Why I Believe Gender Ideology in PEI Schools is Dangerous

Following up on my last article about the rise of gender ideology in PEI, I will now be going over the guidelines I mentioned in that article, which were released in December 2021, that seek to solidify gender ideology in the school system. Contrary to what trans activists say, these guidelines represent a seismic shift in the school system and for society as a whole. The guidelines go directly against long established traditional values and opinions around gender, parental rights, and segregated spaces for woman.

There are three main points of contention with the guidelines that differ dramatically from the norm. One is the directive that schools and teachers must respect a student’s privacy in regards to gender identity and pronouns by not disclosing to parents such information if the child makes this request. The other points focus on segregation of spaces based on gender; to summarize it quickly, the guidelines would allow men that identify as woman to use woman’s changing rooms and play on woman’s sport teams.

While doing my research for this article, I am still amazed that these guidelines did not become an election issue. In a healthy democracy, such fundamental changes in the school system should not be implemented unless you have a clear mandate to do so. But as far as I can tell, the media largely remained silent on this issue, and politicians never discussed it in great detail. It seems completely reckless to go ahead with these changes and not take the time to have a proper debate and examine the issues from all sides. A special committee to investigate this issue should have been formed and recordings of interviews with various experts should have been made available to the public.

Instead of the careful and nuanced debate and research this crucial topic deserves, it appears that what Islanders got instead is a one-sided view by groups and individuals who are obsessed with promoting gender ideology and more radical leftist thinking. The guidelines say as much, “A special mention must also be made of the contributions from PEI Human Rights Commission, PEERS Alliance and The PEI Transgender Network who worked …to provide guidance on the development of the document”. So it’s not even a secret that this document was written by radical ideologues.

The problem of course is that these ideologues are the minority. A Ledger poll done in early May of this year shows that 69% percent of residents in Atlantic Canada believe that schools should have to disclose to parents the use of preferred pronouns and desires to change identities. Which is precisely why the radical ideologues in PEI are so focused on not having a debate. If gender ideology is forced out in the open and it’s proponents are forced to explain it to the public there is little chance it would succeed, it’s much easier to do a run around the democratic process and go straight to the bureaucrats. And from what I see, it’s the bureaucrats that rule in PEI, not the politicians. If things are going to turn around on this issue and numerous other ones PEI is facing, then Ministers need to take control of their departments. I say again 69% percent of people reject a key pillar of these guidelines! This is tyranny by the minority.

Guidelines Are Unsalvageable

If wokeism is an ideology, then these guidelines are exactly the type of document it would produce, it’s verbose, preachy, and trite. Numerous pages are devoted to repeating the same points over and over again about inclusivity, acceptance and equity— five pages are needed just for the definitions. More than guidelines, the document reads like a religious manifesto. Government guidelines should not be a chance for ideologues to wax on poetically about their beliefs, it’s about giving practical instructions without the self-righteous preaching. It’s usually customary when writing such guidelines to offer a vision or a scope for the document, this is often known as a preamble. The Charter has a one line preamble for example, while the US Constitution has a few lines at the start. It now seems that the custom is quickly becoming one where the whole document is one big preamble, take this example from page thirteen under Principles Essential to Best Practices:

It is essential to recognize that the current and historically dominant cultural norms embedded in our institutions favor heterosexual and/or cisgender individuals leaving students and staff of diverse gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations under-served and oftentimes at a disadvantage to their peers. This power imbalance is present in curriculum, resource materials, student and staff behaviors and attitudes, use of language, internal biases and even within the physical environment.

If I am an educator looking for direction on how to do my job, what kind of direction am I to take after reading something like this? In the same Ledger poll I cited earlier, 22% percent of people in Atlantic Canada believe the public school system is moving in the right direction. I’m astounded the number is so high, if this document is representative of the people that work in crafting the policy for the school system, then support should be well below 10% percent.

Amendments to these guidelines are simply not enough in my opinion. It would be much better to scrap the document as a whole and start over.

How to Deal with Gender Dysphoria

In this article I will focus on what I believe is the most dangerous directive of these guidelines which is withholding information about a child’s gender identity and pronoun usage. The other points I mentioned before are also important, but this point about keeping parents in the dark has the potential to cause irreparable harm to a child so it’s critical that we examine it closer.

There are numerous reasons why a child might wish to change their gender identity, but it cannot be discounted that the child might be suffering from gender dysphoria. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM-5) states that gender dysphoria is a discomfort or distress experienced by people who identify as a gender opposite of the one they were assigned at birth. The incidence of gender dysphoria is disputed, but is nonetheless rare with DSM-5 suggesting that well under 0.1% of the population are afflicted by it.

The crux of the argument between trans activists and society really boils down to this question, how do we best take care of children who suffer from this dysphoria? The trans activists seem to believe that affirmation of the child’s gender identity is the best course, while the rest of society wants to be a bit more prudent.

This phenomenon of transitioning children via affirmation, surgery, and puberty blockers is relatively new. When I was going to school it was not an issue whatsoever. Therefore it’s important to keep an open mind and listen to all sides so we can arrive at the best possible policy to help children that are suffering from this dysphoria.

I will now go over what I believe is the best way to handle gender dysphoria in the school system. Keep in mind my research in this topic is still rather limited, therefore I am open to the idea that I could be wrong and look forward to sharing more information with anybody whose aim is to provide the best possible treatment for children that are suffering.

