‘Protect the dolls’? Why we need to protect children from school gender scandal

Vulnerable children, such as those with autism, are being persuaded in schools that their problems stem from their gender

‘Protect the dolls’ has become this season’s must-have slogan t-shirt for celebrities. Actor Tilda Swinton and Game of Thrones star Pedro Pascal have been spotted wearing one, and since the Supreme Court ruled that a person’s sex is determined by biology, social media is awash with the hashtag #protectthedolls.

‘Dolls’ is slang for trans women, a somewhat incongruous nickname given that many of the ‘dolls’ on social media or spotted at recent protests are middle-aged men dressed in what they consider the height of women's fashion, ranging from pink Lycra to grey, pleated skirts. These men don’t need protecting, but our children do.

In the last few weeks, public debate has focused on whether or not the ‘dolls’ can use female toilets, but the court’s judgment is about much more than public loos – it is a clear statement about sex and the law. Adults can, if they wish, apply for a gender recognition certificate and, if they meet the criteria, including a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, pay £5 to get a certificate that allows them to change the sex marker on some legal documents. But this piece of paper does not change their biological sex.

Actor Pedro Pascal wears a 'protect the dolls' t-shirt in support of trans rights (Picture: Gareth Cattermole) | Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Against the wishes of parents

Yet for a decade and more now, gender identity ideology has seeped relentlessly into our public services, infecting everything from the Scottish Prison Service and the NHS to the school system. Vulnerable young people have been encouraged by their teachers and charities to believe they can change their sex, often against the wishes of their parents, but always with the full support of the Scottish Government.

In 2021, the government published guidance called Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools, which advised teachers to affirm children who self-identify as transgender and, where necessary, avoid parental involvement. Schools spent inordinate energy and resources trying to secure the LGBT holy grail of a gold charter mark from the state-funded charity, LGBT Youth Scotland, which has a network of Pride youth clubs across the country.

And TIE, a charity that, according to its website, creates resources for schools and delivers training for teachers “on behalf of the Scottish Government”, has embedded gender identity theory across the school curriculum, including in subjects like maths and English.

Vulnerable children particularly at risk

Carolyn Brown, chairperson of ScotPAG, a network of health, social work and education specialists, says gender ideology in schools needs to be called out for what it is – a scandal. Brown, who was one of Scotland’s leading educational psychologists before her recent retirement, says: “The prevalence of an influential ideology in schools which tells children that they can change sex if they don’t like themselves as they are is, by definition, harmful to children and teenagers.

“It is particularly harmful to those pupils who are vulnerable and those who have additional support needs. Children with autism or experience of the care system are particularly at risk. All responsible adults and professionals need to call this out for the abusive scandal that it is.”

Esther and her husband have three daughters. They live in an idyllic rural setting in central Scotland. From the outside they are a happy middle-class family. The reality is somewhat different. Their two eldest girls have autism and also identify as male.

‘The school convinced them’

Esther has spent the last six years trying to come to terms with the fact that her girls’ school colluded with their delusion that they were born in the wrong body. As she wrote in her blog earlier this week, she knew the teenage part of parenting was never going to be easy “but I just didn't realise or know that autistic puberty is especially difficult and confusing”.

“Having an ideology like gender ideology come along at just that developmentally unstable moment of my children's lives became their panacea. A reason for their uncomfortable feelings. A reason to feel awkward and belong to a group of equally awkward people but just be that little bit more interesting.” She continued: “They convinced themselves of dysphoria and the school convinced them they were born in the wrong body. The internet compounded their feelings whilst society continues to push them further down the affirmation path.”

Esther told me she is convinced that nothing will change until those responsible are held accountable by the courts – she may well be right, but the Scottish Government has an opportunity now to bring reality back into our classrooms.

Puberty blockers and breast binders

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told parliament this week that a short-term working group had been set up to review government legislation and guidance in light of the Supreme Court ruling. It will ensure the “correct application of the law for all involved” in what she described as a “complex area”. School guidance and the curriculum must be the group’s priority.

Unpicking the damage done to a generation of vulnerable young people by a discredited ideology may well be complex, and tragically for some it may be too late. Young people who were prescribed puberty blockers or flattened their breasts with chest binders may never fully recover from the physical and psychological damage of being fed misleading information.

What is not complex, however, is that the blame for this scandal lies firmly at the door of gullible – some would say cynical – politicians who relentlessly pursued gender ideology despite overwhelming evidence that it was harming children. Who can forget Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman suggesting children as young as eight could be allowed to change their sex?

Those guilty of enabling this regressive ideology may well have convinced themselves that middle-aged men who identify as women are the vanguard of a progressive new society, but in their rush to protect the dolls, they destroyed families and sacrificed the wellbeing of hundreds of children. Time for them to make amends.