Teach them chess instead

Want to play the most boring game on the planet?

Iiiiiiiit’s Pronouns Pairs!

The Scouts have been encouraged to use gender-neutral language and to drop the terms “mum and dad”. Members have been encouraged to guide children through a card game called “Pronoun Pairs”, which has been devised as a way of teaching them about gender identity.

The game uses the character of “Billy the Butterfly” who is “non-binary” to introduce LGBTQI+ concepts to children.

If Billy is “non-binary” why the fuck is his name Billy? Why not Leslie or Alex or Terry?

The game, which has been branded “indoctrination” by critics, coaches youngsters to use gender-neutral pronouns, and a post-game reflection led by older Scouts suggests other ways in which language could be altered.

This suggests “using ‘sibling’ rather than ‘brother or sister’, ‘everyone’ instead of ‘ladies and gentlemen’ or ‘boys and girls’”. It adds: “You could use ‘parent’, ‘carer’ or ‘grown-up’ rather than ‘mum and dad’.”

But what for? Children who have one or two adoptive or step parents may not want to call them mum or dad, but why does that require teaching children in general about alternatives to the usual words?

For the sake of making a fuss, no doubt.

A guide to the Pronoun Pairs game, on the Scouts website, advises adults: “By taking part in this activity and learning about pronouns, we can celebrate the inclusion and diversity we’re so proud of. 

The game itself is played by turning over cards which depict Sam the dog, who uses “he/him” pronouns, Leslie the ladybird, who uses “she/her” pronouns, and non-binary Billy, who uses “they/them” pronouns. When the cards are turned, children must form a sentence about the character in question using their preferred pronouns, with an example given for Billy as “they ate a sandwich”.

When the game is over adults can talk through the lessons of the game with the Scouts.

Dear god. Have you ever heard of a more boring game in your life?

H/t Acolyte of Sagan

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