If someone wants me to address them by a particular moniker, I’ve no issue doing so if it makes them happy. And if they want to dress up like a member of the opposite sex, who am I to judge them? But when transexuals claim they ARE what they WANT to be, that is when we have a problem. And when our institutions and their ‘progressive’ attack dogs support transexuals in this fantasy, that is when we have a major problem, as evidenced by this article.
Paul and others deserve much credit for pushing back against the trans lobby, many of whom aren’t even trans, but the very fact we’re even having this conversation says to me that we are now living in a society, maybe even civilisation, that is descending into madness.
In fact, when considering this issue alongside the response to covid, critical race theory, the ‘death by 1000 cuts’ net zero project and more, as things stand at the moment, we appear to be doomed.
I used to take this view but I'm not so sure I agree any more. What do you make of the argument below?
What if I don't want to refer to a person as he when in my view she is a she? Should I (or you) be obliged to do that? I might choose to (as you suggest you would) but what if actually I want to refer to that person as what I believe her to be? I think there's a problem with referring to people by their chosen pronoun when I don't believe it. Firstly it creates an expectation on behalf of the supposed trans person that others will refer to them as they choose which may well generate anger if they don't get what they want, landing us back where we've been.
Secondly, and I think more profoundly, is the issue of social norms. It is a social norm that we have two genders (I understand in some parts of polynesia, they actually do have 3...) corresponding to two sexes. If you refer to a trans person by one pronoun, and I refer to this person by another, we no longer have a social norm in common. This makes it hard for us to operate as a society. If we can't even agree on a social norm as basic pronouns, which children learn when they're very small, there won't be many social norms left in a fairly short period.
Science has ridden to the rescue of this particular social norm but most such norms can't be saved this way. The only way to save them is to live them, including by everyone agreeing on how to use pronouns. Without this, there will be no commonality left.
What do you make of this argument? I feel there's something in it but, as ever, I wonder if I'm making a mountain out of a molehill.
Interesting post, Anthony. It’s a good argument. I’m simply saying how I’d react to an adult, in those circumstances, but I wouldn’t expect anybody else to do the same. Other people can do whatever their conscience and the law tells/ allows them to do.
To be honest, I don’t really care because, for me, the only thing that makes the trans issue an issue is the absolute absurdity of it all. And when I say ‘absurdity’, I mean debating the very idea that one sex can BE the other. But when we live in a society that now champions so many absurdities, the big issue – the one that really matters - is that Western civilisation is in serious trouble.
As far as the kids go, schools should only teach reality in biology, which, of course, is that there are 2 sexes - male and female, and that gender is the same as sex. If a child becomes distressed because they believe otherwise, they must immediately be referred to mental health experts, who should give them prompt, free-of-charge emotional support to help them achieve a speedy and complete recovery.
As for social norms, we’re now so far down the rabbit hole that I’m afraid they appear to be long gone. Of course, that’s a pity, but the movers and shakers of the Western world are now in full self-destruct mode, on multiple fronts.
My response to this? Pour myself a beer, press the button on my e cig, laugh at the muppets in Parliament and the press, and be grateful that I’m 50 rather than 15.
Remaining silent seems to be spreading like a dis- ease, Paul. Like something from the 1930’s we should have learned from but clearly have not. Thanks for your article. Much appreciated.
Well said, Paul. As a counsellor I have been the target of cancellation attempts three times in the last four years for “being gobby”. I welcome the Cass Report with open arms.
It is an open question as to how the culture war waged on other fronts, say our history or our national identity, can be won since science can't come to the rescue. But it's good to know that it is at least possible in principle to turn the tide.
Well said Paul, not unexpected responses from trans organisations, from what I’ve read, some see it as a further attack, some question Cass’s qualifications to make such a report (never worked in gender affirming medicine was the excuse, I know go figure!) some see it as a positive as it may help trans youth getting prompter treatment as they’ll be more sites.
