UK boy 12 turns into girl...

[anthony70]

is the uk becoming more acceptant now.?

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol....rl.html

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol....rl.html

[rxpharm]

Anthony, thanks for sharing - however the situation was quite poorly handled, and the student is not able to attend because of harassment, plus her parents feel threatened. Not quite the kind of acceptance that LOS has.

Here are the stories, plus a few commentators chipping in:

Now boy, 9, is a girl

By BRIAN FLYNN
RHODRI PHILLIPS
and VERONICA LORRAINE

Published: Today
ANOTHER boy has turned up at school as a girl, it emerged yesterday - this time aged NINE.

Parents rapped the primary school in southern England for not alerting them, and for telling pupils at a special assembly.

Yesterday The Sun revealed that a boy of 12 had started the new term at secondary school as a girl.

Classmates of the nine-year-old sex-change boy were told he had left and been replaced by a girl.

The pupil returned to school the next day - in female uniform, with long hair in a ponytail, tied in pink ribbon.

Parents faced a flurry of questions from their bemused kids after school - and blasted staff at the primary for not informing them of the switch.

One concerned mum said: "My son came home from school and asked why one of his friends had become a girl. I thought he was joking, but he kept asking - that's when alarm bells began ringing.

"The pupil's classmates were told he had left and that a new girl would be starting in his place this term."

The Year Five children were told of what is believed to be Britain's youngest gender swap at the end of their first day back after the summer break.

A special assembly was held by the school's female head, their class teacher and the sex-change pupil's special needs teacher.

As the meeting progressed, staff seemed to acknowledge that the "new" pupil might be recognised by classmates.

The kids were told to call the pupil by a new name - which had been taped to a classroom peg.

The mum added: "They were told the new girl would be using the girls' toilet and that no-one should tease or bully her. If anyone saw the new girl being bullied they should stick up for her."

She said: "It upsets me that staff didn't mention it to parents before talking to the pupils.

"We have had to deal with the fall-out from all this. It's not a situation I or other parents are comfortable with and we've not been given any help from the school about how to handle it.

"My son is too young to really understand the significance of what's happening. It's hard to explain to him.

"He doesn't understand the differences between girls' and boys' bodies yet. I'm terrified he'll ask me if he can become a girl as well."

Another parent said: "This is distressing for both parents and kids.

"This is the talk of the playground. The kids have been told to treat this new girl as they would any other pupil, but how can they? They're confused."

The pupil missed the first day at the school on the outskirts of a city in southern England but returned on the second in a blouse and female-cut hipster trousers. It is understood the headteacher had personally masterminded the situation and was keen to help the family ease the child back into school as smoothly as possible.

It is not known whether their name has been changed by deed poll. The pupil is too young to have undergone sex change ops or hormone therapy. Patients must be 18.

A school source said: "The boy had always been rather feminine but it was a complete shock to the teachers as well as parents when the family said he wanted to return as a girl.

"But the school decided to support the child and worked with the family to make the transition as sensitively as possible. It decided to take this action after his case was confirmed by five doctors."

Last night The Beaumont Society, the world's largest transgender organisation, said the nine-year-old gender swap child was the youngest case it had heard of.

A spokeswoman said: "This child is vulnerable to bullying and teasing. They and their family have been seriously misadvised. It is hard enough for an adult to change gender.

"To go the extent that this nine-year-old has gone is unique."

Gender counsellor James Caspian said: "People should not be surprised that a child so young has these feelings. What is more of a surprise is that the child has been able to express them openly, and that because of changes in society those around the child have been so supportive."

The case emerged yesterday as The Sun revealed that a 12-year-old boy had started their first term at secondary school in southern England as a girl.


Parents who blasted the school and the child's parents on a social networking website were threatened with arrest yesterday.

Cops visited at least one mum and warned that she and others could face prosecution for harassment over their comments.

The pupil's family is under police protection at their home on a council estate.

A comment on this story:

It's been a circus and this child will suffer'

By KATE JACKSON

TRANSSEXUAL childhood TV star Lauren Harries yesterday blasted a school for failing to protect a sex-change pupil aged 12.

We told yesterday how teachers called an assembly to order pupils to treat the boy as a girl after he turned up at school in a dress with blonde pigtails.
Lauren ... blasted school

Lauren ... blasted school

His parents had also changed the lad's name by deed poll to a girl's.

He has faced bullying at the school in the south of England and the family is under police protection.

The Sun is not naming the child.

Lauren, 31 - born James - blasted: "For the school to announce her change in assembly, I mean, what is that? A circus. It could have been done much more sensitively. Doing it this way, the child will suffer."

Lauren found fame aged 12 as a curly-haired antiques expert and appeared on shows like Wogan in bow ties and velvet suits.

She said: "If I was this girl's parents I wouldn't even put her in school.

"I left at 12 and was taught by tutors. It's not that expensive.

"I didn't have the option to move house, but I think that's the only way this family can move on now.

"This is an identity crisis she'll have to go through until she's old enough for the operation."

