pupils in Brighton get badges saying if they prefer to be called ‘she, he or they’ with the slogan ‘gender is a spectrum’ in bid to help transgender children
- Secondary schools in Brighton and Hove will be given the badges for pupils
- It’s part of council’s My Pronouns are…’ scheme to prevent ‘misgendering’
- Wearing them is voluntary and comes to schools after being placed in libraries
Schools in Brighton are giving their pupils badges that say which pronoun they prefer to be called to help transgender children.
Secondary school pupils across Brighton and Hove are being handed the badges as part of the council’s ‘My Pronouns are…’ scheme that aims to promote trans inclusion and prevent ‘misgendering’.
Different badges say ‘My pronouns are…’ followed by either she, her, hers; he him, his;or they, them theirs.
There is also a blank badge that youngsters can use to fill in their own pronouns.
Wearing the badges is optional but council bosses hope they will encourage people to consider how being referred to by the wrong pronoun can damage transgender children’s mental health.
Secondary school pupils across Brighton and Hove are being handed badges that show which pronouns they preferred to be called as part of a council scheme to promote trans inclusion
Trans rights campaigner Sophie Cook, who ran as Labour Parliamentary candidate for Worthing in 2017, says ‘misgendering’, the act of addressing an individual intentionally or unintentionally by the wrong pronoun, can be harmful.
She said: ‘The problem is that people look at one incident of misgendering and think it’s just one word.
‘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 believes that children in school are especially affected by misgendering as they are in a ‘difficult development period’.
She said: ‘In these situations, you will have people up in arms. But quite frankly, what difference does it make to those people?
‘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 have no effect on the people doing the loudest shouting.’
The badges being rolled out in schools comes after Brighton and Hove City Council handed them out at libraries, town halls and museums for Trans Day of Visibility last Sunday.
There are also badges available 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 recognised.
Wearing the badges is optional but council bosses in Brighton hope they will encourage people to consider how being referred to by the wrong pronoun can damage transgender children’s mental health
‘We all define our own 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 greatest disadvantage.’
Last year, schools in the area were issued with a gender guidance ‘tool kit’ to ensure transgender children felt included.
They have been told they must adhere to the advice, which includes such things as shared toilets, mixed sports and the right for pupils to dress in either male or female uniform.