Student’s Gender ‘Transition’ at Archdiocese of Baltimore School Sparks Furor

[Maxirad]

I cannot in good conscience approve of the “transition” in question, but…

Student’s Gender ‘Transition’ at Archdiocese of Baltimore School Sparks Furor| National Catholic Register

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I’m frankly concerned that Catholic school admins send their kids to the same school they admin.

That shouldn’t be allowed. There’s too much risk of preferential treatment in many different arenas.

We didn’t have that problem when the admins were all unmarried priests or religious.

 

[Weserthy]

This is the last thing that is needed in a Catholic school, especially one that is a diocesan school. Honestly, it seems harsh, but the best thing for everyone would probably be for the girl to be sent to another school. The kids in her classes don’t need to be dealing with this in a Catholic school - at least some parents likely are sending their children to a Catholic school to avoid situations exactly like these. I get that they’re trying to be “nice” to the girl but the “accommodations” that they are offering her are not helping anyone. It’s reinforcing a false premise to the girl and the students and ultimately will do more harm than good.

It seems like the archdiocese is not forcing students or teachers to refer to her by her preferred pronouns, which is good, but it seems like they’re trying to have it both ways.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

It seems like the archdiocese is not forcing students or teachers to refer to her by her preferred pronouns,

The problem is that her dad was the admin. Even if the archdiocese says “we’re not forcing anyone” etc, no teacher who wants to keep their job is going to get into a clash with the admin, and the other kids are likely to be at a disadvantage if admin’s kid goes crying to the achool office. It also looks like the school’s policies were all overhauled to accommodate the admin’s kid, without getting the buy-in from the other parents who have kids at the school. This is not fair.

I agree it would have been better to just send the girl to school somewhere else, probably a public school or a non-religious private school. It also doesn’t surprise me that her dad stepped down saying he has fundamental differences with the Chruch on certain issues. I can understand him having doubts or differences, but it’s not his place to push his ideas on all the other parents, half of whom probably sent their kids to the Catholic school to get them away from this sort of thing.

 

[Weserthy]

Yes, you are right that is a big issue and a major conflict of interest. It will be interesting to see if they continue on the present course with his resignation.

 

[OraLabora]

I stopped right here:

In the face of cultural trends that suggest someone can choose a gender different from his or her biological sex at birth, many parents who send their children to Catholic schools expect them to uphold the Church’s teaching that gender and sex cannot be completely separated.

Gender dysphoria is not a “cultural trend”. It causes great suffering. Nobody would put themselves through this degree of suffering just to conform to a “trend”.

What has changed, is that we no longer require people to carry this burden secretly all their lives. We reach out to them, try to alleviate their suffering, and try to prevent suicides. And IMHO that is a good thing.

The Church should get off her high horse, and reach out to those suffering with this, instead of condemning and blaming it on “cultural trends”. It’s clear that the hierarchy of the Church has never spoken to a transgendered man or woman.

 

[StudentMI]

We reach out to them, try to alleviate their suffering, and try to prevent suicides.

The suicide rate continues even after ‘transition’.

 

[OraLabora]

Not really:

A survey of trans people in the UK found that a completed medical transition was shown to greatly reduce rates of suicidal ideation and attempts, in contrast to those at other stages of transition (imminently transitioning or beginning transition). 67% of transitioning people thought more about suicide before transitioning whereas only 3% thought about suicide more after their transition (Bailey et al., 2014).

Source: Transgender people and suicide - Centre for Suicide PreventionCentre for Suicide Prevention

Caveat: I have a transgender child, so I have researched this topic very extensively.

 

[StudentMI]

I’ve seen conflicting info, then, in the US.

 

[OraLabora]

I’ve seen conflicting info, then, in the US.

While lower than pre-transition, the post-transition suicide rate is still higher than average, so that post-transition is still considered a suicide risk.

Many factors may be at play, in particular I think improving surgical techniques increases satisfaction and decreases suicide risk. But that’s more of a guess. Social acceptance is probably the biggest factor, especially with loved ones.