Lauren, from Cardiff, who changed sex aged 23, added: "She won't have a day without prejudice. There's always going to be discrimination. I went through it and I know.

"Right now, she will be feeling like getting a pair of scissors and doing her own operation - that's how you feel."

[rxpharm]

The second story run by The Sun

By BRIAN FLYNN
and VIRGINIA WHEELER

Published: 18 Sep 2009
A BOY aged 12 turned up at school as a GIRL - after changing sex during the summer holidays.

Teachers called an emergency assembly to order fellow pupils to treat him as female.

The lad, whose parents have changed his name to a girl's by deed poll, arrived in a dress with long hair in ribboned pigtails. He is preparing for sex-swap surgery.

Angry parents told yesterday how their kids were left tearful and confused after school staff announced the boy pupil was now a girl.

They said the head teacher should have informed them in advance of the "sex change" so they could prepare their sons and daughters and inform them about gender issues.

They added that the school's failure to do so had left the boy to suffer cruel taunts and bullying.

One mum said: "They behaved appallingly by throwing this hand grenade into the room and then leaving the inevitable questions about it for unprepared parents.

"Maybe we could have explained sexual politics and encouraged our kids to be more sensitive if we'd had a chance to be involved."

Over the summer holidays his parents changed his name to a female one by deed poll. He is preparing to undergo hormone treatment and surgery - and could become the world's youngest sex-swap patient in the coming years.

The Sun knows his identity but will not reveal it. His mother told us last night: "We are committed to ensuring the very best for our child. We are working with other agencies to ensure our child's welfare is protected."

The 1,000-pupil school, in southern England, has given the lad a separate toilet and changing room in the sports hall.

It is understood he hoped his transformation would go unnoticed as he was starting secondary education and children stepping up from other primary schools would not recognise him.

But his former classmates at primary level DID spot the difference - and quickly spread the word.

The boy, who for years has told pals he yearns to be a girl, had to endure spiteful jibes and was asked by some kids: "Are you gay?"

Teachers stepped in with the emergency assembly, at which pupils were threatened with tough disciplinary action if they failed to treat him as a girl or use his new name. Some bewildered youngsters burst into tears.

The mum, whose daughter was a classmate of the lad at primary school, said: "She told me the pupil is already a target for bullying.

"And what has really upset the parents is that the school didn't see fit to send us a letter first so we could explain it to our children in our own way.

"Parents surely have a right to know when their children are being confronted with such sensitive issues as gender realignment at such a young age.

"They were simply told, 'You may notice one pupil is not present in this assembly - that is because the pupil is now a girl.'

"Kids are by nature immature and insensitive. It is not fair either for the child who is undergoing this change. The girl, as she now is, will go through hell because of how this has been handled."

The lad was absent from school yesterday because of the taunts.

His family, who live on a council estate, have received threats and are under police protection.

It is understood the head at his primary school insisted he was treated as a boy - and used male toilets - despite his frequent "girlie" behaviour.

He wore a bikini instead of trunks at swimming lessons, dried himself on Barbie towels, rode a pink scooter to school and wore pink ribbons in his hair.

But a source at the secondary school, who referred to the pupil in both genders, said: "His parents have accepted he has now chosen to be a girl, and that's how he will be. She has not come into school since the assembly. There were things that went on in the community which have been extremely upsetting for the family.

"It was a knock-on effect from what was said in school. So they can't let her come in for her own safety. We have no idea exactly when she will be coming back, but she WILL be back."

Transgender counsellor David Hawley last night paid tribute to the pupil's "strength of character".

He said: "It is very unusual for a child of that age to be that clear about what they want to do. She has had a lot of support from her parents. So I imagine she was comfortable with herself before going to school and now she is discovering it can be a nasty world, which is hard at that age."

Psychotherapist James Caspian said the child would not be allowed hormone treatment in the UK until passing puberty. Meanwhile he and the other kids would have to cope with the shockwaves caused by the switch.

Mr Caspian said: "These children are old enough to have picked up a lot of taboos from society."

German Kim Petras - born Tim - became the world's youngest transsexual at 16 earlier this year.

With another comment:

myView

By DEIDRE SANDERS

Sun Agony Aunt

IT'S ironic pupils will be disciplined if they fail to handle this child's sex change "sensitively" - when their school could hardly have handled it less sensitively.

Breaking news like this in a mass assembly without pre-briefing parents was crass and cruel - and added to this child's troubles.

The pupils involved are very young. Some may be confused and won't realise this is an exceptional case. They may also worry their own gender will suddenly change.

Let's hope the school now has the sense to organise small discussion groups for both parents and children to help everyone explore their feelings and show respect to this child's needs and feelings.

Anyone with worries around gender identity in children can find understanding guidance at www.mermaidsuk.org.uk.

[alram]

I wished I had an early headstart but then again, I'm glad I went through my adolescence as a boy! Playing in the ditch when I was a kid and then digging ditches in the military, I'm glad I went back to dolls =D

[seamus]

Now I get it with your small pole dancing friend, you think she's a doll