A trans inclusive education in gender equality

Submitted by Alana Queer on Sat, 02/09/2023 - 18:48

Too often, gender equality is interpreted only as equality between (cis) men and (cis) women. Binary trans people, let alone non-binary, gender fluid, or agender people, are not imagined. The 'T' in LGBTIQA+ (both 'Q' - queer - and 'A' - asexual and/or aromantic - are usually omitted) is relegated to sexual diversity education. Only, the 'T' - trans - has much to do with gender identity and little to do with sexuality.

Gender equality education should be aware of the diversity of gender identities, and not in a reductionist and biologistic way, limit itself to talk about equality between cisgender men and women, if it does not want to foster the existing exclusion of gender-diverse identities in society and in education.

It is never too early to talk about trans identities in all their diversity. When you start talking about the world being separated (culturally, biology is more complex) into boys or girls in primary school, it is time to also talk about trans girls, trans boys, and non-binary, agender or gender-fluid children. Do boys have penises, do girls have vulvas? And if you have a little trans person in the classroom, you already make them feel excluded, weird, ... And, more likely than not, you don't even know it as a teacher, as most trans children don't come out at school, plus it takes years until they understand themselves and start maybe talking with a person close to them about being trans.

 

Trans realities in numbers

It is important to talk about trans realities. It is important to remember that behind these dry figures there are lives, often pretty screwed up lives. The problem is not being trans. The problem is the social response to being trans, it is the stress that a trans person suffers from social and even family rejection, discrimination, bullying, denial of their identity. A study from the United States and Canada of trans children who have transitioned at a very early age (that is, social transition) concluded that trans children have the same self-esteem and anxiety levels as cisgender children [1]. Healthy trans lives. Unfortunately, the reality for many trans children and adolescents is different.

According to the 2017 Stonewall School Report, an investigation into the realities of LGBTIQA+ young people in the UK, 84% of trans young people have self-harmed, compared to around 10% in the general youth population. 92% of trans young people have thought about suicide, and 45% have attempted suicide at least once [2].

The problem starts at the family level. The cases of trans children seen in schools are the most fortunate trans children, as they have the support of at least one of their parents. According to a survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in 2020, 40% of trans youth aged 15-17 are not open about being trans with their family, and 35% are only open with a few people in their family. These figures are somewhat better with friends. Only 10% are not open with any of their friends, 35% with a few, 20% with most and 35% with all of their friends. This shows the importance of friendship networks for trans youth (the figures for classmates, on the contrary, are much worse: 27% are open with no one, 41% with a few, 13% with most and 18% with all).

Similarly, when asked where they avoid openly showing their gender identity, 49% of transgender young people aged 15-17 answer "with their family", and 36% "at home" and 41% "at school/high school" [3]. Figures for the different non-binary identities are similar, but not available by age group. Happy trans youth.

The realities of different non-binary identities are even more invisible. According to research in the UK, only 17% of non-binary people are always visible about their gender with staff, 25% with students or peers [4]. Research on non-binary people in Spain in 2022 concluded that 56% of non-binary people practice cis-passing (masking, concealing their identity) in educational settings frequently, and 28% occasionally. Only 16% never hide their identity [5].

Similarly, according to the aforementioned 2020 FRA survey, more than half of non-binary people are not open about their identity in educational settings or are only open with a few people.

 

¿With how many classmates or university students do you talk openly about being non-binary?

 

Non-binary

Genderqueer

Genderfluid

Agender

None

38%

26%

54%

34%

A few

45%

36%

34%

38%

The majority

9%

10%

8%

22%

All

8%

29%

4%

7%

Source: Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union (FRA), 2020

 

Not surprisingly, lesser-known non-binary identities, especially genderfluid people, are less open, while genderqueer people, a non-binary identity with political connotations, are more open.

