Resist Gender Education Voice Media Voice Media gender education schools Ep 4 Pendulum With Margaret Curnow from ResistGenderEducation Margaret Curnow 00:00 / 38:39

A selection of compelling writing about transgender ideas. Excellent articles can also be found in The Times and The Australian, by subscription. Articles Banning the Blockers . In this Quillette article , Bernard Lane gives an overview of the use of puberty blockers as a routine treatment for gender distress and the resulting medical scandal. It's wrong to lie to children . Stephanie Davies-Arai (founder and director of Transgender Trend) criticises further delay from the UK Department of Education in producing transgender guidelines for schools. " The social transition of children is a key activist aim. It is an ideological approach that supports and compels a belief in “gender identity”, or at least the pretence of a belief, by forcing every other child (and teacher) in the school to pretend that a boy is a girl or a girl is a boy. It is a deception that turns reality on its head and undermines trust in the teacher-child relationship. It is nothing short of a social experiment on a generation of children. Is this what U.K. law really dictates?" "A Terrible Trap" , an article by Charlotte Paul about the dangers of puberty blockers, was published in the December 2023 issue of "North and South". In the article Paul says, "We have taught these girls to think they are really boys and thus to be disturbed by the changes of puberty... The only solution looks to be the suppressing of puberty. We adults have encouraged children to think like this ." Is NZ's transgender medicine guideline an example of regulatory failure? Jan Rivers has published a 20 page report assessing the PATHA (Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa) guideline for transgender care. “Like a lot of gender ideology research, the quality is very poor,” she says. Transition Alley by Andrew Anthony. The Listener May 13 2023. The use of puberty blockers is “a dispute about science, best practice and the protection of young and vulnerable people.” The Transgender Children's Crusade by Kay S Hymowitz. "Gender identity, with its vision of autonomous children in touch with their innermost authentic desires, negates all we know about adolescence, just as it does early childhood… Whether they realize it or not, supporters are showing a wilful ignorance about child nature and endorsing views completely at odds with child psychology and legal and cultural traditions…" Empowering Parents - Young People and Gender Identity . This downloadable PDF provides vital, accurate, information for parents and teachers to help them understand the complex issues affecting their children. Produced by "The Countess", a voluntary, non-partisan human rights group based in Ireland. NHS England Ends the "Gender-Affirmative Care Model" for Youth The NHS has ended “ gender-affirming care ” in England for minors, according to the newly-released draft guidance. Psychotherapy will be the first and - usually - only line of treatment. Puberty blockers will be confined to research settings, and social transition will be discouraged for most. SEGM’s analysis is here . Gender Wars and Sexuality Education in 2021: History and Politics by Sue Middleton published in the New Zealand Journal of educational Studies. The Ministry requires schools to engage in ‘consultation with communities’ on their approach to the ‘sexuality and relationships’ curriculum. Schools have to decide whether to teach, what to teach, when to teach, how to (and how not to teach) sexuality and relationships. Understanding the historical, intellectual, professional and political battles in the ‘gender wars’ should help in these deliberations. Questioning the Gender Bender Agenda by Sue Middleton published in Ipu; Kereru; a blog of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education. Explosion of transgenderism into a social movement - Observations of a Clinical Psychologist by Ellen Kaschak “Transgenderism has become a social movement and no longer only a personal preference or psychological issue… It is destined to affect you personally if it has not already.” No One Is Born in ‘The Wrong Body’ – by W Malone, C Wright & J Robertson This article looks at the normal distribution curve of ‘maleness’ and ‘femaleness’ and concludes that “…telling a child that he or she was born in the wrong body pathologizes ‘gender non-conforming’ behavior and makes gender dysphoria less likely to resolve.”

Gender Minorities Aotearoa Gender Minorities Aotearoa Gender Minorities Aotearoa (GMA) is a nationwide transgender organisation run by and for transgender people, which includes all the various labelled gender types, from all ages, cultures and backgrounds. It provides a great deal of information about gender identity beliefs along with a network of support including one to one peer guidance. On doing an overview of this organisation, what is astounding is the vast amount of funding it has access to. Those organisations which sponsor GMA include the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice, Wellington Airport, Wellington City Council, Wellington Community Trust, The Tindall Foundation, and The Rule Foundation. GMA is one of 12 organisations that has received an unspecified share of $200,000 of funding from the Rule Foundation. In most cases details of the donations are not available because the amounts are hard to identify in the donating organisation’s accounts, and GMA itself has been exempted by the Charities Commission from providing annual accounts. GMA is likely to be one of the rainbow groups sharing in the extra $2.5million allocated for transgender health care in the 2022 Budget. Wellington City Council’s annual reports show that GMA was given $110,000 between 2019 and 2021 and, in May 2022, was granted a further $42,000 for each of the next three years. A substantial grant appears to come from the International Trans Fund (ITF) a well- resourced international group of trans activists and donors, active since 2015.The Rainbow WellBeing Legacy Fund (RWLF), also a sponsor, currently has applications open for a grant of up to $200,000 for projects, activities and organisations that work to improve mental outcomes for the rainbow community. A hui is available to help successfully process the application. Feminist and women’s advocacy organisations have never had such generous financial support for their campaigns to benefit the various needs and welfare of biological women and girls. Gender Minorities Aotearoa’s goal is for all transgender people to be empowered by a range of choices across all aspects of their lives to enable them to participate fully in society without prejudice and barriers. Their website, which has annual reports for 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, includes a comprehensive list of where and how to get support and access services such as Rainbow housing NZ and getting access to breast binders. The site lacks any information or advice about possible adverse side effects on health and risks to well-being of using breast binders, puberty blockers, and cross sex hormones. Gender Minorities Aotearoa received the 2021 Regional Community Award from Wellington City Council as a Health and WellBeing Winner.

