UK teacher brands pupils ‘despicable’ in gender row
A British schoolteacher has accused her Year 8 students of holding “despicable” views and threatened to report them, after they suggested that there can only be two genders, according to a recording posted online.
The 3.5-minute audio, which was uploaded on Tik Tok, was captured during class at Rye College in East Sussex, one of ten primary schools run by the Aquinas Trust, which is linked to the Church of England. British media reported the incident on Monday.
During the lesson, the unidentified teacher can be heard arguing with two girls over the idea that there can be only two genders. One of them says gender is linked to biology, and that she expects that view to be respected, just as she respects different opinions on the matter.
The teacher replies that “it’s just not an opinion” and tells the children that there are three biological sexes, including intersex, and that “there are lots of genders”.
As the students insist otherwise, the teacher declares: “You were talking about the fact that cisgender is the norm, that you identify with the gender of the sexual organ you were born with, or you’re weird. That’s basically what you’re saying, which is really despicable”.
She then accuses the students of being homophobic, which they vehemently deny. The exchange heats up further, with the teacher stating that a person’s gender identity “is not an opinion” and declaring that “if you don't like it you need to go to a different school.”
“You need to have a proper educational conversation about equality, diversity and inclusion because I’m not having that expressed in my lesson,” she adds, after stating her intention to report the students to a superior.
“I understand the point the teacher was attempting to make,” a parent of one of the students, who received the same lesson, told The Telegraph. “What bothers me is the shutting down of debate in such a threatening and aggressive manner, which I don’t believe is appropriate in an educational setting.”
A spokesman for Rye College told the media that it was “committed to offering our pupils an inclusive education.” Teachers encourage students “to ask questions and engage in discussion” and aim to answer “sensitively and honestly,” according to the statement. The school said it was reviewing the incident so that such events would not reoccur in future.
