Virginia Students walkout - Trans policies

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ASPartOfMe
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27 Sep 2022, 4:12 pm

Students stage walkouts across Virginia over governor's transgender school policies

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Students across Virginia protested Tuesday in response to new guidelines putting restrictions on transgender students in the state’s public schools.

Walkouts are set to take place throughout the day at more than 90 middle and high schools in the state, according to student-run advocacy group Pride Liberation Project, which organized the statewide effort. As of noon on Tuesday, students in Woodbridge, Springfield, Manassas, McLean and other Virginia cities were waving rainbow picket signs and shouting, "Trans rights are human rights!"

“Trans students are students just like everybody else. We don’t want to be out here fighting for our rights and protesting — we want to be in calculus class and learning how to drive,” said Ranger Balleisen, a transgender senior at McLean High School in Fairfax County who helped organize the protests. “But, instead, we have to be here, because they’re trying to take away our rights.”

Earlier this month, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration rewrote Virginia’s model policies for the treatment of transgender students, mandating that all students use school facilities, including bathrooms or locker rooms, according to the sex they were assigned at birth. The policy revision also forbids trans students from changing their names and pronouns at school without a parent’s permission and discourages school staff from concealing students' gender identities from their parents, regardless of whether a student prefers to keep their transition a secret.

Proponents welcomed the policy change, lauding the new measures for giving parents greater discretion over their child's schooling experience. Parental rights in education was a central issue of Youngkin’s campaign for the Virginia governorship last year and was largely credited with sweeping him to victory.

"Parents should be a part of their children’s lives, and it’s apparent through the public protests and on-camera interviews that those objecting to the guidance already have their parents as part of that conversation," Macaulay Porter, a spokeswoman for Youngkin, said in an email. "While students exercise their free speech today, we’d note that these policies state that students should be treated with compassion and schools should be free from bullying and harassment."

The new guidelines are a sharp reversal from policies enacted last year by Youngkin's Democratic predecessor, Ralph Northam. Northam's guidelines said "school staff should abide by the student’s wishes" regarding names and pronouns. They also recommended that educators allow students to use school facilities, including bathrooms and locker rooms, that correspond with their gender identities. Additionally, the former rules advised that if a student did not want to share their gender identity with their family, "this should be respected."


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27 Sep 2022, 9:23 pm

Good for the students.

As a broad generalization, students today are far more accepting of differences than their parents were. And, also as a broad generalization they seem to be willing to fight for each other's rights on such issues.

Or the population of students I know (and know of) is extremely skewed ...


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27 Sep 2022, 10:10 pm

The kids are basically protesting a policy that says minors can't get whatever they want without parental consent. It seems the underlining agenda lurking behind "trans rights" is removing restrictions placed on minors and in favor of giving them adult level autonomy. This goes hand in hand with the continuing erosion of the traditional family structure. Where mothers and fathers aren't supposed to exist any longer and have been downgraded to "birthing people".

Oh and not letting teen boys hang out in girl locker rooms. What teen boy wouldn't protest that?



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28 Sep 2022, 2:35 am

Matrix Glitch wrote:
The kids are basically protesting a policy that says minors can't get whatever they want without parental consent. It seems the underlining agenda lurking behind "trans rights" is removing restrictions placed on minors and in favor of giving them adult level autonomy. This goes hand in hand with the continuing erosion of the traditional family structure. Where mothers and fathers aren't supposed to exist any longer and have been downgraded to "birthing people".

Oh and not letting teen boys hang out in girl locker rooms. What teen boy wouldn't protest that?


You are discounting all the struggles young trans students endure. Trans-women having to use a male facility is far from a safe or comfortable situation for them. You may as well be telling them they need to hide inside the gender they were born with, and keep their identity issues to themselves completely. That is a hard way to live as a vulnerable teen, even if it allows parents to pretend their kids are something they aren't for a little while longer. Suicide rates for trans teens are astonishingly high.

Both my kids hold strong and sincere beliefs that everyone should be able to live as their true selves. They apply it across the board, whether talking gender, culture, race, religion, or neurology. "You do you." That culture in our community ensured that my ASD son was well accepted among his peers despite being different. The minute a community can't accept one group, it puts all diversity up for grabs, with some subsets being accepted and others targeting for bullying, depending on the fashion of the day. Personally, I prefer the vision my kids grew up to have, that people should be accepted as their unique selves, whatever that is.

I've seen the passion in student's eyes related to political issues that have importance to them. It is far more developed thinking than just "oppose the parents" or "get a day off school" or "peek in a girl's locker room."

As for that last one, do your REALLY think a teenager is going to present themselves to their school community as trans when they aren't, just to get inside a girl's locker room? The day to day, long term, ramifications of how they choose to present themselves to their peers weigh far heavier on the scale than voyeurism can.