My own take is that once you reach eighteen and wish to transition, fill your boots but until then, as Pink Floyd said, ‘Leave them kids alone!’
Meanwhile in the People’s Republic of Scotland, the Holyrood Commissars are ensuring that primary schools are providing suitably kind and inclusive instruction:
This is so disturbing and disgusting! What is the matter with Scotland? Why is allowed to happen? In view of the harm to children exposed in the Cass Review, why is Scotland abusing kids?
On the button there Paul. The same derangement exists over 'climate emergency' etc. Hopefully a sensible and more reasoned perspective will happen there soon. If it does we will feel better off in more ways than one.
I just hope that sanity will prevail and the monster will be put back in the bottle, but I’m not so sanguine about that happening.Too much money is invested in this, and profit is too great to let them give up easily.
Hi Paul Your very recent post is, for myself and a small group of colleagues, very close to an issue we have been trying to raise awareness on my own Substack and LinkedIn accounts but I don’t have the journalistic skills to ‘give it legs’?! So a couple of links for background….
Our ‘trade union’ The Association of Educational Psychologists, https://www.aep.org.uk to which the vast majority of EPs belong has for some time behaved as a gender ideology activist group. Their submission to the consultation on DfE draft guidance “Gender Questioning Children” (copied within second link, above and attached) shows a jumbled reference to critical theory philosophies and to support from charities like Stonewall and Just like us! The latter even includes this quote…
“We recommend schools do not implement this draft, non-statutory guidance. We encourage teachers to stand for inclusion, not exclusion”
There are further examples of how pervasive this gender affirmative bias has become within EP profession in my posts regarding discussion on the in house EPNET forum from which 6 of our accounts were blocked within 10 days of raising gender-critical comments! (Some of these are on my LinkedIn account - they have the blue sky/Ali &Nino statue pix).
Now we are post Cass and the medical interventions are so heavily restricted for school age children I consider the AEP to be the strongest barrier against further progress on supporting gender critical commentary. I consider this a child safeguarding issue, which I don’t take lightly having had experience as a Tribunal and Family Court expert witness.
I need to add here just how powerful the AEP is in the EP enterprise. 12 universities run EP training courses (we are currently running FOI requests on gender related course content) funded through DfE but this EPFT scheme and admissions to these courses is managed by AEP, they also publish one of most respected (within profession) journals EPiP. If you can find an article with any gender critical content please let us know!
It appears to have gone unseen and under the radar since there is little public knowledge of how EPs operate when working for local authority EP services. Each school has a named EP with whom they build a unique relationship over a period of many years through what is referred to as a consultation model. They have significant kudos and their advice is taken very seriously. If they behave (and vast majority are) in line with their professional body - the AEP - they will effectively render Cass and the final version of DfE’s GQC completely redundant, getting no further than the top shelf in HT’s study, if not the bin!
I do hope you can see how profound the effect of this hidden barrier will be on generating change in the management of gender issues across the whole educational estate. I have tried many outlets with limited success but recently was published online through Genspect as were my colleagues.
So if you could yourself give this issue some exposure or perhaps know some investigative jjournalists who could take this further on our behalf we would be very grateful.
Hi, David. It's probably beyond my own means to cover it, but you should perhaps drop a line to James Esses - www.jamesesses.com. He is excellent on this type of stuff.
Always refreshing to read Paul Embery's journalism...for solid commonsense in a world of nutcases.
Well described Paul - without edge or bias just plain honest facts. Good man.
If someone wants me to address them by a particular moniker, I’ve no issue doing so if it makes them happy. And if they want to dress up like a member of the opposite sex, who am I to judge them? But when transexuals claim they ARE what they WANT to be, that is when we have a problem. And when our institutions and their ‘progressive’ attack dogs support transexuals in this fantasy, that is when we have a major problem, as evidenced by this article.
Paul and others deserve much credit for pushing back against the trans lobby, many of whom aren’t even trans, but the very fact we’re even having this conversation says to me that we are now living in a society, maybe even civilisation, that is descending into madness.
