Melbourne schools are urged to stop saying ‘mum or dad’ in a push to be more ‘gender inclusive’
- Schools and sporting clubs are being urged not to use gender specific pronouns
- Parents are being encouraged to use words like parent instead of mum or dad
- It comes #SpeakingUpSpeaksVolumes campaign to raise awareness for LGBTQI+
- Recommendations included: gender neutral bathrooms and flying rainbow flags
Schools in Melbourne are being urged to use gender neutral pronouns and scrap ‘mum and dad’ in favour of ‘parent’ as part of a campaign to improve inclusivity for LGBTQI+ students.
Unisex bathrooms, non-gendered sporting teams and the flying of rainbow flags to are also recommended to improve inclusivity.
Some schools are even being encouraged to stop teachers and pupils from using words including mum, dad and boyfriend in a controversial bid to banish gendered words.
Instead, ‘parent’ and ‘partner’ is preferred.
The suggestions come as the North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network launched its #SpeakingUpSpeaksVolumes campaign to support LGBTQI+ students in schools.
Schools are urging parents not to use gender specific pronouns like dad or mum rather than parent
The campaign used material from Proud2Play and VicHealth which included strategies for schools and sports – including non-gendered teams and the use of rainbow flags.
Parents were also being asked to question others about what pronouns they used.
The North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network’s CEO Chris Carter said the campaign helped people to speak up and support LGBTQI+ children, the Herald Sun reported.
The call comes as the #SpeakingUpSpeaksVolumes campaign was launched to improve inclusivity with LGBTQI+ students
‘The simple act of openly showing support can be a catalyst for great change for the better and it’s often the less obvious moments that can be the most impactful to someone’s wellbeing,’ Mr Carter told the Herald Sun.
A mother of one child, who was ‘gender not-sure’ in his early years, said that the support of their school had been crucial to her son’s growth.
‘There needs to always be obvious support and prevention so kids like Jax don’t have their confidence derailed,’ she told the newspaper.
Colin Bourke is the head of the Elevation Secondary College in Craigieburn and said that the homophobia was ‘really detrimental to our student culture’.
He also said that schools were doing a lot to ensure LGBTQI+ students feel included such as making bathrooms unisex.
‘This includes gender non-specific bathrooms and taking down some of the boys and girls signs,’ he said.