Monday 16 October 2017

Is the UK going mad?

I haven't been spanked this weekend. Unfortunately. Just wanted to make that clear so that anyone who's popped in for spanking can save time:) No, we've had a weekend doing DIY stuff for our son and there has been neither time nor leftover energy or, for that matter, controversy unless you count disagreeing over carpet colours.

However, browsing the newspaper late on Sunday I noted that our GP's are going to start asking all of us to declare our sexual orientations. Yep the powers that be need to know whether we're straight, gay, lesbian, homosexual, transgender, whatever, so that they can treat us all equally or something like that. WTF is that all about then, I mean I go to me GP if I have a pain I can't work out by myself, how does it help him to know my bedroom preferences? And who else will get to know? And what the hell has it got to do with them anyway? 


I told P about it, he already knew, he said it was entirely in keeping with this government's behaviour.....we're allowed to change our gender just by saying it, John Lewis is stocking clothing and other stuff which will not carry a gender identifier so, eg it won't be 'girls dresses' it will be 'childrens dresses', a boarding school in the South East which 50/50 boy/girl, is going to stop segregated lodging and 'boy' kids will be allowed to wear dresses and wear makeup to events like proms, companies are starting to have shared toilets...etc etc, it goes on.

I said is it just us, are we falling behind with a changing society, a changing world? He said no not at all, it's just the guys who are pushing all this stuff are mad and authorities that go along with it because they're frightened of not being politically correct are mad too. We, and loads like us, are the sane ones, he said. And if Doc ever has the temerity to ask me for my sexual orientation I shall say neutral, which of course he won't have tick box for and I shall refuse to explain, and I suppose he will put 'declined to answer' if he has a tick box for that. Or perhaps 'refused to co-operate'.........perhaps they'll have a tick box for that in years to come and god knows what that will lead to. Needless to say, my husband is a bit anti these sorts of things. I suppose I am too but I'll probably just tell the truth if and when I am ever asked.

I do think it's a bit mad though.

Have a good week.

Ronnie

xx
    

25 comments:

Roz said...

Hi Ronnie, good grief, seriously? I can't believe how crazy PC mad we have become. I can't get my head around that you can 'chose' what gender you want to be.

Hugs
Roz

Eric51Amy49 said...

Eric and I just had this conversation! My GP had a similar question on my latest round of forms so under "other", I wrote "yes". I'm clear on my orientation but I didn't like the question. Eric says I should have written "sexually fluid", like it's something today but could change at a moments notice. Neither of us liked the questions.
Amy

Black&WhiteAccademy said...

attraverso amici in comune sono arrivata qui, cercherò di tradurre i testi per leggere e seguirti con piacere, un abbraccio

Our Bottoms Burn said...

I think your husband's explanation is dead on.
...it's just the guys who are pushing all this stuff are mad and authorities that go along with it because they're frightened of not being politically correct are mad too.

James Stephenson said...

I think until a year or so back I would have just told them 'hetero', then I probably went through a more stroppy phase when I might refused to answer. Now i'm thinking I might get more of a kick from making them sit there for twenty minutes while I give them lurid examples of my varied sexual fantasies and let them try to figure out how to describe that on their records. Pretty sure they wouldn't ask a second time, which is a shame because I'll probably have thought of some more by then.

Glenmore said...

If it's the government then they are only thinking about one thing- how can we tax them.Once something becomes popular and enjoyable
they tax it! I hope they are not thinking of introducing a spanking tax

Hermione said...

That's ridiculous! It should only be required if there is a sexually-related problem.

I also wonder about the Boy Scouts of America now admitting girls. What about the Girl Scouts? Why don't girls just join that? Will they (Girl Scouts) start admitting boys? then What's the point of two separate organizations?

Hugs,
Hermione

PK said...

Yes it sounds like your government is going nuts. I'm so glad it's not only our government that's losing it f-ing mind!

an English Rose said...

HI Ronnie, it's bonkers! I would love to put spanko, but I am not likely to :(
love Jan, xx

Aimless Rambling said...

I don't remember seeing that question but with 45 in place, I'm sure it won't be long. Maybe I'll put Martian - would I be deported as an alien. I wonder.

