Latest news with #SusannaRustin
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
A nuanced approach to ageing, sex and gender
Born in 1976, I am around the same age as Susanna Rustin and the generation of 'middle-aged, gender-critical women' who believe that their biological sex should underpin and define their rights (Why is there such a generational divide in views on sex and gender in Britain?, 5 June). I am not one of those people. Forty-nine years' experience of living in a female body in a world deformed by class, caste and economic and racial inequality – never mind environmental destruction – has only made me wonder quite why it matters so much to some people. A truly progressive society should be moving towards seeing the person first, both beyond and in profound recognition of their politicised identities. One can see biological sex as both fundamental and immaterial at the same time. As I approach 50, it's clear to me that it's possible to hold both these thoughts simultaneously. My menopausal womanhood matters as it gets in the way of things I want to do in life. But there's no way it matters to me above all else, and there's no chance it gets in the way to a greater degree than the various effects of social and economic inequality. It is a fallacy to suggest that trans inclusivity is more compatible with capitalism than with collective liberation. If the Progress Pride flag is flown from a corporate building – a rare sight in my experience compared with the rainbow Pride flag – it's not because it 'suits them', in Rustin's words, to shift attention away from class politics towards individual expression. Perhaps younger people better understand that corporate interests don't engage with class politics anyway, so how's a flag going to hurt anyone? I was born with breasts and ovaries, and still have them; I have given birth twice. These facts have had undeniable effects on my life – but so has the disadvantage of my class of birth and the continuing advantage of my whiteness. If I were to look at every aspect of my life through the prism of my reproductive organs, I would be limiting the possibilities of looking at the multiple effects of all those factors in the whole – the effects of which can only lead one to conclude that they are human, a person, first. It's called intersectionality, and that term was come up with by Kimberlé Crenshaw, who was born in 1959. Lynsey HanleyLiverpool Susanna Rustin lists several possibilities for why gen Z are more likely to advocate for the inclusion of transgender women in single-sex spaces. One thing she did not mention is that it may be due to the personal relationships that this demographic is more likely to have with transgender individuals, and how much more easily it is to sympathise with the struggles of those we know. As an older member of gen Z, I have had two openly trans peers in my cohort during my time at university, my former neighbour was transgender, and now in my workplace I have a transgender colleague. This resembles the norm – a Guardian article from June 2022 suggests that 50% of British gen Zers said they knew at least one transgender person. I would argue that gen Z more openly fights for the inclusion and protections of transgender women because we're more likely to see them as truly women, rather than 'self-identifying' individuals, due to our personal connections with them. To me, my trans female colleague would intrude on my bodily privacy the same amount as my cis female colleague would. As always, I implore others to seek out the voices and stories of transgender people if knowing them personally may be outside your generational demographic, so we can better empathise with this often scapegoated BarkerCamelford, Cornwall Thank you for such a well-written and clearly argued article by Susanna Rustin. I am pleased to see the Guardian publishing this piece. It is very important to be able to speak openly about these important issues and engage in frank but respectful debate. I completely agree with the author and would also add that with age comes experience, a certain weariness, a generally more nuanced outlook on life and a deep understanding of how embodied our experiences are but also anger – anger that hard-won women's rights, protections, dignity and safety can be so easily dismissed by so-called and address supplied Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Guardian
23-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
The trouble with T-levels and the academic/vocational divide
I am grateful to Susanna Rustin for her trenchant analysis of government failure to tackle the post-16 academic/vocational divide (T-levels are a disaster – and young people are suffering because ministers won't admit it, 17 March). While I agree that there is little evidence that T-levels are signalling the end of the 'second-class status' of vocational education, the problem is only partly the fact that T-levels are too hard (overreliant on outmoded written examinations) and too narrow (how many of us can honestly look back to being 16 and knowing which career we wished to pursue?). Equally significant is the underresourcing of further education as a Cinderella in the education system (how many ministers support their own children on to vocational qualifications?). As a governor of a large FE college, I know teaching staff and leaders are working hard to ensure that all students enrolled on T-levels thrive. However, they are simultaneously charged with solving the problem of those not in education, employment or training, and shoring up community adult education. The problem (specific to England) remains the outdated binary divide, with academic routes and qualifications occupying the privileged position and hampering efforts to offer student-centred accessible pathways. Way back in 1990, the Institute for Public Policy Research proposed a radical, all-encompassing British baccalaureate (not the half-arsed Rishi Sunak proposal of the same name). This was a modular single qualification, a replacement across the ability range for academic and vocational pathways. Its intention was to shatter the hermetically sealed inflexible systems that prevented 'academic' students from pursuing vocational interests, and vocational students from exploring academic areas of interest (beyond the thin gruel of GCSE English and maths retakes). It encouraged opportunities to mix academic and vocational modules in a common framework. I fear that if T-levels are the answer, we are still asking the wrong ButcherProfessor emeritus, Open University T-level bashing does not help recruitment. Some T-levels might not be working in some subject areas, but this is not true for all of them. For example, students on the T-level in digital production, design and development, where I teach, are well prepared for a wide range of careers in the digital sector. The problem we have is getting students interested in pursuing careers in digital. Sending the message that T-levels are a waste of time is not doing the sector any favours. This particular T-level course is better than the outdated BTec course it replaced. The content is more up to date and direct industry links are more visible. The approaches to teaching in vocational education make the course suitable for students who gain 4s and 5s at GCSE. All my students have gained 4s and 5s, some of them even 3s in GCSE English. All of them are navigating the T-level course with the support they require to achieve good grades. Universities are accepting this qualification as a route into many different computing-related courses. In some subject areas, T-levels might not fit the bill, but in others they are flourishing. Or at least they would be if the cloud of negativity was not being continually forced upon AhmedLecturer in computing and IT, Southport College Do you have a photograph you'd like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers' best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays.
