Why the Scottish Government's decision on LGBTI inclusive education is deeply flawed

So the Scottish Government is proud to accept all the recommendations of the LGBTI Inclusive Education Working group, and to embed LGBTI inclusive education in the curriculum. In my opinion this is an appalling decision of which the government, and the other political parties who will no doubt support it, should be thoroughly ashamed. It demonstrates a distinct shallowness of thinking and will promote harm, rather than reduce it.

There is a laudable aim to reduce bullying, and quite rightly so. However, stopping bullying of a certain group of people does not necessitate agreeing with them. The government also wants to stop Islamophobia, does that mean that they think that Islam is right? We should respect all people, but that is not the same as saying everything they do or think is correct.  I teach many Muslim students and love doing so, and like the students, and I do so without agreeing with Islam. We need a much richer notion of tolerance than the shallow version that is currently in vogue.

Then there is the question of whether the education system should be promoting a homosexual lifestyle as a positive choice. Homosexual sex is inherently less safe than heterosexual sex, and the link is to a WebMD page, not one from a religious organisation. While the government is seeking to promote healthy lifestyles in all sorts of other areas, is the current decision really a wise one?

Finally the matter of promoting the trans ideology. Again is this a wise thing to do? The current attempt to divorce gender and biological sex is complete nonsense, as is telling people that they can choose their gender. Young people have enough uncertainty in their lives as it is. Consider what road you may be setting a young person on if you encourage the idea that you can change gender (which you cannot). A young person maybe put on puberty blockers, ie drugs that inhibit the normal physical development. Then they may go on to take cross-sex hormones for the rest of their lives, ie drugs to inhibit the normal functioning of the body. Finally some may go on to have destructive surgery. The suicide rate among people who identify as transgender is much higher than in the rest of the population, and this is true in progressive countries, it cannot just be a result of negative attitudes.  Is the government really wise to embark on a path in our schools that may encourage young people to go down this road? Especially when studies have found that 80% or more of young people who experience gender identity disorder “grow out of it”?

We absolutely must do all we can to reduce bullying, and everyone should be respected as a person, but the Scottish Government has serious questions to ask itself.