Some simple measures in education can literally save lives. According to research by Russel et al. in 2018, use of the chosen name in more contexts predicted fewer depressive symptoms and less suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviour. An increase of one context in which a chosen name could be used predicted a 5.37 unit decrease in depressive symptoms, a 29% decrease in suicidal ideation and a 56% decrease in suicidal behaviour. Depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviour were at the lowest levels when the chosen names could be used in all four contexts [6]. Other measures require more work, such as ensuring that trans realities are present throughout the curriculum.

All students need to see themselves reflected in the school or college, they need to see themselves in order to feel a sense of belonging (the concept of the mirror). This means that trans and non-binary reality should be present not only in gender and equality education, but in the whole curriculum. When there is a sense of belonging, of seeing oneself reflected in one's identity, a person can also open up to other realities (the windows to the world) [7]. I believe that the curricular reality in our schools and colleges is far from providing mirrors for trans and non-binary students.

Conclusions

Carl Horton says in research on minority stress in educational settings in trans youth in the UK: "Trans children and adolescents are known to be at risk of poor mental health, with studies reporting high levels of depression, anxiety or suicidal ideation. A growing body of research shows that poor mental health is not intrinsic to being trans, and there is evidence that positive mental health is linked to family support, social affirmation and trans-inclusive primary and secondary education." [8]

Trans children and adolescents are often invisible realities in every school and high school. It is too late to ask "What do we do with a trans person" when a trans person comes out. By the time they reach this point, they have probably already suffered for years in silence, their reality invisible in the classroom. Every school or college should be trans-inclusive, even if they have no knowledge of trans students, in order to create a trans-friendly environment, which allows a trans person to see themselves, to feel included and - perhaps - to make it easier for them to come out and be open about being trans. The starting point should be: trans students exist, but we do not see them.

Therefore, it is important that teachers have the tools and knowledge to accompany trans students, to make their realities visible, to include trans binary and non-binary realities in gender equality education from the very beginning. It is not enough to invite an LGBTIQA+ and/or trans organisation to give a talk one day and forget about it the rest of the time. The trans issue should always be present when talking about gender, boys and girls (and non-binary kids).

Alana Andrea Speck

Unfortunately, there are few materials for teachers in Spanish, which can assist a teacher or a school or institute in becoming trans inclusive. Some materials in Spanish are:

In English:

 

Notes

[1] Lily Durwood, Katie A McLaughlin, Kristina R Olson: Mental Health and Self-Worth in Socially Transitioned Transgender Youth, J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2017 Feb;56(2):116-123.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2016.10.016. Epub 2016 Nov 27 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28117057/)

[2] Stonewall: School Report. The experiences of lesbian, gay, bi and trans young people in Britain’s schools in 2017, Stonewall, 2017, https://www.stonewall.org.uk/school-report-2017

[3] Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union: A long way to go for LGBTI equality, 2020, informe (inglés): http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2020-lgbti-equality-1_en.pdf, exploración de data (en inglés): https://fra.europa.eu/en/data-and-maps/2020/lgbti-survey-data-explorer

[4] Government Equalities Office, UK, 2018

[5] Equality Ministry (Spain): Estudio sobre las necesidades y demandas de las personas no binarias en España, 2022, https://www.igualdad.gob.es/ministerio/dglgtbi/Documents/Estudio_no_binarios_accesibilidad.pdf

[6] Stephen T. Russell, Ph.D, Amanda M. Pollitt, Ph.D, Gu Li, Ph.D., y Arnold H. Grossman, Ph.D.: Chosen Name Use Is Linked to Reduced Depressive Symptoms, Suicidal Ideation, and Suicidal Behavior Among Transgender Youth, Journal of Adolescent Health 63 (2018) 503–505, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29609917/

[7] Emily Style: Curriculum As Window and Mirror, Listening for All Voices, Oak Knoll School monograph, Summit, NJ, 1988, https://nationalseedproject.org/Key-SEED-Texts/curriculum-as-window-and-mirror

[8] Carl Horton: Gender minority stress in education: Protecting trans children’s mental health in UK schools, International Journal of Transgender Health, 2022, DOI 10.1080/26895269.2022.2081645, https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2022.2081645

Tags: 
Queer
Training area: 
Acompanying trans and non-binary students
Gender Identity