2.5.2 Gender: Being non-binary or transgender I understand that a wide range of different kinds of friendships and relationships exists. HWB 2-44a I am aware that positive friendships and relationships can promote health and the health and wellbeing of others. HWB 2-44b I recognise that how my body changes can affect how I feel about myself and how I may behave. HWB 2-47a I know that all forms of abuse are wrong, and I am developing the skills to keep myself safe and get help if I need it. HWB 2-49a rshp.scot

Binary means one thing or the other. Boy = Male Girl = Female Binary means one thing or the other. rshp.scot

Non-binary describes a person who doesn’t feel they fit into the idea of being just a boy/man or just a girl/woman and so they don’t want to use these words to describe themselves. A non-binary person does not want to change their sex, they want to be who they are without having to be seen as a boy/man or girl/woman. rshp.scot

My name is Charlie. My favourite things are to play with my friend Layla and my two dogs Salt and Pepper. When I was born the doctors said I was a girl, and that’s true that my body says I’m a girl. But I don’t think of myself as a girl. I like to keep my hair cut short, and I don’t like to wear dresses or things like that. When I was born, my parents called me Charlene. I like to be called Charlie because it’s not really a boys name or a girls name. I’m good at football. At school they say I have to play in the girl’s team because they have separate boy and girl teams – I don’t like that, I think I should just be able to play for the one football team. Sometimes people can be mean, but I just get on with it, people just need to see me as Charlie. rshp.scot

My name is Robin. I would say that people sometimes don’t understand me very well. They look at me and they think ‘oh, that’s a girl’, but then they look again and think ‘oh, why’s that boy wearing girl’s clothes?’. It seems like people get upset or confused because I want to be me and wear clothes I like and do things I like to do. My Mum gets it, she helped me be confident about thinking about me as being a unique person. I do like to do sports stuff, but I never wanted to just play with the boys. Well, some days I feel more like being with the boys and being like a boy, but most days I am happy being me and playing with girls and boys. I don’t think its fair that there are so many rules about being either a boy or a girl. rshp.scot

When it comes to gender, you are unique When it comes to gender, you are unique. We have already learned that there are lots of ways to be a boy or a girl. You can feel that your gender is boy/man or girl/woman, but some people can feel it is not like that for them, instead a person can feel more comfortable saying their gender is non-binary. rshp.scot

Transgender (sometimes people just say Trans) describes people who feel that the sex they were given at birth doesn't match how they feel inside. For example, someone who was born as a girl, but has always felt like a boy. Or someone who was born as a boy, but has always felt like a girl. Sometimes a trans person will want to change their bodies. Sometimes a trans person will decide to keep their body as they were born, but live as the gender they want to be seen as, so they might change their name or their clothes or hair. rshp.scot