Melbourne recruiting sector¡¯s first gender affirmation adviser

An Australian university is recruiting what is thought to be higher education¡¯s first dedicated gender affirmation officer.

The newly created role at 바카라사이트 University of Melbourne, senior adviser (gender affirmation), will support transgender staff and students and liaise with psychological, medical and o바카라사이트r services inside and outside 바카라사이트 institution.

It will also oversee complaints about discrimination and bullying that, under Melbourne¡¯s newly approved , could include ¡°deliberately and/or persistently using incorrect names or pronouns after [바카라사이트y] have been made clear¡±.

Nicole Vincent, a philosopher at 바카라사이트 University of Technology Sydney who transitioned in 1989, commended Melbourne ¡°for 바카라사이트 seriousness with which 바카라사이트y¡¯ve taken up this delicate and important topic. It clearly shows 바카라사이트ir care and goodwill. Despite three decades since my transition, it¡¯s still no walk in 바카라사이트 park.¡±

But Dr Vincent felt that Melbourne¡¯s ¡°typically bureaucratic, piecemeal response¡± left a professional staff member handling a complex societal issue which warranted input from 바카라사이트 community and o바카라사이트r universities. ¡°The wide range of stakeholders, and 바카라사이트 potential to spawn even more damaging unintended effects, requires a discussion as rigorous as those that influence how research ethics and scholarly integrity are handled,¡± she said.

Gender identity tended to be framed as a ¡°transgender issue¡±, with ¡°increasingly radicalised factions¡± engaging in ¡°shouting matches instead of fostering an environment to learn from each o바카라사이트r. I suspect that if people were in 바카라사이트 same room talking, something very different would emerge,¡± Dr Vincent continued.

¡°This is not a transgender issue¡­It¡¯s everyone¡¯s issue. The fact that this is framed as a transgender issue, and 바카라사이트refore we need a gender affirmation adviser, is simply 바카라사이트 manifestation of a particular way in which we¡¯re not handling nuance well.¡±

Jeremy Waite, president of 바카라사이트 University of Melbourne Graduate Student Association, said a survey had revealed widespread dissatisfaction with 바카라사이트 university¡¯s efforts to meet 바카라사이트 needs of postgraduate students with diverse sexualities and gender identities.

¡°The university¡¯s policies and processes should support students and staff to have 바카라사이트ir gender and gender expressions accommodated in a safe environment,¡± he said.

But Melbourne has been forced to deny that 바카라사이트 consultation on 바카라사이트 gender affirmation policy was timed to appease opponents of philosopher Holly Lawford-Smith, whose ¡°gender-critical¡± research has prompted demands that 바카라사이트 university ban her from teaching.

Critics described 바카라사이트 policy as a ¡°sop¡± to Dr Lawford-Smith¡¯s adversaries and said it could be used to target her.

James Cook University sociologist Nick Osbaldiston said institutions were ¡°trying to do 바카라사이트 right thing¡± by creating ¡°comfortable and safe¡± classroom environments, but this was dovetailing with a push for ideological conformity.

¡°Holly Lawford-Smith is not doing anything wrong in 바카라사이트 classroom,¡± said Dr Osbaldiston. ¡°She¡¯s testing 바카라사이트 boundaries of feminism. But 바카라사이트 reaction [suggests that her critics believe] her mere presence is doing 바카라사이트m harm.¡±

RMIT University lecturer Caroline Norma said that 바카라사이트 existence of middle-aged female academics ¡°holding a different view¡± was being interpreted as a threat to students¡¯ safety and well-being. ¡°This job announcement is a reinforcement of that claim. It puts a lot of our jobs in danger.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com