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In March 2025, the Relationships and Sexuality (RSE) Guide was removed from the Ministry of Education's website and the following month a new draft RSE framework was released for public consultation. The draft is a huge improvement in basing RSE on scientifically accurate and age appropriate information. Changes to Relationships and Sexuality Education Changes in RSE began with a review undertaken by the Education Review Office in 2024. Here is our assessment of the ERO report . Here is the RGE response to the Draft RSE framework and here is our formal submission to the public consultation . See below for a critique of the old RSE Guide. The Ministry of Education’s official guide to teaching about relationships and sexuality is awash with gender identity beliefs. Many New Zealand schools are now constantly promoting, in every facet of school life, the disorder of body dissociation as an ideal, chosen identity. The Relationship and Sexuality Education Guide (RSE Guide) for teachers, school leaders, and boards of trustees, produced by the New Zealand Ministry of Education and published in September 2020, not only accepts but actively promotes the ideas of gender identity and gender diversity and encourages schools to focus on being a safe place for lgbtqi+ students. The authors of the guide reveal themselves to be totally captured by gender ideology, and the guide promulgates this ideology at every point. In this regard, it is a highly politicised document that is pushing an agenda with which the majority of the population is unfamiliar and for which there is no evidential basis. There is no recognition in the guide that there is a strongly critical international movement which completely rejects gender ideology. This movement includes academics, psychotherapists, social workers, scientists, doctors, teachers, parents, people who identify as transgender, and detransitioners. They all reject the notion that it is possible to change sex the idea that gender identity is real the language that says biological sex is “assigned” at birth the idea that there is a male brain and a female brain state schools promoting a belief system as if it is fact state schools forcing staff and students to acknowledge and affirm people’s self-identification of gender the deception involved in assisting school age children to socially transition and to keep this secret from their families the “affirm only” approach which leaves no room to encourage a child to explore their gender expression and any confusion they may feel when their feelings and preferred behaviour do not fit with sex role stereotypes outdated sex role stereotypes being used to encourage children to believe that they may have been born into the wrong body giving primacy to a concept (gender) over a reality (biological sex) children being set on a path of surgical intervention and lifelong dependence on pharmaceuticals before they are legally old enough to understand the consequences the proposition that ‘social transition’ is harmless and in a child’s best interests that there is ever a case for suggesting that permanently changing and damaging a healthy body is an acceptable response to any form of mental and emotional distress that it is ever acceptable to lie to a child and pretend that they are something they are not. Teaching gender identity across the curriculum The RSE guide encourages the teaching of gender ideology as fact from Year 1. Five year olds are to be taught to “Understand the relationship between gender, identity and wellbeing” and the concept of ‘gender identity’ and that people can change their sex is reinforced every single year thereafter. (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 1-8 Pg 30) Level 2: Akonga can show that they: Are able to identify gender stereotypes, understand the difference between sex and gender, and know that there are diverse gender and sexual identities in society. (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 1-8 Pg 31) Level 3: Akonga can show that they: Understand how communities develop and use inclusive practices to support gender and sexual diversity. (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 1-8 Pg 32) Level 4: Akonga can show that they: Know about pubertal change (including hormonal changes, menstruation, body development, and the development of gender identities), and about how pubertal change relates to social norms around gender and sexuality; and can make plans to support their own wellbeing and that of others. (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 1-8 Pg 33) Level 5: Akonga can show that they: Know about a range of cultural approaches to issues of gender and sexuality and how these relate to holistic understandings of wellbeing, eg, in terms of: varying perspectives on contraception and reproduction for different people, such as teens, heterosexual couples, same-sex couples, and single parents or cultural, generational, and personal values related to gender and sexual identities. (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 9-13 Pg 36) Level 6 : Akonga can show that they: Are able to examine how gender and sexual identities can shift in different contexts and over time, and understand how these identities can be affected by relationships, family, media, popular culture, religion, spirituality, and youth cultures. (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 9-13 Pg 37) Level 7 : Akonga can show that they: Understand how sex, gender, and sexuality might change across the lifespan (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 9-13 Pg 38) Schools are prompted to adhere to gender beliefs in everyday practices: Programmes should acknowledge gender and sexual diversity and make sure that a range of identities is visible in resources. Ākonga should be addressed by their preferred name and pronouns. Teachers can reflect on and change exclusionary practices such as lining up in girls’ and boys’ lines, requiring students to place bags in girls’ or boys’ categories, or organising class groups according to gender binaries. (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 1-8 Pg 36) Further, the RSE Guide recommends embedding the concept of gender into all areas of the curriculum: While RSE concepts and content will be specifically taught in health education and supported in physical education, there are many opportunities for RSE across the New Zealand Curriculum. (Examples are given of how to do this in physical education, English, science, technology, social sciences, the arts, languages, and mathematics and statistics.) ( Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 1-8 Pg 28-29) The Guide does not draw attention to how the right of parents to withdraw their children from sexuality and relationship education classes will be impacted by this ‘embedding’ recommendation, and thus does not suggest how parents’ rights in this regard might be respected. Although the Guide correctly states that schools must consult parents about the content of relationship and sexuality lessons, there is no question that the practice of embedding the topics throughout the curriculum thwarts the ability of parents to opt their children out of specific lessons. [1] The Guide asserts that Many ākonga at primary and intermediate schools are thinking about their gender identities, and some are aware of their sexual orientation . (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 1-8 Pg 35) We would suggest that while awareness of sexual orientation is often (but not always) innate, children are only thinking about their gender identities because that is a concept that school introduces them to in their