The return to parliament in the fall of 2023 was marked in Quebec by a scuffle over the toilets at school. Far from the concerns experienced by young trans and non-binary people, which have been discussed, this type of sterile debate based on approximations only accentuates stigma and prejudice. If we must debate these questions, let us hope for a little more rigor and nuance in the discussions.
A return to facts is necessary, to burst the bubble of surrealism which enveloped the political class last week. These are security issues that prompted the Iberville secondary school, located in Rouyn-Noranda, to opt for mixed sanitary blocks made up of fully enclosed cubicles, from floor to ceiling, and located in a glass corridor. Issues of gender diversity are therefore not at the origin of this change, as the debate has led us to believe. Yes, the neutral cabin will resolve safety issues, but, if necessary, it will also offer young trans and non-binary people a gender-neutral space.
Does bullying at school mean anything to you? We have carried out entire intervention and awareness campaigns so that schools are equipped to counter these acts of violence perpetrated against children, all profiles combined. That a school makes the safety of its students one of its priorities by better arranging sanitary spaces should not drift into a partisan ideological debate, disconnected from the concerns on the ground.
In recent months, the school has been plunged into the deep end of Wokism, which we now accuse of dipping everything into nothing. The proponents of a rumor which maintains that the school leads an ideological mission on gender theory now sound the alarm at the slightest anecdote, often contributing to distort reality and create a crisis where there is none. not. We saw these champions of a certain conservatism agitating around story time led by drag queens or even the way of challenging Mix Martine, a non-binary teacher. Each time, going back through these stories showed that the political and media hype had far exceeded reality. Have we learned nothing from Bouchard-Taylor? These wise men demonstrated, in 2008, that the vast majority of “scandals” with the flavor of reasonable accommodations had in reality been blown out of proportion or completely distorted, particularly by the media, fueling controversy against a backdrop of fiction. It seems that we are currently witnessing the same phenomenon.
In addition to the media, politicians have the responsibility to let nuances control their reactions and their speech, to calm things down. Why didn’t the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, simply have the reflex to campaign for a certain perspective and a time of examination before saying no, mixed toilets, “we don’t want to go there”, contrary to what his own ministry advocates? Why did the leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, add fuel to the fire by asserting that “many ideologies of the radical left […] are imposed” at the moment and that the National Assembly must get involved? Fortunately, voices called for calm. “The debate is polarizing for no reason,” said the Minister responsible for the Status of Women, Martine Biron. “Politicians should leave these children alone,” added the spokesperson for Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.
It is to him that the merit goes to having recalled the essential: trans and non-binary children, however minor they may be within school and society, nonetheless experience dramatic realities. These young people have been shown to be a particularly vulnerable group and are at risk of psychological distress, suicidal ideations and attempts, self-harm and verbal, physical and psychological abuse. Discussing support measures for these children should not lead to further ostracization of them! It seems that we are totally falling into this trap.
Questions of gender identity force us to reflect as a society, but we must do so in conditions conducive to evolution rather than regression. If the attempts at inclusion proposed by certain schools and based on science transform in public debate into a militant commando to impose an ideology on schools, we will not have made much progress in terms of inclusion and respect for differences. However, this is one of the school’s key missions, and it has proudly defended it over the years, as evidenced by all the awareness and education campaigns around sexual orientation and stigma suffered by LGBTQ+ communities.
We have heard calls for democratic debate, parliamentary commissions and seen the Minister of Education relegate the examination of these questions, as delicate as they are important, to a scientific committee. Whatever form the reflection takes, it must be based on facts and contribute to serving trans and non-binary young people in a spirit of openness and inclusion.