San Francisco Elementary School Creates ‘Gender-Neutral’ Bathrooms

Miraloma Elementary School decided to transform two single-stall facilities that had been divided by gender in the classroom into two gender-neutral facilities. Now, any student can use either bathroom.  

School officials defended the decision.

“There’s an impression that we will have all types of students in the restrooms using the bathroom at the same time, and that’s just simply not the case,” Miraloma Elementary’s principal Sam Bass told NBC.

“You want to make sure every kid feels safe and secure and happy,” Miraloma Elementary PTA president Ellen Shatz told NBC. “So I would hope this is the wave of the future.”

Gedalia Braverman, the parent of a “gender non-conforming” student, told the network, “I think it invites the child, it invites the person into the space, as opposed to putting them into a moment of confusion or anxiety.”

NBC’s report adds that the decision to provide gender-neutral bathrooms for students has “been supported locally,” but has “divided parents and officials at many schools across the country.”

The Daily Signal previously reported that students at a Missouri high school recently walked out of class in protest over the school’s decision to allow a transgendered student to use facilities designated for female students.

Via: Daily Signal

Continue Reading....

University of Tennessee tells staff and students to stop using 'he' and 'she' - and switch to 'xe', 'zir' and 'xyr' instead

Gay rights official at Knoxville campus wrote new language instructions

Tells students and staff to use unusual, gender-neutral pronouns like 'xe'

Donna Braquet said that the new regime would make campus 'inclusive' 

University clarified that guidelines are not compulsory after critics called them 'absurd' 

The University of Tennessee has told its staff and students to stop calling each other 'he', 'she', 'him' and 'her' - and to start referring to one another with terms like 'xe', 'zir' and 'xyr' instead.

The Knoxville branch of the public university, which has 27,400 students, sent a memo round to its members filled with unusual new parts of speech to avoid referring to anybody's gender.

According to a gay rights official at the university, the new language regime will make the university 'welcoming and inclusive' and stop people feeling 'marginalized'.

New regime: Pictured above is a conversion table given to staff and students at the University of Tennessee's Knoville campus to instruct them in the use of non-gendered pronouncs

The university published the instructions on its website on Wednesday after they were emailed to every member of the university by the institution's Vice Chancellor for Diversity.

Officials have since insisted the the guidelines are not compulsory and that they do not want to 'dictate speech'.

Donna Braquet, who runs the university's Pride Center, wrote the guidelines, which are accompanied with a long table demonstrating how to replace the regular parts of speech.

She also advises staff members not to call roll in class, and to instead greet every student by asking them to announce their name and pronoun of preference.

Instead of 'he' and 'she', Braquet suggests four alternatives.

One is the commonplace strategy of using 'they', 'them' and 'their' for individuals rather than groups.

She also suggests 'ze' and 'xe' - both pronounced 'zhee' - and a variety of secondary conjugations to be used for anybody who rejects the traditional gender binary.

Barquet argues that if everybody follows her instructions, campus will become 'more inclusive'.

She wrote: 'When our organizational culture shifts to where asking for chosen names and pronouns is the standard practice, it alleviates a heavy burden for persons already marginalized by their gender expression or identity.' 

There is no information on the numbers of students on campus who do not identify as the traditional genders, as the university's official data only recognizes male and female.

In an interview with DailyMail.com, Rickey Hall, the university's vice chancellor for diversity, said he was 'ancedotally' aware of students on campus who reject traditional gender divisions.

After a backlash from critics who called the proposals 'ridiculous' and 'absurd', the university clarified that nobody would be forced into using the terms.

In an interview with Fox News commentator Todd Starnes, Tennessee state senator Mae Beavers, a Republican, said: 'It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.

'If you must interview a student before you greet the student, that’s not acceptance – that’s just absurd.'

A statement from a university spokesman said: 'We would like to offer clarification of the statements that have been made referring to gender-neutral language.

'There is no mandate or official policy to use the language. The information provided in our Office of Diversity and Inclusion newsletter was offered as a resource to our campus community on inclusive practices.

'We recognize that most people prefer to use the pronouns he and she; we do not dictate speech. 

'We do strive to be a diverse and inclusive campus and to ensure that everyone feels welcome, accepted, and respected.

Via: Daily Mail

Continue Reading....