first year at school and continues to reinforce in all subsequent years. Teaching belief as fact The RSE Guide promotes as fact the idea that a person’s feeling of being masculine, feminine, or neither, is more important than their physical sexed body. The phrase “assigned sex at birth” is referred to multiple times and, along with the use of words such as “cisgender” and “gender fluid”, demonstrates how the Guide has completely adopted the language of gender Ideology, and uses words which are offensive to many people world-wide who do not share this ideological belief. The scientific evidence is very clear that there are two, and only two, distinct biological sexes. Sex is not an assumption and is not “assigned at birth” – it is observed and recorded. Teaching these falsehoods means children are learning to genuinely believe that it is possible to be born in the wrong body and that a person can actually – literally – change their sex. Schools should be promoting body positive messages, not the idea that non-conformity to gender stereotypes means that a child’s personality or body is wrong. Children should not be led to believe that they need to change their body, bind their breasts, or wear different clothes to match a regressive sex stereotype. Confusing and contradictory definitions The glossary for the RSE Guide for both Years 1-8 and Years 9-13 is confusing to say the least: (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 1-8 Pg 48-50) Sexual orientation: A person’s sexual identity in relation to the gender or genders to which they are attracted. Sexual orientation and gender identity are two different things. Sexual orientation can be fluid for some people. Lesbian: A woman who is emotionally and sexually attracted to other women. This is used as both a personal identity and a community identity. Gay: A person who is emotionally and sexually attracted to the same gender. This is more widely used by men than women and can be both a personal and community identity. Bisexual: A person who is emotionally and sexually attracted to more than one gender. According to this guide, sexual orientation is about which gender a person is sexually attracted to. Any adult and many children can see the contradiction in sexual orientation being described as attraction to a gender. We all know that sexual orientation refers to the sex one is attracted to. Gender is an irrelevant concept when talking about sexual orientation. There is no acknowledgement at all given to the clear and consistent opposition by lesbian and gay organisations to the idea of lesbians and gays being same gender attracted [2] . Nor is there any recognition that for young lesbians and gays the idea that they ought to be attracted to the males and females who identify as the opposite sex is distressing and confusing . Of course, in the gender identity world, gender is fluid and can change over one’s life as defined below: Gender: Gender is an individual identity related to a continuum of masculinities and femininities. A person’s gender is not fixed or immutable. Gender binary (male/female binary): The (incorrect) assumption that there are only two genders (girl/boy or man/woman) Gender fluid: Describes a person whose gender changes over time and can go back and forth. The frequency of these changes depends on the individual. Sex assigned at birth: All babies are assigned a sex at birth, usually determined by a visual observation of external genitalia. A person’s gender may or may not align with their sex assigned at birth. Transgender (trans): This term describes a wide variety of people whose gender is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Transgender people may be binary or non-binary, and some opt for some form of medical intervention (such as hormone therapy or surgery). The writers of the glossary seem oblivious to the incoherence of saying that gender is not binary while at the same time believing trans people can change from one side of the binary to the other (multiple times) or can be non-binary. If there is no such thing as the gender binary, doesn’t that make everyone non-binary? Missing from the glossary are the definitions of words which reflect biology such as male and female. It is challenging to imagine how biology and reproduction will be taught in this brave new world! (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 1-8 Pg 48-49) & (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 9-13 Pg 53-54) Eroding parents’ rights The RSE guide encourages schools to socially transition children without necessarily seeking parental consent. Socially transitioning a child is not an isolated act without consequence – it is the first step in a very serious, complex and life-changing process about which parents ought to be fully informed. Gender ideology supporters also specifically encourage gender-questioning children to speak to Rainbow organisations, peers, or an ‘online family’ rather than their parents. In some schools, advice about using binders or starting on hormones is being provided to students by teachers who are not medically qualified. The RSE guide appears to endorse this approach, not once stating that schools should inform or seek parental permission before using a student’s preferred name or pronouns. Where students need access to ‘support services’ and these cannot be accessed onsite, the guide specifies that students should be supported in seeking access to professionals outside of the school with no mention made of seeking parental consent. (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 1-8 Pg 19; Pg 22) The question of pronouns A child changing pronouns is the beginning of social transition. Asking students and teachers to use ‘preferred pronouns’ may appear to be kind and inclusive, but in reality is forcing other people to adhere to a belief system they may not agree with. Preferred pronouns can cause tension and conflict through the fear, or in the event, of someone making a mistake. They cement the social transition of a child, making it harder for them to later change their mind. Some gender non-conforming children may feel forced to choose different pronouns to avoid scrutiny from bullies. Preferred pronouns reinforce the incorrect idea that people can change their sex. When the school encourages their use, they are promoting gender ideology as fact rather than belief. It is difficult to see this as anything other than ideological indoctrination. Safe-guarding Issues The RSE guide recommends, “Ideally, schools will have at least one gender-neutral toilet available for akonga, but trans, non-binary, and intersex akonga should not be required to use this rather than male or female toilets.” This is an extraordinary double standard and creates a significant safe-guarding issue. Trans, non-binary, and intersex children can choose which toilets and changing rooms they use but girls are forced to accept males (who say they are really girls) in their toilets and changing rooms. Teaching girls that a boy really can become a girl trains them to suppress their instinctual caution and override their embarrassment and natural discomfort with having boys in their single sex spaces. It says that what girls want or feel doesn’t matter, and that they have no right to set their own boundaries. Absolutely no consideration is given to the comfort or dignity of girls who do not want to share intimate spaces with male-bodied people and who have the right to set such boundaries. This statement clearly prioritises the needs of children who believe they are trans over those who don’t. Gender questioning children need privacy and dignity just the same as other students. To that end, the school should ensure