The BFD | NZ Government MPs Lie about Contents of the Sexuality Education Syllabus

Barbara McKenzie
stovouno.org

At a meeting in Ohariu last night I directed a question at the representatives from the parties in government, thus NZ First’s Tracey Martin, Labour local MP Greg O’Connor and the Green candidate, John Ranta.

‘The New Zealand sex education curriculum turns small children into sexual beings, strongly promotes gender stereotypes, and forces children from the age of five to see gender dysphoria and and transition as natural and desirable. Will you support the inevitable move to extend the programme to early education?’

When pressed for further detail I explained that children are actively and repeatedly encouraged to see gender transition as a viable option and that “by the age of about nine children are invited to imagine waking to find that their gender has changed”.

First Greg O’Connor and then Tracey Martin, who as Minister of Education was involved in developing the programme, flatly denied that the Sexuality Curriculum groomed children for gender transition, or that children were invited to imagine that their gender had changed. The curriculum was completely age-appropriate and anything to do with gender was purely to encourage tolerance. (The Green candidate was open about knowing little of the syllabus.)

What the text says

‘Encourage students to recognise that some people’s biological sex is different to their gender identity. For example somebody born with a penis may identity as a girl’ (Years 1-2, section “Gender Roles”, in which ‘Students will describe themselves in relation to their gender’ and ‘Students will explore diverse gender roles’ ).

Gender diversity is again explored in detail in Years 3-4, in Theme 2, and is referred to also in Theme 4, thus gender diversity is addressed in years 1, 3 and 4. In year 5, when children are about nine:

Development
Have the students make themselves comfortable in small groups. Ask the students to use their imaginations and consider the following scenario: Imagine waking up one morning and discovering that your gender has changed. What that would that be like? Allocate two questions per group for the students to discuss:

• How would your life be the same? How would it be different?
• Would any of your ambitions change?
• What could be some negatives about living with this “new” gender?
• What could be some positives about living with this “new” gender?
• Do you think people would treat you differently?
• What couldn’t you do anymore?
• What would you be able to do that you may not have been able to yesterday?
• What would you need to learn?
• How would you be expected to dress?
• If you looked different but were exactly the same on the inside, would you still fit in with your friends and family?
• Are the expectations for genders the same? Or are there different expectations?
• If you looked different but were exactly the same on the inside, would you still fit in with your friends and family?
• Are the expectations for genders the same? Or are there different expectations?
• How do you suppose it feels to be transgender? What are the expectations if you are transgender? Discuss any stereotypes or challenges associated with growing up.
(Years 5-6, Theme 2, so year 5)

Tracey Martin, Minister of Education told the meeting that she was closely involved with the development of the syllabus and knew it well. Thus Martin’s authoritative claim that there was no such provision for small children to be instructed to “Imagine waking up one morning and discovering that your gender has changed” has to be seen as knowingly false. Greg O’Connor probably had no idea what was in the syllabus, but under pressure, his instinctive response was a flat denial.

Note: Tracey Martin, as Minister of Education, would also have been responsible for the equally manipulative Climate Change curriculum.