Why do the rights of one trans pupil trump the rest of the school’s?

After I wrote about the madness of gender-neutral toilets in last week’s Mail, I received a truly extraordinary email.

It was from a woman whose daughter is around the same age as my own (15/16) and who, like her, attends an all-girls’ school in a busy metropolitan area.

the end of the summer term had, she explained, seen the school welcome a new girl who, it quickly transpired, was not only a rather troubled individual with a history of self-harm and drug use, but also biologically male.

this child, now self-identifying as female, was to be treated as a girl, according to their wishes, and in all aspects of school life allowed access to female-only areas, including loos and changing rooms.

Not only did the pupils and staff have no say in the matter — the decision had been taken by the school’s senior leadership team — any suggestion that there might be anything even vaguely untoward about this arrangement was met with deep disapproval and, of course, accusations of discrimination.

Parents weren’t notified of the circumstances surrounding the new arrival. No letter of explanation, no consultation, no attempt whatsoever to enlist their views.

Doubtless this was done to protect the rights and privacy of the child involved. But what of the rights of an entire year group of teenage girls not to be watched by someone who is biologically a member of the opposite sex in the changing rooms? Do they really not matter at all?

there are many reasons why parents such as myself send their daughters to an all-girls’ school.

for me, it’s not just that girls often thrive better academically in singlesex environments; it’s also that — and this is especially true in urban areas — an all-girls environment offers a buffer from the distractions and, in some cases, unwanted intrusions of male attention.

But for some parents, from certain religious backgrounds especially, it’s more fundamental.

As my reader explained, many of the girls at the school were children of observant Muslim families. How would they square that with the knowledge that their daughters might be getting ready for Pe alongside a biological male?

As a snapshot of where our PC obsession is leading, this case is quite illustrative. Here is one child — one single child — whose needs have been prioritised over those of an entire school. Under such circumstances, it’s hard not to feel that common sense is losing the fight.

As my reader said, the parents of this school are not a bad bunch. Certainly not bigots of the kind who would condemn a person with gender dysphoria to a life of misery.

But tell them that they must change their way of life and beliefs to satisfy the needs of a tiny minority, and they start to feel a little uneasy. test their tolerance to beyond the point of reason, and they will get upset.

this is how cultural divisions develop and deepen, and this is exactly what is happening on this issue of gender neutrality.

BECAUSE there is little or no tolerance or scope for compromise on the part of the campaigners; they simply cry bigot the second anyone questions their dogma. And people who would otherwise be very sympathetic find themselves becoming less and less well-disposed.

Despite what twitter’s professionally offended would have you believe, British people are naturally openminded. We rub along very well with other cultures and traditions. But challenge our values of common sense and, make no mistake, we will push back.

Quite simply, no teenage girl in Britain should be forced to undress in front of someone who is biologically a boy. We are a nation with a proud tradition of women’s rights — and no creed or cult, however fashionable, is going to undermine that.