there are some unisex facilities for these students to utilise, but they should continue to offer single sex facilities as well. Boys and girls alike deserve a single-sex shared space where they can get changed and be comfortable together. Students are entitled to sex-segregated changing rooms, especially when some children, in particular those who are beginning puberty, are experiencing significant bodily changes. (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 1-8 Pg 20- 22) Outside Providers The Guide is clear that it is not considered best practice to hand over the responsibility for RSE programmes to outside providers and there are a number of questions they suggest should be asked such as “ How is this provider funded and what is its purpose for existing? What is its agenda? ” And “ Schools should evaluate the programmes and services provided by outside agencies alongside their in-school learning programmes” . (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 1-8 Pg 34 & Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guide: Years 9-12 Pg 40) Despite these previous cautions, In April 2022 the Ministry of Education issued new resources designed to provide further support for teaching relationships and sexuality education in schools. As part of this update schools are urged to “use resources from trusted organisations like InsideOUT or RainbowYOUTH”. Many of the third party activist groups that are endorsed by the Ministry have links on their pages that lead children to ever more extreme versions of gender ideology. These rainbow lobby groups universally glamourise the concept of being trans and convince children it is possible and even easy and desirable to change sex. (Refer Relationships and Sexuality Education Guidelines: Years 7-10 Pg 21) Conclusion The RSE guide sets out many values with which most New Zealanders will agree, in terms of inclusiveness, safety and respect, and it deals with issues such as pornography and online abuse that are unfortunately highly relevant in today’s world. However, its heavy focus on gender theory is hazardous for children. Many schools are now constantly promoting, in every facet of school life, the disorder of body dissociation as an ideal, chosen identity. Gender ideology communicates to children that some identities are more or less fashionable or desirable. Children who adopt a gender identity are constantly praised, put on a pedestal and celebrated; whilst lesbian, gay or heterosexual children are painted as privileged, boring, or undesirable. Placing so much significance on gender identity creates a breeding ground for social contagion and a consequent sharp increase in students developing gender dysphoria. Affirmation of a trans identity is not kind. On the contrary it confirms to a child that they are the wrong sex and encourages their belief that their body needs to be changed. Medical intervention can only ever effect cosmetic change; the child’s sex remains the same. Other children should not be coerced into expressing a belief in ‘gender identity’ through the threat that not to do so is ‘unkind’ or ‘transphobic’. Schools should be teaching that no child is born in the wrong body and that children can reject gender stereotypes and be their authentic selves without discrimination, labelling, or medical intervention to ‘fix’ them. [1] https://parents.education.govt.nz/primary-school/learning-at-school/sexuality-education/ [2] https://lgballiance.org.uk/about/ https://www.lesbians-united.org/about.html https://lesbianalliance.org.uk/

Secret Transition at School Like many others, my quirky and highly imaginative child, J, started high school at the start of the school year in 2020, going almost immediately into Covid lockdown without much chance to make new friends at school. Lockdown involved six hours a day of online schooling, followed by online gaming with existing friends after school time, all with minimal supervision due to the rest of the family also doing schoolwork and working online. J was socially awkward, quirky, and of an anxious disposition and found it hard to make new friends after lockdown. Towards the end of 2020, this previously “proud to be non-conforming” young person came to us and proudly announced, “I’m trans”. This came as a bolt from the blue, especially when I discovered that teachers at school had been using a different name and opposite sex pronouns for a few months without letting us know. This was particularly difficult for me as I had been quite involved at the school for several years and some of the staff know me well. There had been no expert psychological or psychiatric involvement, therefore there had been no diagnosis or discussion of where these feelings had come from and the decision to make a social transition (a powerful psychological intervention) was taken away from us. The school’s policy requires them to keep any disclosures from students of this nature from parents unless the child wishes them to share the information, yet the school requires parental permission to go on school trips or to be given paracetamol. I did not know much about trans medicine but the more I looked the more horrified I became as there is essentially no diagnosis being done before social transition by schools, which then entrenches the identification by the child as they suddenly get a lot of attention from staff at school and are now protected from bullying in a way they were not protected previously. In 2021, well-meaning staff at school suggested websites for ‘Rainbow’ young people and, although my child had previously stated that there wouldn’t be a request for hormones, suddenly demands for puberty blockers began, and my child’s mental health took a big dive. A weak suicide threat brought unwelcome attention (parents are still told of threats of self-harm by the school, thankfully) and there was a large drop in quality of schoolwork, excused to the school with claims of being “unable to focus due to worrying about my transphobic parents”. This sort of language appeared after talking to “supportive” adults at school and looking at websites such as Rainbow Youth and InsideOUT, which gives these kids a roadmap for what they ’should' be demanding. There is no mention on these websites of any ideas on how to become more comfortable in your own skin, or to try to work out if there are other things going on in their lives (e.g., social problems, autism or ADHD, attraction to the opposite sex, natural discomfort with changes in adolescence, growing pains) which might explain feelings of not fitting in. Before this, we were a close-knit family. Fortunately, after a lot of hard work, J does recognise that we are parents who do love and support all our children, even though we disagree strongly with the current self-diagnosis of gender dysphoria and adoption of a different gender identity. We do a lot together and encourage our children’s interests, especially relating to building skills, confidence and strength of character. I hope that as J grows, she/he will learn to feel more comfortable in their own skin and become proud of being a unique individual, but this is made much more difficult by most of the adults around our child affirming that their self-assessment as not being good enough as her/himself is correct. Instead of allowing natural space and time to explore and experiment with different ways of expressing individuality, our current society is insisting on slapping on a label, concretising it and celebrating children as part of a certain community for which the only entry requirement is the label – and thus if these kids were to admit a mistake, they will lose the label and hence the ‘welcoming’ community they have found.

