Nova Scotia Grade 7s instructed on chest binders, prosthetic genitals by trans group
True North has obtained a classroom presentation delivered to a Grade 7 class in Nova Scotia in which students were shown chest binders, prosthetic genitals and other gender-transition items.
True North has obtained a classroom presentation delivered to a Grade 7 class in Nova Scotia in which students were shown chest binders, prosthetic genitals and other gender-transition items by the Halifax-based organization The Youth Project. Parents say they were not notified that sexualized or medicalized content would be included.
The Youth Project - Introduction to Sexuality and Gendern.pdf
The presentation was delivered during regular instructional time. Slides from the session outline topics such as “power and privilege,” “confidentiality,” “gender euphoria,” and “gender-affirming care,” encouraging students to explore gender expression through changes to “hair, clothes, makeup, and jewelry,” and later in life through “puberty blockers, hormones, and more.”
A parent of one of the Grade 7 students posted publicly that children were given “verbal information and physical demonstrations” of the gender transition which caused “uncomfortableness and confusion.” According to the parent, presenters also invited students to join them in their youth programs, saying they could “come play video games like Mario Kart.”
Among the items offered by The Youth Project free of charge to youth include chest binders, groin packers, trans tape, tucking underwear and prosthetic breasts.
The parent said that their child left the room in distress and was pressured to return after a staff member compared their discomfort “not liking fractions.” “My child responded that there are many ways to learn fractions but ‘I do not want to learn this,’” the parent wrote, adding that the students were eventually allowed to work in separate rooms.
“There was no prior notice, email, or consent forms given by the school board, school, or teachers that this presentation would be taking place,” the parent wrote. They added that the same presentation was scheduled for Grade 5 and 6 students the following day, again with no clear explanation beyond “youth project.”
The slides instruct students that “gender euphoria (celebration!)” can come from changing one’s pronouns or gender marker, and that some identities carry “power and privilege” while others are linked to oppression. Students are encouraged to be “allies” who “genuinely love and support the community,” and to challenge behaviours such as “misgendering and deadnaming.”
True North has previously reported that The Youth Project’s website linked youth to adult retailers selling kink accessories and sex toys and offered instructions for obtaining binders, packers, breast forms, and tucking garments with discreet shipping.
The organization provides services in Halifax, Cape Breton, the Annapolis Valley, and outreach across the province. It is listed as a community partner in Nova Scotia’s Integrated Youth Services network, overseen by IWK Mental Health and Addictions.
PrideHealth — a program of Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health — confirms that its online tool for accessing hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery, and legal transition was developed in partnership with The Youth Project and the Halifax Sexual Health Centre.
True North previously reported that The Youth Project’s website linked to adult retailers that sell kink accessories, sex toys, and other explicit products.
Parents involved in this week’s incident say they want transparency and clear parental notification requirements when external groups present material involving sexuality and gender transition.
The South Shore Regional Centre for Education has not responded to repeated requests for comment.