First, I think it’s important to state I am not in support of outright banning all forms of medical transition like some people are. As of right now I do believe gender dysphoria is a legit distress that can be alleviated with hormones and medical interventions for some people. Therefore, despite the frequent attacks directed at me from the trans community and their allies, I am not a transophobe and do not wish to eradicate the existence of trans individuals in society. To me the issue is really about establishing a set of criteria to determine when a medical transition is appropriate for an individual. These criteria are going to be different for everyone, some might want more restrictions and some less, the important thing is to attempt to collect as much relevant information as possible in order to arrive at the best possible outcome.

That being said, it’s safe to say that puberty blockers and any type of reassignment surgery is not an appropriate treatment for children. Dr. Soh states that between 60% to 90% of gender dysphoria cases desist in children by the time they are done with puberty¹. Therefore any attempt to halt puberty or make permanent changes to a child’s body before puberty seem completely reckless if not outright criminal. As of right now it does not seem like the medical profession has a firm grasp or a sure method to determine which children will desist with their dysphoria and who will persist. Because of this, the safest course to me seems to use more conservative methods of treatment in order to help children.

Counseling does seem to yield good results and in my opinion should be the main treatment in dealing with dysphoria, especially for children. This is not the same thing as conversion therapy for gay people. Let me be very clear, I believe a person’s sexual orientation is biological and outside their control, but this is not the same thing as gender dysphoria. We have already established that most children desist from their dysphoria as they age, and in fact, many of these children suffer from other mental health issues such anxiety and depression. Many others have a history of trauma, are high on the autism scale, or struggle with being gay. Coming out as “trans” or “queer” or expressing a new gender identity could very well be a cry for help, these people need to be looked at with compassion as they no doubt need support. Which is why an open debate is so critical in order to make sure we help children in the correct way. This is the part that frustrates me so much about trans activists in PEI, this phenomenon of gender dysphoria in children is so new that to me it seems rather impossible to be able to speak with absolute certainty on this issue. And yet trans activists do speak with absolute conviction and shut down and intimidate anybody that speaks out of line, they have absolutely no course correcting mechanism if they are wrong. This is why they and these guidelines are dangerous.

This issue is too important not to get right which is why open debate is so critical.

How Not to Deal with Gender Dysphoria

The guidelines instruct educators and others in the school system to accept any gender identity a student may wish to be identified as, you won’t even find the words gender dysphoria in the document, even though that is very clearly what we are talking about. I suspect this is because the people who wrote this document are so radical that they oppose the very idea of a binary gender. To them, gender dysphoria is not an illness, or a disorder, or something you should be seeking to cure, it’s merely part of a person’s gender-fluidity.

So when a child does show symptoms of gender dysphoria, instead of seeking to get the child some help, the guidelines instead follow a strategy of affirming the child’s new gender. As I said before, gender dysphoria could be a symptom of other mental health issues, it’s imperative that the parent be made aware right away if the child manifests any symptoms.

Encouraging “social transitions” like pronoun changes, name changes, and cross dressing leads to a higher chance that the dysphoria persists into adulthood, which is what these guidelines are promoting. Failing to acknowledge the possibility of a social contagion is also unwise. In 2018 Dr. Littman published a paper that theorized about the need for a new category she referred to as rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD). This is dysphoria that occurs in adolescents out of the blue, with no prior symptoms. In this study of 256 parents of trans kids more than a third of their children had come out as bisexual prior to identifying as transgender, 60% percent also had at least one mental disorder, and 40% percent of the children had a friend that was also transgender. If we are truly honest with ourselves, we have to acknowledge that with the way transgenderism is being glamorized by the media, teachers, and activists, that there is a possibility that some kids might choose to transition in order to be part of a new group. But doing this will not fix all the underlying issues a child might be facing, it’s dishonest to pretend otherwise.

The Way Forward

I have little doubt that I will be accused of fear mongering for writing this piece, activists will shout that children will not be medically transitioned and that puberty blockers will not be made available to them. These guidelines are merely inclusive of different gender identities, they seek to protect children from bigoted parents.

I don’t think so.

These activists are relentless, many of them are paid by the government to push this ideology as a full time job. They seek to shut down differing points of view entirely, some see this gender ideology as a convenient vehicle to acquire more political power by portraying themselves as protectors and defenders of vulnerable children, when in reality more power is their real goal.

I predict these guidelines are just the first step, the next part will be educating children in this new ideology. If you can convince a child that Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy exist it’s not such a hard sell to convince them they might be a different gender than the one they were born with. The social contagion aspect has a real chance to take off if this gender ideology becomes part of the school curriculum, and once a child comes out as the opposite gender than they were born, the goal of activists will be to transition these kids.

The consultation draft for these guidelines already show what the radicals have planed for PEI, in it you can see a “gender unicorn” that will most likely be used to “educate” kids in gender ideology. You can also see other resources these radicals plan to use to “educate” young minds such as a “gender wheel” where kids can learn all about the problems that being a straight white male adds to society.

Thank God for the Kensington education system keeping these consultation guidelines online. I would have never believed there was such a plan to push this ideology unless I had seen it with my own eyes. There is no denying it, people inside the education system have a clear agenda to teach gender ideology to children.

But children do not belong to the State or to the education system. When and how children learn about sex is the prerogative of the parents, bureaucrats have vastly overstepped their proper role in this domain. It’s imperative that these ideologues be pushed back and regular people re-take control of the education system while they are still the majority.

This gender ideology is a cult, and it’s inclusion in the school system is a form of indoctrination meant to capture young minds. The longer Islanders wait, the harder it will be to eradicate until one day it will be too late.

1. Page 141 of The End of Gender by Dr. Debra Soh. Figure taken from 11 long term studies on gender dysphoria.