The Ministry of Education endorses the idea that being transgender is a positive and ‘authentic’ choice for young children to make. As a teacher, what can you do if you disagree and don’t want to teach children that sex is on a spectrum and can be changed at will? Your Rights as a Teacher The teaching of gender identity ideology is a new practice in Aotearoa and raises many questions for teachers who do not subscribe to the belief. Under the NZ Bill of Rights Act, people have the right both to hold and not to hold a belief. In the United Kingdom, The Maya Forstater case upheld the right for people to hold and express gender critical views. Are teachers’ views protected in the same way in Aotearoa? To find out, we asked the Ministry of Education and the Teaching Council a series of questions: What are the rights of teachers or schools to decline to teach gender identity ideology if they don't subscribe to that belief system, even though teaching it is recommended in the Ministry of Education Relationship and Sexuality Guide ? Would it be against the law for a school to teach that sex is binary and cannot be changed but that people can change their gendered behaviour? Do students or staff have the right to ask others to use their preferred opposite sex or neo pronouns (as that is their protected belief) AND is there a matching right for students and staff to decline to do so (as that is their protected belief)? What are the employment rights of staff who decline to participate in social transitioning of both children and adults, for example by not using opposite sex or neo pronouns? How can teachers manage the expectation of the school that they must, at the same time , both keep confidential an adult or child’s gender identity and also affirm it? Would teachers who provided information about the negative consequences of gender transitioning to students be considered to have broken the Conversion Therapy Practices Prohibition Act? How does the Privacy Act fit with the Care of Children Act and the rights of parents to be informed and make decisions about their child’s care and education? Do parents, staff, and students in schools have the right to single-sex toilets and changing rooms that opposite sex people, including those with transgender identities, cannot access? We received only the briefest of answers to these and our other important questions: The Teaching Council The Teaching Council advised: “We have considered your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) and I can advise as follows. As we have neither sought or received any legal advice in relation to any of these questions, we must refuse your request under section 18(e) of the OIA - as the information sought does not exist.” The Council continued, “I can, however, advise that the professional expectations we have of teachers to maintain their practising certificates is to meet Our Code, Our Standards. The code sets out principles that are relevant to your questions to help teachers make sound judgements in supporting both children and their whanau.” One of the “sound judgements” expected, according to the Code, is for teachers to use a students’ preferred pronouns. (Our Code: Examples in Practice p13) However, in 2024 in response to a query from the Free Speech Union , the Teaching Council CEO, Lesley Hoskins, agreed that teachers do have the right to decline to use preferred pronouns, as long as they do so in a respectful way. The Ministry of Education The Ministry also does not know the answers to our questions and is unconcerned by them: “The Ministry has not sought any legal advice in relation to the specific questions mentioned in your request therefore your request has been refused under Section 18(e) of the Act, as the document alleged to contain the information requested does not exist.” Its response continued: “It should be noted that The Education and Training Act 2020 requires a school’s board to provide a safe environment for students and to ensure that their school is inclusive of, and caters for, students with differing needs. This means that we expect school policies and practices to protect and promote the safety and inclusion of all students, including transgender and non-binary students. Schools can do this by: Supporting transgender students to use the facilities (e.g. bathrooms and changing rooms) they feel safe and comfortable using; (That’s a ‘no’ to our last question.) Ensuring transgender and non-binary students are supported to engage in sport and other physical activity in a way that is safe and inclusive; and (Safe and inclusive for the other students as well?) Upholding transgender, intersex and non-binary students’ privacy by confirming the student’s wishes around what name and gender identity they would like used at school and in communication with parents and whānau. (That’s a blanket endorsement of keeping secrets from parents.) The Ministry’s response then became patronising – assuming that our questions were prompted by our not understanding the curriculum or by being prudish about sexuality. We were advised to educate ourselves: The Ministry of Education provides guidance to teachers who may feel uncomfortable with topics in relationship and sexuality education. We suggest that it may be useful for teachers to support each other (or seek extra support from others) if needed to reflect upon teaching practice in relation to feeling uncomfortable or being in conflict with their values, attitudes and beliefs. This will help teachers to think critically about the questions and responses they are providing in class when these feelings arise.” The advice from the Teaching Council and the Ministry of Education is full of double-speak. Although the Council’s Code of Professional Responsibility requires teachers to “respect the diversity of the heritage, language, identity and culture of all learners”, the views and values of those who don’t believe in gender identity theory are officially repudiated. Although the Ministry says about RSE education, “It is good practice to communicate with whanau prior to let them know that the learning is coming up...” it also advises: “Schools do not need to seek permission from parents, caregivers or whanau for akonga to participate in RSE.” Teachers are in a dilemma. The Ministry of Education endorses the idea that being transgender is a positive and ‘authentic’ choice for children to make, even at a very young age. As a teacher, if your own school’s Board of Trustees and principal hold the same ideological view, what can you do if you disagree and don’t want to teach children that sex is on a spectrum and can be changed at will? The choices are stark: 1. Keep your head down and hope you can avoid the topic and that no trans or non-binary students appear in your classes. (This is becoming an increasingly unrealistic hope.) 2. Comply with school policy to the minimum required, trying not to compromise your own values at the same time. 3. Raise the issues you have with gender theory and try to change the school’s gender identity policies. (It is best to collaborate with parents on this.) 4. Resign before you are compelled to leave. (Some NZ teachers have already been forced into this position.) We hope that the fourth option does not become necessary for any more teachers. Instead, we want to support teachers to pursue option three. If you are interested in this option, please