Christian parents sue the government because somebody else's kid wore a dress to school

A Christian couple is taking legal action against the government because their child was 'confused' about seeing another child wearing a dress. Nigel and Sally Rowe said their kid was confused about a gender-diverse classmate wearing a dress and instead of educating their six-year-old son, they decided to take him out of school and challenge the government about another child's personal choice to wear a dress. The parents said the child would alternate between “masculine” and “feminine” clothes which left their boy “confused as to why a boy was now a girl,” reported Pink News.

The parents responded by pulling him out of his Church of England primary school on the Isle of Wight, before choosing to homeschool him. It's not the first time that Nigel and Sally have been bothered by other kids' choices, having taken their older son out of the same school after a classmate of his came out as a transgirl. Nigel and Sally claimed their older son was confused “to the point of being unwell and stressed.” 

The couple is legally challenging the local authority’s adoption of the Cornwall Schools Transgender Guidance, which encourages teachers and governors to be inclusive on trans issues, and promotes “inclusion for all within education by improving services for trans children and students.” The guidance also calls to empower those who support trans students and states that it is “extremely important, as a matter of fairness, respect, and inclusion, to ensure that the correct gender, name, and pronouns are used uniformly to address trans people” and that trans students should “should be able to wear the uniform of their true gender.”

The couple's actions are backed by Christian Legal Center and want to challenge the guidance. Nigel and Sally Rowe claim it is immoral for a kid to make 'life-changing' decisions like choosing what dress they would like to wear. Nigel told The Times that the guidance should be replaced with something that “protects children from partisan materials that lead them down a road of irreversible harm.”

“We believe it is wrong to encourage very young children to embrace transgenderism," said Nigel. “Boys are boys and girls are girls… We took this action with heavy hearts, but having seen how this issue has escalated, we feel vindicated and believe the government must be challenged.” Sally echoed her husband's stance. “Six-year-old children are not able or even allowed to make decisions on voting or having a tattoo, for example — it is, therefore, immoral to think that they can make such life-changing decisions at such a young age. “As a society, we are called to protect children, and these guidelines and the culture they are embedding in primary schools is achieving the opposite.”

A Department for Education spokesman defended the child's rights and said the parents shouldn't be worried as teachers are there to guide them. “We recognize that issues relating to gender identity can be complex and sensitive. Schools are best placed to work with parents, pupils, and public services to decide what is best for individual children — and what is best for all others in the school," said the spokesman.

Studies have shown that kids have a strong sense of their identity early on with one study finding that kids can experience gender dysphoria as early as 7. A study by Kristina Olson, a psychologist at the University of Washington, tracked 85 gender-nonconforming children between the ages 3-12 and found that those who transitioned already had a strong sense of their identity, reported The Atlantic. “This study provides further credence to guidance that practitioners and other professionals should affirm — rather than question — a child’s assertion of their gender, particularly for those who more strongly identify with their gender,” said Russell Toomey from the University of Arizona, who studies LGBTQ youth and is himself transgender.

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