Brisbane state high school using banned gender tool

A CONTROVERSIAL curriculum resource, banned in NSW, that teaches teens they can identify as “genderqueer” or “two-spirit”, is being used in a Brisbane state high school.

A CONTROVERSIAL curriculum resource, banned in NSW, that teaches teens they can identify as “genderqueer” or “two-spirit” is being used in Queensland classrooms.

The “Genderbread Person” teaching tool – a cartoon figure with a rainbow brain that teaches students about the “infinite” possibilities of their gender – is being used at Mitchelton State High School.

The resource – available at it’spronouncedmetrosexual.com – tells teenagers their gender is not binary.

“It’s not either/or. In many cases, it’s both/and. A bit of this, a dash of that,” it says, alongside graphs on which students can plot where they sit on a spectrum of gender options.

The Genderbread Person descibed on the itspronouncedmetrosexual.com website.

The Courier-Mail understands the teaching resource has upset a number of parents at the school whose children complained they were confused by the gender studies lesson.

The Genderbread Person was used in NSW as part of the state’s Crossroads program but was scrapped last year.

A Queensland Education Department spokesman said the Government did not know how many schools were using the resource because it did not keep data on specific gender diversity programs.

This morning a departmental spokesperson said there would be no move to stop the school using the resource, saying parents were given the choice to opt their children out.

“Mitchelton State High School uses the Genderbread Person resource as one small component of Resilient Individuals who Strive for Excellence (RISE), a program that focuses on student wellbeing, including social and emotional learning,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“Programs like this assist schools in cultivating a supportive and inclusive culture for students.”

But Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the Government needed to “show the Genderbread Person the door”, adding: “If kids aren’t confused about their sexuality before being taught this program, they will be afterwards.”