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Last edited by DW_a_mom on 28 Sep 2022, 2:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

r00tb33r
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28 Sep 2022, 2:39 am

I remember the silent protests and walkouts in high school. I think I've only seen it once. The general reaction I recall was "whatever".

I'm not aware of any students who actually belonged to those minorities during that time.


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28 Sep 2022, 2:46 am

Looks like evil has will have to reckon with people power now



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28 Sep 2022, 4:46 am

DW_a_mom wrote:
Matrix Glitch wrote:
The kids are basically protesting a policy that says minors can't get whatever they want without parental consent. It seems the underlining agenda lurking behind "trans rights" is removing restrictions placed on minors and in favor of giving them adult level autonomy. This goes hand in hand with the continuing erosion of the traditional family structure. Where mothers and fathers aren't supposed to exist any longer and have been downgraded to "birthing people".

Oh and not letting teen boys hang out in girl locker rooms. What teen boy wouldn't protest that?


You are discounting all the struggles young trans students endure. Trans-women having to use a male facility is far from a safe or comfortable situation for them. You may as well be telling them they need to hide inside the gender they were born with, and keep their identity issues to themselves completely. That is a hard way to live as a vulnerable teen, even if it allows parents to pretend their kids are something they aren't for a little while longer. Suicide rates for trans teens are astonishingly high.

Both my kids hold strong and sincere beliefs that everyone should be able to live as their true selves. They apply it across the board, whether talking gender, culture, race, religion, or neurology. "You do you." That culture in our community ensured that my ASD son was well accepted among his peers despite being different. The minute a community can't accept one group, it puts all diversity up for grabs, with some subsets being accepted and others targeting for bullying, depending on the fashion of the day. Personally, I prefer the vision my kids grew up to have, that people should be accepted as their unique selves, whatever that is.

I've seen the passion in student's eyes related to political issues that have importance to them. It is far more developed thinking than just "oppose the parents" or "get a day off school" or "peek in a girl's locker room."

As for that last one, do your REALLY think a teenager is going to present themselves to their school community as trans when they aren't, just to get inside a girl's locker room? The day to day, long term, ramifications of how they choose to present themselves to their peers weigh far heavier on the scale than voyeurism can.

Society is becoming completely restructured in the name of trans. The most restructuring needed for autistics was some large stores initiating an hour long autism friendly environment. The most society had to change for the physically disabled was installing ramps and reserving a few parking spaces.

Trans is placing far greater demands on society than any other minority by comparison. And you're still thinking of trans as a traditional male becoming a traditional female. It's gotten considerably more complicated and far less defined than that.

So naturally as what's supposed to trans continues to broaden, more and more people fall under the trans spectrum. Eventually it's all going to become a huge mess.



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28 Sep 2022, 12:27 pm

DW_a_mom wrote:


Both my kids hold strong and sincere beliefs that everyone should be able to live as their true selves. They apply it across the board, whether talking gender, culture, race, religion, or neurology.


Oh, I bet they have their own limits, such as transracialism, e.g. Rachel Dolazel (sp?). There do need to be guard rails, self ID into anything just isn't workable.

DW_a_mom wrote:

As for that last one, do your REALLY think a teenager is going to present themselves to their school community as trans when they aren't, just to get inside a girl's locker room? The day to day, long term, ramifications of how they choose to present themselves to their peers weigh far heavier on the scale than voyeurism can.


Absolutely, outsider identities are always attractive to young people, especially when they come with special privileges attached. Take a look at "spoonie" culture some time if you want a good example of how far some people will go for sympathy and attention.


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28 Sep 2022, 12:47 pm

Image

Good for them. There's hope for America's next generation still. 8)

1. Trans rights are human rights.

2. 7% of the general population is LGBT, but 40% of homeless youth are LGBT because their parents kick them out of their family homes for being gay or trans. Some parents don't deserve to know that their child is trans because they're mean spirited homophobic/transphobic ignorant bigots that refuse to understand their child's lived experience, needs and wants. What teacher wants to be forced into a position of having to disclose something so personal like that to a parent knowing what the outcome for the child may be? This is just terrible policy all around.

3. Trans people are over 4x more likely to be the victims of violent crimes in the USA from assault to rape or murder. https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/ ... s-release/ It's nice to see that existence & acceptance is being taught to and learned by the next generation so that suicides & homicides of LGBT people can be reduced.


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28 Sep 2022, 12:49 pm

I'm proud of the students for walking out. Things have been going backwards for trans people for way too long. Trust me, I know.


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28 Sep 2022, 12:50 pm

CockneyRebel wrote:
I'm proud of the students for walking out. Things have been going backwards for trans people for way too long. Trust me, I know.

