American Critical Theorists “Encourage” Pupils to Change Sex at Prestigious UK Private School

A London school charging £26,000 a year in tuition fees has been lambasted by parents after two American critical theorists were invited to speak to pupils about undertaking a sex change. 

The prestigious St Paul’s Girls’ School, which saw 97.9% of its pupils achieve an A* GCSE grade in 2020, invited Princeton University psychology graduate students Stats Atwood and Ashley Jordan to discuss the TransYouth Project, a longitudinal research study of 300 boys and girls aged 3 to 12 living as the opposite sex. As noted on the project’s website, the study aims to “help scientists, educators, parents, and children better understand the varieties of human gender development.”

After the talk had been conducted, parents were informed in a school newsletter that Princeton University’s research into the mental health of children living as the opposite sex was “of the utmost importance in light of the recent ban on hormone therapy in Arkansas for under-18s.” Led by critical theorist and psychologist Kristina Olson, findings from the study indicate that transgender children did not exhibit confusion or oppositional feelings with regards to their gender identity, and rates of depression and anxiety exhibited themselves only at marginally elevated rates when compared to control groups of non-trans children. The findings, however, contradicted those of other studies which found that transgender people, in general, presented a high prevalence of clinical depression, anxiety, and somatisation.

Speaking about the researchers’ visit, one parent asserted: “I am furious about this,” asking: “Why were these researchers invited to talk to the girls about ‘trans youth’ at the school, where there is already an issue with girls wanting to become boys?”

“Some staff have suggested that girls who say they want to become a boy should be seen at England’s NHS gender identity clinic, which until recently used to give drugs to girls under the age of 16 to suppress their puberty, with who knows what consequences.”

However, the school’s high mistress Sarah Fletcher said several girls had asked to be called by male names and to wear male clothes under the schools “gender identity protocol.”

“There has been a small number of students over the past few years wishing to use gender-neutral pronouns or expressing a desire to explore transition. In each case, our response has been respectful, child-specific and pastorally sensitive. The talk was organised jointly by two student societies, the Science Society and Spectrum, our LGBTQ+ Society. We have a proud tradition of encouraging students to invite speakers on a whole range of issues. The talk was simply a presentation of Princeton University’s research, which is already published and in the public domain. There was nothing about encouraging girls to seek transition.” 

The high mistress continued to note the school’s “wonderful group of counsellors and pastoral staff who work closely with both students and parents on such matters” while affirming that the school would “always advise parents to refer to specialists outside the school” over the issue of transitioning. 

In recent years, the number of children wanting to change sex has risen sharply. In 2009, 40 girls under 18 were referred to doctors for gender treatment in England, a stark contrast with 2017 when the number had risen to 1,806. In December 2020, the UK high court ruled in favour of a ban on the administration of puberty blockers to children under the age of 16 after a case was brought against the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust by Keira Bell. Bell, a recipient of puberty-blocking drugs at the age of 16, said about her treatment:

“I think talking therapies when you’re under-18 are always going to be more beneficial than immediately putting yourself on life-altering drugs that are going to affect the rest of your life and I wish that’s what I had for example. At the time, I thought it was the best decision I was making, it’s a time will tell sort of situation because nothing else will indicate whether you will stay on that pathway for the rest of your life or not.”