Will this policy be the one which loosens the stranglehold of 'gender-identity affirmation' in NZ schools?
An organisation in New Zealand, called Ethos Alliance, has issued a new gender-identity policy guide to all schools titled Students and Social Transition, which contains sound and sensible information. Ethos Alliance is made up of a team of women and men with legal backgrounds, has charitable status, and formed about a year ago because they saw a need to give “Advice, advocacy and education to promote rights of conscience, religion and belief”. The ‘Students and Social Transition’ guide assures schools, and anyone else, that ‘watchful waiting’ is a legitimate and legal position to take when a child questions their gender identity. Watchful waiting is recommended in situations with a high likelihood of self-resolution.
Before I continue, I’ll just say that a number of other organisations, both grassroots and more established, have already put together and disseminated similar information, or parts of, as that which Ethos Alliance has. However, it’s not uncommon for those who come after the pioneers to get more recognition for the same work. The groundwork has already been laid which makes their passage faster and easier; they aren’t as battle-weary, so are fresher when engaging in the fray; and aren’t tarred with the ‘scrappers’ label. It’s a fairly normal progression, and whilst it may be galling to see a newcomer get traction where those who went before them couldn’t, if Ethos Alliance in this instance makes the breakthrough that others haven’t been able to, then I’ll be glad of it.
To date, there has been a pervasive push for schools to adopt social ‘gender-identity affirmation’ when kids decide their gender identity is different to the sex they were born. Neo-rainbow – i.e. trans/queer - lobby groups such as InsideOUT and Rainbow Youth (who 18 months ago were offering free breast binders to 13-year-old girls) insist it’s in the kids’ best interests to refer to them with opposite sex pronouns, use a different name to that which their parents gave them, let them use the opposite sex’s facilities, and to hide all this from parents if the kids want that. There is no robust evidence to support the assertion this is in the kids’ best interest, with most of the ‘evidence’ provided amounting to little more than emotional blackmail. Yet, these neo-rainbow lobby groups persuaded our previous government to give them generous funding to promulgate it. I’m not sure yet to what extent our new-ish government will continue with this funding.
Ethos Alliance found that a number of teachers and parents were approaching them with concerns and questions about the ‘gender-identity affirmation’ approach which schools were either willingly adopting, or felt pressured to adopt. Additionally, questions were asked about the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation, which was passed into law in February 2022, and whether refusing to affirm a kid’s gender identity amounted to a conversion practice. Ethos Alliance was able to reassure them that watchful waiting was a legitimate and legal practice under this legislation.
It became clear that a policy guide addressing the matter of social gender-identity transition for students, with information that wasn’t ideologically driven from either a neo-rainbow lobby group or the Ministry of Education – which, like much of our public service, unfortunately appears to be dominated by trans ideologues - would be helpful for teachers and parents, so Ethos Alliance researched and released one –
Students and Social Transition - A gender identity policy guide for New Zealand schools
Bob McCroskie, from Family First, also interviewed CEO of Ethos Alliance, Alex Penk, on YouTube to give an overview of the policy guide, and how Ethos Alliance came into being.
Whilst I welcome this contribution from Ethos Alliance, and sincerely hope that it will make waves in all the right places, make no mistake that they cannot stand alone. Without the grassroots organisations and the scrappers, their voice will labour to be heard as much as anyone’s. Neither is their policy guide, good though it may be, the final and definitive word on the matter. So, although their freely given time and expertise is much appreciated and most valuable, we also carry on.
Remember, K, WE paved the way for these Johnnys.
Though given the crowing over on Twatter by the leftard child-catching nonce-adjacent teachers, there are some that just binned the guidelines outright bc they're stuck inside a stink ditch and licking. Cynical me.