email resist@resistgendereducation.nz and ask for the school gender policy information pack that we are currently preparing. Here are some further useful links: Stella O'Malley, psychotherapist and Director of Genspect provides an introduction to the issues for schools here . Genspect advocates for a "cautious, gentle, compassionate and understanding approach." Saying no to school transition . In this article from the Critic, UK MP Miriam Cates, explains why new Education Department policy should ban schools from socially transitioning a child, even with parental consent. “ The need for guidance is indisputable, but anything other than a total ban on schools socially transitioning children will exacerbate [these] tensions. Not only is a ban the right ethical solution, it is also the only way to protect head teachers from being forced to make high stakes decisions for which they are unqualified. ” We recommend this policy from a US school: " We believe in parental choice and that we are here to serve families. As we strive to build upon connections with our families, we leave the job of parenting to our parents. They are responsible for imparting morals and values taught in their homes including practiced political, religious, and social viewpoints. We trust that they know what is best for their student as the student grows and develops into an adult.” The gender affirmative model and social transition in schools (April 2023) Transgender Trend responds to the Department for Education draft transgender guidance proposals for schools in the UK. " The DfE must decide if schools are to follow either an activist approach or an approach in line with normal standards of safeguarding. It can’t be a bit of both." A Teacher’s Guide to Sex and Gender This UK website from Teachers for Evidence-based Education provides guidance and resources to help educational professionals navigate the issue of sex and gender identity in schools. The group believes that “sex matters and that to deny the importance of material reality will lead to inequality and conflict between people with different protected characteristics.” Guidance on supporting trans children in schools This new (Feb 2023) guidance is provided by UK education unions and sector bodies and aims to help schools meet their legal duties while supporting all children. Sex and Gender Identity This February 2023 revised and updated guidance for UK schools was jointly produced by Sex Matters and Transgender Trend. Brief Guidance for Schools Produced by Genspect, this guidance advises schools to develop a sex and gender policy and to take a "cautious, least-invasive- first approach" to gender issues. Brief Guidance on Social Transition Also produced by Genspect, the guidance includes several cautions, including one against allowing students to dictate other people's use of pronouns, saying "it is not acceptable to act as though it is an act of hostility to use the biologically correct pronoun." I’m a teacher and I will not be complicit https://open.substack.com/pub/pitt/p/im-a-teacher-and-i-will-not-be-complicit?r=24091f&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web In this article a teacher from Chicago describes the insidious spread since 2015 of gender theory in schools, culminating now in its compulsory inclusion in lesson content. The teacher has resigned, saying: “ I am going to do my best to blow the whistle and restore sanity to my once honorable profession.”

Gender theory is the idea that a person’s feeling of being masculine, feminine, or neither, is more important than their physical sexed body, and those feelings should take precedence in law and in everyday life. Without any public consultation, this belief has taken hold in our institutions – education, health, sport, justice – and is causing widespread and sometimes irreversible harm to children, women, and lesbians. Gender Theory Gender theory is the idea that a person’s feeling of being masculine, feminine, or neither, is more important than their physical sexed body, and those feelings should take precedence in law and in everyday life. Without any public consultation, this belief has taken hold in our institutions – education, health, sport, justice – and is causing widespread and sometimes irreversible harm to children, women, and lesbians. Here are some FAQs about gender ideology to get you started. Below are some FAQS about Relationships and Sexuality Education in NZ schools and your rights as a parent. Go to the Schools tab to find out what is being taught in NZ schools, and to read our alternative lesson plans. Click on the Parent Power tab to find out how you can challenge this ideology in your child's school. Read RGE's substack articles for the latest information. Below you will find information, evidence, facts, studies, testimonies, and support groups, that will help you to better understand and counter the harmful effects of transgenderism. FAQs about RSE in schools FAQs - What are the Ministry requirements for teaching Relationships and Sexuality Education? Read More Comprehensive Websites These websites contain a multitude of resources on every facet of gender identity ideology – from what gender activists believe, to the harms caused by puberty blockers and cross sex hormones, to the scientific and legal facts that are routinely ignored. Read More Therapists Speaking Out Open-ended exploration of a person’s thoughts is the basis of ethical and effective counselling. Many therapists are alarmed by the recent transgender demand that their self-diagnosis and desire to be affirmed in the opposite sex (or with no sex) should be immediately affirmed without question. Read More For Parents When a child, seemingly out of the blue, claims a transgender or non-binary identity, parents can find themselves alone with their questions and misgivings. These websites, set up by parents, provide the information, advice, and support they seek and a place to share their experiences. Read More The truth About transgender Medicine There is mounting evidence of the harm being caused by “affirmation only” gender medicine but it is rarely covered in mainstream media, which routinely glamourises the practice. Medical specialists and therapists have joined the voices of detransitioners to call for more careful diagnosis and treatment. Read More Substacks we recommend A selection of rational and convincing substack writers to follow. Read More Articles A selection of compelling writing about transgender ideas. Excellent articles can also be found in The Times and The Australian, by subscription. Read More Read, watch, and listen Our top picks of books, articles, substacks, videos, and podcasts that explain the gender identity phenomenon and support parents and professionals who are caught up in the whirlwind. Read More Videos, Interviews and Podcasts A selection of interesting and relevant videos, interviews and podcasts. Read More Sex is Real This video for teens tells the plain truth about sex and sexual orientation. Read More SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

This video for teens tells the plain truth about sex and sexual orientation. Sex is Real This video for teens tells the plain truth about sex and sexual orientation. https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f0d3e1_f822de83cfae4030a727c608733c00a7/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