Government gone wrong - on both sides of the pond.

Ella said...

Well, this question has produced a veritable soapbox of opinions. I am fairly sick of all the PC shit that we are supposed to swallow. I am dead set against removing historical statues in case they just might offend someone. It is history, dammit!

If we have to change the laws and the history books every time someone gets their feelings hurt, well I am glad I am the age I am. At least I won't be around as this trend becomes the norm!

And don't even get me started on revisionist interpretation of Shakespeare's plays. THAT JUST DRIVES ME FUCKING CRAZY!

Ella Venting!

Anonymous said...

I hadn't heard of this, (being from the U.S.) and so I looked up the BBC article. Honestly? Everything you brought up sort of seems to have been addressed, along with an explanation of why the information is relevant, though the article admitted that while it can be highly relevant in some cases, it can also be totally irrelevant in others........ and that it could very well play out that way in practice.

The main reason for doing it at all seems to have nothing to do with "being PC" but to ensure that alternative orientations receive proper care, which the article stated has not been the case in the past. So if answering a question helps get people who have not been treated well in the past, fair healthcare, what's the problem? It is very easy for people who have not been discriminated against to not appreciate what discrimination means. (Just ask most conservative Americans. They are the WORST about this, loudly voicing strong opinions on stuff they themselves have never experienced.)

And, for those a bit private, it said that answering the question is in no way mandatory. So .....forgive me but......is this really a big deal?

Rosie Jones said...

I read this in The Telegraph this morning. It has come from NHS England but the Family Doctors Association has described it as “potentially intrusive and offensive,” Most of us would describe it as a load of rubbish, I think.
Rosie xx

Emerging Lurker said...

Kdpierre, you articulated my thought better than I could have. Thank you. I have teams friends and I don't think they are choosing a gender, they just want to be treated in a way that is consistent with what they have always known themselves to be. When the 2 don't match I think it takes a great deal of courage to speak up. EL

Dragon's Rose said...

I answer that stupid question with another question. What is your preference? Then I let the over friendly nurse know that it has nothing to do with my care at the clinic. When they ask about guns in the home I say none. It is the truth at that moment. My weapon stays close by.

opsimath said...

I could hardly this latest wheeze from the gov't, especially when the NHS is already on its knees and unlikely to last much beyond its 70th birthday.

Please DO NOT tell them! If my GP should ask me this I shall tell him that if he does not want a stand-up argument I will pretend I hadn't heard him -- this is an outrage.

This creeping authoritarianism, which started when they began asking about your ethnicity, must stop. I refuse to answer any questions about ethnicity, tobacco, alcohol or diet and you should too!

Never yield an inch because they are after a mile. This entire thing is just so wrong!

ronnie said...

Roz - Seriously. There have been some boys wearing dresses to school already. Thanks.

Amy - I don't like the question and I said I would answer but thinking about it I wont. Thanks.

Angeloblu - Grazie.

OBB - Thanks. I'll tell him.

James - I love that. Thanks.

The Glenmore - God forbid if they did that. Thanks.

Hermione - Indeed it is. I'm sure I heard somewhere that there is talk about letting girls joining the boys scouts. Thanks.

PK - It seems Governments across the world are all mad. Thanks.

Jan - You should do it. I'd love to see my doctor's face if I did. Thanks.

SG - Martian LOL that's a good one.

Ella - I'm not liking our Government at all and the sad thing is, there is no oposition. I wont mention anything about Shakespear's plays:) Thanks.

kdpierre - Yes I know what the article said. The doctors association has said it can be pottentially intrusive and could cause offence to many. I cannot see this helping people who have been discriminated or have had poor healthcare in any way. My opinion. Thanks.

Rosie - Me too. Thanks.

EL - Thanks. As I said to kdpieere, I can't see this helping the people who they say they want to.

Dragon's Rose - I agree, in my opinion has nothing to do with care they are or will receive. Thanks.

Opsimath - Hello. I agree agree and the more I think about it the more I don't like it. Thanks.

Love,
Ronnie
xx

MrJ said...