In fact, when considering this issue alongside the response to covid, critical race theory, the ‘death by 1000 cuts’ net zero project and more, as things stand at the moment, we appear to be doomed.
I used to take this view but I'm not so sure I agree any more. What do you make of the argument below?
What if I don't want to refer to a person as he when in my view she is a she? Should I (or you) be obliged to do that? I might choose to (as you suggest you would) but what if actually I want to refer to that person as what I believe her to be? I think there's a problem with referring to people by their chosen pronoun when I don't believe it. Firstly it creates an expectation on behalf of the supposed trans person that others will refer to them as they choose which may well generate anger if they don't get what they want, landing us back where we've been.
Secondly, and I think more profoundly, is the issue of social norms. It is a social norm that we have two genders (I understand in some parts of polynesia, they actually do have 3...) corresponding to two sexes. If you refer to a trans person by one pronoun, and I refer to this person by another, we no longer have a social norm in common. This makes it hard for us to operate as a society. If we can't even agree on a social norm as basic pronouns, which children learn when they're very small, there won't be many social norms left in a fairly short period.
Science has ridden to the rescue of this particular social norm but most such norms can't be saved this way. The only way to save them is to live them, including by everyone agreeing on how to use pronouns. Without this, there will be no commonality left.
What do you make of this argument? I feel there's something in it but, as ever, I wonder if I'm making a mountain out of a molehill.
Interesting post, Anthony. It’s a good argument. I’m simply saying how I’d react to an adult, in those circumstances, but I wouldn’t expect anybody else to do the same. Other people can do whatever their conscience and the law tells/ allows them to do.
To be honest, I don’t really care because, for me, the only thing that makes the trans issue an issue is the absolute absurdity of it all. And when I say ‘absurdity’, I mean debating the very idea that one sex can BE the other. But when we live in a society that now champions so many absurdities, the big issue – the one that really matters - is that Western civilisation is in serious trouble.
As far as the kids go, schools should only teach reality in biology, which, of course, is that there are 2 sexes - male and female, and that gender is the same as sex. If a child becomes distressed because they believe otherwise, they must immediately be referred to mental health experts, who should give them prompt, free-of-charge emotional support to help them achieve a speedy and complete recovery.
As for social norms, we’re now so far down the rabbit hole that I’m afraid they appear to be long gone. Of course, that’s a pity, but the movers and shakers of the Western world are now in full self-destruct mode, on multiple fronts.
My response to this? Pour myself a beer, press the button on my e cig, laugh at the muppets in Parliament and the press, and be grateful that I’m 50 rather than 15.
Remaining silent seems to be spreading like a dis- ease, Paul. Like something from the 1930’s we should have learned from but clearly have not. Thanks for your article. Much appreciated.
Well said, Paul. As a counsellor I have been the target of cancellation attempts three times in the last four years for “being gobby”. I welcome the Cass Report with open arms.
Well done for your stance Paul.
It is an open question as to how the culture war waged on other fronts, say our history or our national identity, can be won since science can't come to the rescue. But it's good to know that it is at least possible in principle to turn the tide.
I think of JK Rowling, subjected to rivers of abuse on social media and elsewhere
Let’s not forget the ongoing death threats and inclusion of her daughter in recent articles.
Well said Paul, not unexpected responses from trans organisations, from what I’ve read, some see it as a further attack, some question Cass’s qualifications to make such a report (never worked in gender affirming medicine was the excuse, I know go figure!) some see it as a positive as it may help trans youth getting prompter treatment as they’ll be more sites.
My own take is that once you reach eighteen and wish to transition, fill your boots but until then, as Pink Floyd said, ‘Leave them kids alone!’
Meanwhile in the People’s Republic of Scotland, the Holyrood Commissars are ensuring that primary schools are providing suitably kind and inclusive instruction:
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/scottish-primary-schools-appoint-children-as-lgbt-champions/ar-BB1lOmPm
Yuk!