The first you as a parent may know about your child's transgender ideation, is when they request (or demand) to “socially transition”. Social transitioning is not a good idea Social Transitioning locks in gender dysphoria By the time your child tells you they’re transgender, they will have already been swamped by both information and misinformation on the internet. There is no shortage of online groups, containing both adults and peers, telling kids that if they’re feeling awkward about their lives and bodies or if they’re struggling to fit in socially, they may be transgender. In fact, the kids can get told that if they’re even just thinking about whether they may be transgender, they probably are. The first you as a parent may know about it, is when your child requests (or demands) to “socially transition”. This can mean anything from choosing a gender-neutral nickname and wearing androgynous clothing, right through to adopting an opposite sex name, pronouns, and clothes and wanting to be recognised as the chosen sex by everyone else and in all facets of life. This thorough article from Transgender Trend, A Childhood is not Reversible , explains why social transition is not the “kind and affirming” act it is purported to be. Saying no to school transition . In this article from the Critic, UK MP Miriam Cates explains why new Education Department policy should ban schools from socially transitioning a child, even with parental consent. “ The need for guidance is indisputable, but anything other than a total ban on schools socially transitioning children will exacerbate [these] tensions. Not only is a ban the right ethical solution, it is also the only way to protect head teachers from being forced to make high stakes decisions for which they are unqualified. ” Affirmation makes it harder to desist At first, social transitioning may seem to be a good idea, to help your child through a difficult patch in life. Parents can also be emotionally blackmailed by therapists, counsellors, and schools with incorrect dire warnings of the harm their child might do to themselves if absolute affirmation of their transgenderism is not forthcoming. However, if left with a way out, around 80% of kids desist with the ideation of transgenderism after going through puberty. Of course, it will be much more difficult for them to desist if they feel locked into being transgender by their own dramatic insistence, and if all the adults in their lives have fully affirmed the child or young person’s new identity and the entire family has been affected by it. Large amounts of time immersed on the internet can be a lightning rod for cultivating the belief for a child or young person that they’re transgender, when they showed no previous signs of it. Children who are non-conforming, lonely, have abnormally discordant and tumultuous lives, or particular discomfort with puberty, can be seduced by the feeling of belonging to a ‘tribe’. Although it is okay to not be stereotypically conformist, it can be hard to feel okay in the world about it. Transgender ideology offers a way for kids to conform to a stereotype and feel that they fit in somewhere where they are unquestioningly supported. Parents, on the other hand, can be slated as the enemy for their hesitancy to believe their child is really transgender. Parents may feel blindsided by their child’s announcement that they’re transgender. Often, they don’t see it coming, and the only information they can find when they go looking is to be instructed to defer to everything their child wants in their transitioning journey to live as the opposite sex. Tension with others’ rights On the surface, social transitioning sounds like a harmless thing to go along with but delve a bit deeper and there’s a lot attached to it. Using preferred pronouns, for example, is akin to immediately giving the child or young person permission to use the facilities for the opposite sex. Most girls who identify as boys probably won’t immediately use the boys’ facilities, but boys who identify as girls will often immediately start using the girls’ facilities, with the blessing of their school. Irrespective of what may appear to be a consensus amongst girls that this is okay, it is often a false consensus as girls can feel uncomfortable for various social reasons at not going along with what appears to be the ‘right’ belief. That means that there could be a boy, or boys, in with the girls when a girl most needs privacy. The boy is also left open to accusations of improper behaviour. With the advent of more mixed-sex facilities, especially in schools – promoted as being gender-neutral – there is likely to be a rise in tensions around this. Although language is always evolving it also helps us to navigate the material world, and changing structural language also changes everything it supports. More commentary on preferred pronoun use is here . Being trans is tough Changing gender is not the easy road to happiness it’s promoted to be by those invested in encouraging people to take that path, as the growing numbers of detransitioners will attest to. It is hard work to try to force one’s body to be the opposite sex to that which it was born, even with puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, and it requires maturity to be able to deal with that. Chances are that the initial encounter with your child when they announced they were transgender may not have gone well. All is not lost, however, so don’t be afraid to ask to start again with them but request the respect of a two-way conversation. Keeping the lines of communication open is most important. Listen to their point of view calmly and ask them to do the same with your perspective. Ask for time to process this new information before any decisions are made. Go to Genspect and Transgender Trend for authoritative information about all facets of gender beliefs and guidance for parents so that you are fully informed when talking to your child. "It can be important that you don’t overwhelm your child with advice or information when your child is feeling vulnerable and trying to find themselves. It can sometimes be more helpful to ‘show’ you care rather than ‘tell’. "(Genspect) When the time is right, talk about applying sensible caution to all life-changing decisions and the importance of leaving the door open for changing one’s mind. Discuss the reality of transgender medicine (see our reading list here ) which is quite different from the relentlessly glamourised accounts they will have viewed online. The dating pool for transgender people shrinks, no matter how much others are admonished to accept trans people in their new gender, and long-term intimate relationships, although not impossible to achieve, will be more difficult to find. Ask them to watch some testimonials from detransitioners. "We recommend that you focus on your personal understanding of your child and find areas where you might agree." (Genspect) Try to negotiate a compromise – agree to use a gender-neutral nickname but ask that they delay making permanent decisions and public announcements until an adult. As they grow up and go through puberty, allow your kids to express themselves how they want and emphasise that being different does not automatically mean they are transgender. Exploration of our identity is normal and to be embraced, but identity should not be set in stone at a young age.