I guess you could rather tick several boxes.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely mad....political correctness is ridiculous in this situation. Everything is stored electronically, and any computer can eventually be hacked... What sheer folly, and just imagine how much it cost to add this extra information, in terms of programming and error checking...
MAD, simply Mad (the idea)
bottoms up
Red

Cat said...

I agree with P. So blasted tired of politically correct and the rest of the nonsense. I would just refuse to answer.

Hugs and blessings...Cat

ronnie said...

Red - Thanks. I agree that it will cost money. Our NHS is on it's knees and could do with all the extra funding and personnel they can get.

Cat - Thanks. I'm thinking now I wont give an answer.

Love,
Ronnie
xx

ronnie said...

Mr J - Yes, if you had to fill form in yourself you could tick all the boxes:)

Love,
Ronnie
xx

Katie said...

Hi Ronnie, :) I agree- just another way for a government to butt into everyone’s business! (No pun intended, but it works!) It’s happening all over the place these days, and it makes me crazy!

I agree about PC going too far. If people spent less time going in and on about things, and more time looking for ways to be kind, and help each other, we’d all be in a much better place! Glad that you won’t answer! HA- re: ticking all the boxes! Many hugs,

❤️Katie

Anonymous said...

Oh Ronnie, I wish I had found this earlier in the week when your other readers were commenting. I have thought about this so much in the last few months and I have so many thoughts swirling around. Firstly,in relation to being asked my sexual orientation at the GP surgery, I also balked at that to begin with. All I could think of was my poor elderly mother. But then I began to get the impression that it was really only something to be recorded once on initial registration, a bit like religious affiliation is recorded when you go into hospital (so that they can provide support if appropriate) and I thought perhaps it was not such an intrusive or a bad thing.

But much more interesting to me is your railing against school uniforms. Six months ago I might just have quietly agreed with you. But... since August I have been teaching a pupil who, on first meeting, I really couldn't determine a gender for. I thought it might be a boy (clothes, name) or a girl (hair, behaviour, associations). Around the same time,I watched a programme about gender neutral schooling. I was so against it to begin with and then changed my attitude so utterly and completely by the end of the programme. That followed on from thinking about school uniforms during the hot days of summer when some English schoolboys started wearing skirts to school. My initial reaction was negative - but then I thought about my own experience. Thirty years ago I went to a secondary school where girls were banned from wearing trousers. We fought against it (sexism!) and today girls all over Britain can choose to wear trousers or skirts depending on their own preference. When women first started wearing trousers a hundred years ago it horrified the general public. Today nobody thinks anything of it. Most girls and women wear trouser styles which are distinctly feminine. However, two of my female colleagues choose to wear styles which are much more gender neutral. No-one bats an eyelid. My male colleagues and my male pupils don't have that choice. Perhaps, by making male children conform to a very stereotypical male dress code we are actually accentuating feelings of discomfort in their skin. Perhaps,if like the young "boy" I mentioned earlier,they were just allowed to wear skirts or trousers without anyone making any assumptions whatsoever,they could grow into themselves in a much more accepting way.

Like you, my initial prejudice was against such a change. Prejudices are not necessarily a bad thing. They help us to make judgments without having to rethink the whole issue through each and every time. But perhaps this is in fact a prejudice that we should all reconsider. A hundred years ago there was a near universal prejudice against women wearing trousers. Some brave (stupid?/PC?/dangerous?) people challenged that prejudice. In Saudi Arabia today there is a prejudice against women driving. That prejudice is now being eroded. Maybe today it is time for us to challenge the prejudice that allows women and girls to dress in feminine, masculine or gender neutral clothes but that doesn't accord boys and men the same freedoms that our great grandmothers fought for and won. It might make the world an altogether kinder place.

ronnie said...

Katie - Thanks. Anon has some good points if you haven't read them. I agree with you about more of us helping each other.

Anon - Hello. Its a valid point of view and hadn't looked at it from a teacher's angle, equalling things up in a good way would be positive but the idea of boys dressing as girls and wearing makeup, sharing unisex toilets and dorms with girls still seems wrong as it opens up all sorts of potential sexual perversions (of course the perception of what is a perversion might change too) and promiscuity surely. It seems fraught with potential dangers. I think too much too soon. Thanks.

Love,
Ronnie
xx