This is so disturbing and disgusting! What is the matter with Scotland? Why is allowed to happen? In view of the harm to children exposed in the Cass Review, why is Scotland abusing kids?
On the button there Paul. The same derangement exists over 'climate emergency' etc. Hopefully a sensible and more reasoned perspective will happen there soon. If it does we will feel better off in more ways than one.
I just hope that sanity will prevail and the monster will be put back in the bottle, but I’m not so sanguine about that happening.Too much money is invested in this, and profit is too great to let them give up easily.
Hi Paul Your very recent post is, for myself and a small group of colleagues, very close to an issue we have been trying to raise awareness on my own Substack and LinkedIn accounts but I don’t have the journalistic skills to ‘give it legs’?! So a couple of links for background….
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-david-buck-b6a79747_post-cass-will-the-association-of-educational-activity-7185410781755117568-c_sW?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
https://open.substack.com/pub/dbuck/p/the-association-of-educational-psychologists?r=ueb70&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Our ‘trade union’ The Association of Educational Psychologists, https://www.aep.org.uk to which the vast majority of EPs belong has for some time behaved as a gender ideology activist group. Their submission to the consultation on DfE draft guidance “Gender Questioning Children” (copied within second link, above and attached) shows a jumbled reference to critical theory philosophies and to support from charities like Stonewall and Just like us! The latter even includes this quote…
“We recommend schools do not implement this draft, non-statutory guidance. We encourage teachers to stand for inclusion, not exclusion”
There are further examples of how pervasive this gender affirmative bias has become within EP profession in my posts regarding discussion on the in house EPNET forum from which 6 of our accounts were blocked within 10 days of raising gender-critical comments! (Some of these are on my LinkedIn account - they have the blue sky/Ali &Nino statue pix).
Now we are post Cass and the medical interventions are so heavily restricted for school age children I consider the AEP to be the strongest barrier against further progress on supporting gender critical commentary. I consider this a child safeguarding issue, which I don’t take lightly having had experience as a Tribunal and Family Court expert witness.
I need to add here just how powerful the AEP is in the EP enterprise. 12 universities run EP training courses (we are currently running FOI requests on gender related course content) funded through DfE but this EPFT scheme and admissions to these courses is managed by AEP, they also publish one of most respected (within profession) journals EPiP. If you can find an article with any gender critical content please let us know!
It appears to have gone unseen and under the radar since there is little public knowledge of how EPs operate when working for local authority EP services. Each school has a named EP with whom they build a unique relationship over a period of many years through what is referred to as a consultation model. They have significant kudos and their advice is taken very seriously. If they behave (and vast majority are) in line with their professional body - the AEP - they will effectively render Cass and the final version of DfE’s GQC completely redundant, getting no further than the top shelf in HT’s study, if not the bin!
I do hope you can see how profound the effect of this hidden barrier will be on generating change in the management of gender issues across the whole educational estate. I have tried many outlets with limited success but recently was published online through Genspect as were my colleagues.
https://genspect.org/reconstructing-uk-educational-child-psychologists-roles-regarding-intersectional-identities-of-transgenderism-with-special-educational-needs/
https://genspect.org/where-are-the-educational-psychologists-when-children-say-theyre-transgender/
So hope you can forgive recent resort to more tabloid techniques? e.g.
https://open.substack.com/pub/dbuck/p/dear-j-k-rowling?r=ueb70&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-david-buck-b6a79747_post-cass-will-the-association-of-educational-activity-7185410781755117568-c_sW?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
So if you could yourself give this issue some exposure or perhaps know some investigative jjournalists who could take this further on our behalf we would be very grateful.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Kind Regards,
Dr David Buck C.Psychol. AFBPsS
Independent Consultant Educational Psychologist
Hi, David. It's probably beyond my own means to cover it, but you should perhaps drop a line to James Esses - www.jamesesses.com. He is excellent on this type of stuff.
OK thanks Paul, that's very helpful, will do!