:heart: :heart: :heart:


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28 Sep 2022, 12:53 pm

goldfish21 wrote:
Image

Good for them. There's hope for America's next generation still. 8)

1. Trans rights are human rights.

2. 7% of the general population is LGBT, but 40% of homeless youth are LGBT because their parents kick them out of their family homes for being gay or trans. Some parents don't deserve to know that their child is trans because they're mean spirited homophobic/transphobic ignorant bigots that refuse to understand their child's lived experience, needs and wants. What teacher wants to be forced into a position of having to disclose something so personal like that to a parent knowing what the outcome for the child may be? This is just terrible policy all around.

3. Trans people are over 4x more likely to be the victims of violent crimes in the USA from assault to rape or murder. https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/ ... s-release/ It's nice to see that existence & acceptance is being taught to and learned by the next generation so that suicides & homicides of LGBT people can be reduced.


That's the reason that I will never tell my parents that I'm Trans and I identify as Male.


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28 Sep 2022, 12:56 pm

To be clear, trans itself isn't the problem. The way it's being exploited is. Somehow I doubt trans people came up with the idea of 57 genders etc.

Even a trans person who's a clinical psychologist says it's been taken too far.

'It's gone too far': Transgender psychologist concerned about growing number of trans kids.



Last edited by Matrix Glitch on 28 Sep 2022, 1:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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28 Sep 2022, 1:17 pm

Matrix Glitch wrote:
To be clear, trans itself isn't the problem. The way it's being exploited is. Somehow I doubt trans people came up with the idea of 57 genders etc.


Demanding basic human rights and dignity is not exploiting anything.

Every time you spout off with some tucker carlson-esque rant about 98237324 genders you come across like someone complaining about black people using a public water fountain -> Ridiculous.

It's not difficult to call people by their preferred names/pronouns. It's also not difficult to let them go pee when they need to w/o some sort of weird pervy genital check at the bathroom door.


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Last edited by magz on 29 Sep 2022, 1:37 am, edited 1 time in total.: Personal poke removed

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28 Sep 2022, 5:45 pm

Matrix Glitch wrote:
DW_a_mom wrote:
Matrix Glitch wrote:
The kids are basically protesting a policy that says minors can't get whatever they want without parental consent. It seems the underlining agenda lurking behind "trans rights" is removing restrictions placed on minors and in favor of giving them adult level autonomy. This goes hand in hand with the continuing erosion of the traditional family structure. Where mothers and fathers aren't supposed to exist any longer and have been downgraded to "birthing people".

Oh and not letting teen boys hang out in girl locker rooms. What teen boy wouldn't protest that?


You are discounting all the struggles young trans students endure. Trans-women having to use a male facility is far from a safe or comfortable situation for them. You may as well be telling them they need to hide inside the gender they were born with, and keep their identity issues to themselves completely. That is a hard way to live as a vulnerable teen, even if it allows parents to pretend their kids are something they aren't for a little while longer. Suicide rates for trans teens are astonishingly high.

Both my kids hold strong and sincere beliefs that everyone should be able to live as their true selves. They apply it across the board, whether talking gender, culture, race, religion, or neurology. "You do you." That culture in our community ensured that my ASD son was well accepted among his peers despite being different. The minute a community can't accept one group, it puts all diversity up for grabs, with some subsets being accepted and others targeting for bullying, depending on the fashion of the day. Personally, I prefer the vision my kids grew up to have, that people should be accepted as their unique selves, whatever that is.

I've seen the passion in student's eyes related to political issues that have importance to them. It is far more developed thinking than just "oppose the parents" or "get a day off school" or "peek in a girl's locker room."

As for that last one, do your REALLY think a teenager is going to present themselves to their school community as trans when they aren't, just to get inside a girl's locker room? The day to day, long term, ramifications of how they choose to present themselves to their peers weigh far heavier on the scale than voyeurism can.

Society is becoming completely restructured in the name of trans. The most restructuring needed for autistics was some large stores initiating an hour long autism friendly environment. The most society had to change for the physically disabled was installing ramps and reserving a few parking spaces.

Trans is placing far greater demands on society than any other minority by comparison. And you're still thinking of trans as a traditional male becoming a traditional female. It's gotten considerably more complicated and far less defined than that.

So naturally as what's supposed to trans continues to broaden, more and more people fall under the trans spectrum. Eventually it's all going to become a huge mess.


I feel like its more that the whole trans issue got a generation rethinking how and why society focuses so much on gender in the first place. To my kids, the whole idea of sorting people into male and female to start with is silly. People should just be people. They understand there can be some practical reasons, but feel society has long extended the sort and divide far further than is necessary. So it is less bending to, than it is questioning an entire set of assumptions.


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28 Sep 2022, 5:53 pm

Honestly, I don't feel like we're in danger of becoming an androgynous society.

The vast majority of women are women who are proud to be women.

Same with men.

Most of the time, men and women don't strictly define themselves by "gender roles." It is perfectly natural for a woman to be a carpenter, and for a man to take care of a baby.

If somebody doesn't want to be their birth gender, that's okay with me. But it's really hard on them, even without discrimination.