Two NZ Emeritus Professors have endorsed RGE's School Guidelines. Emeritus Professors endorse our Guidelines for schools Two NZ Emeritus Professors have endorsed RGE's School Guidelines. RGE’s Independent Guidelines challenge the evidence base of the ‘sex, gender and identity’ component of the Ministry of Education’s 2020 Guidelines for Relationships and Sexuality Education. Referencing recent research and the UK’s Cass Report, RGE reject the Ministry’s endorsement of an ‘affirmation’ model, which is often a pathway to lifelong medicalisation. A school should create space for students to hold options open. And it “should project the attitude that there is no right or wrong way to be a boy or a girl.” Sue Middleton, PhD (Emeritus Professor), Faculty of Education, University of Waikato. ****** As a retired academic physician, but more importantly as a parent and grandparent, I add my strong endorsement to the opinions of the group, Resist Gender Education. Today, more than ever, our shared responsibility to nurture young minds and bodies must be informed by evidence-based, scientific fact. The Relationships and Sexual Education (RSE) Guide as currently taught in the school curriculum contains inaccurate misinformation with incontrovertible potential for harm to young consumers. This is no place to peddle subjective, confusing ideology. I respectfully urge Ministers to be guided by objectivity in matters of gender education in an urgent review of the existing RSE Guide. Emeritus Professor David Gerrard CNZM OBE MB ChB(Otago) FACSEP FFSEM(Hon) University of Otago Medical School

Firstly, find out what your child is being taught about relationships and sexuality. It is important to read the school’s policy, and also understand the individual stance of your child’s teacher. Where schools have engaged an outside organisation to provide the lessons, parents should ask to view the content. Become a Parent Advocate Firstly, find out what your child is being taught about relationships and sexuality. It is important to read the school’s policy, and also understand your child’s individual teacher’s stance. A school principal may be quite reserved about gender ideology, only to later realise that one teacher in their school is teaching the RSE guidelines using extreme activist resources direct from an activist group like “Inside Out.” Click here to read our critique Some schools may not have teachers instructing students on relationships and sexuality at all, but may instead outsource this teaching to various Rainbow organisations under the guise of ‘anti-bullying’ or ‘diversity’ classes. Be aware of these organisations (InsideOUT, Rainbow Youth, Rainbow Tick, Gender Minorities, Family Planning, Mates & Dates) and the content of the courses they provide. The school should provide advance notice of any such external lessons and their content so that you are able to opt your child out if you feel the content is inappropriate. To find out what your child’s school is teaching, we recommend emailing the principal to ask for the school policy, curriculum and lesson plans. You could also request a meeting where you can ask questions to better understand exactly what your child is being taught. A discussion with your child’s individual teacher is also recommended. See our Draft Curriculum Query letter. If you discover that your child’s school has not yet implemented the new RSE guide, let them know that you have some concerns about the curriculum and would like to be involved in the required consultation process. Now is the perfect time to send them some alternative information and resources on this topic, available under ‘Information’ on this website. If your child’s school is already using the new 2020 guidelines, you have the right to withdraw your child from relationship and sexuality lessons until further notice . See our Draft Withdrawal from RSE letter and this Sample letter to a teacher. We recommend, in both cases, that you explain your concerns by selecting the appropriate paragraphs from this draft letter, and include links to resources from this Resist Gender Education website. Whenever possible, replace the general statements from the draft letter with specific examples from your school’s policies, practices, or lessons. Letter of Concern Template Body Positive Policy Alternative RSE Guidelines How to get your child exempted from gender indoctrination Laura sent this request to the principal of her children’s school and received a polite and helpful response. She encourages parents to share the link and work with other concerned parents to tackle the issue. Saying no to school transition . In this article from the Critic, UK MP Miriam Cates, explains why new Education Department policy should ban schools from socially transitioning a child, even with parental consent. “ The need for guidance is indisputable, but anything other than a total ban on schools socially transitioning children will exacerbate [these] tensions. Not only is a ban the right ethical solution, it is also the only way to protect head teachers from being forced to make high stakes decisions for which they are unqualified. ” Pride week propaganda Write to the principal or Board of Trustees to explain your concerns about pride activities in school. A template letter is here that you can adapt to suit your own school and the age of your children. Find other parents who hold the same concerns and approach the Board as a group. Ask to speak to them. Advice on speaking to a BOT is here. Here is a template letter about InsideOut and drag queens being promoted as role models to teenagers.