Parents ‘appalled’ at New Jersey gender identity lessons

Parents in the US state of New Jersey have expressed outrage at controversial sex education lesson plans promoting radical gender ideology.

In ‘Pink, Blue and Purple’, a proposed lesson for six-year-olds, teachers are instructed to tell students that ‘gender identity’ is based on how they feel.

Maria DeMaio-Esposito, a mother of two, said she is “appalled” at the curriculum.

Parental concern

According to the lesson plan, gender identity means you can “feel like you’re a girl” despite being male, and vice versa. It also suggests a child might feel they are “a little bit of both”.

Ten-year-olds will be taught that “they can basically stop their body from going through puberty” by taking highly controversial puberty-blocking drugs.

Paula McCarthy-Mammana expressed her fear that her granddaughter will be “bullied and harassed” if her family decides to opt her out of the lessons, while another mum added: “No kid should have to talk about sex with their elementary school teacher”.

Puberty blocker risks

A recommended video encourages children to take puberty blockers, to allow “more time to explore how you feel about your gender before your body starts to change”, and claims the “effects of the medication are only temporary”.

However, during a High Court case in the UK in 2020 experts warned of the long-term risks of the drugs, including infertility, reduced bone density, and potentially harming brain development. They explained that medics are failing to warn children and their parents about these risks.

Current NHS guidance on puberty blockers states that “little is known about the long term side effects”. Until 2020, it asserted that the drugs’ effects were “fully reversible”.