A Peel secondary school presentation aimed at combating sexual harassment taught students that stoicism, self-sufficiency and physical and mental toughness can be traits of “toxic masculinity.”
Local parent Tom Ellard confirmed to Juno News that the photo was taken at Loren Park Secondary School in 2023. A student took the photo during a presentation at the school and passed it along to him.
At the time, Ellard was the chair of Libraries not Landfills, the initiative that exposed the large-scale destruction of books at Peel District School Board. He told Juno News that kids would often share things going on in their schools.
“Kids would be like, take a look at that!” he said.
Apparently, the training doesn’t intend to attack masculinity in its entirety, just the “societal standards for masculinity that can be harmful for males and general society.”
The trouble is that these traits are ordinary, statistically male-typical traits that also show up in military, trades, sport, emergency work, and fatherhood. The way the school board conceptualizes “toxic” masculinity treats adherence to those traits as needing to be sniffed out and eliminated.
The training is part of the Peel District School Board’s official Consent Culture program, which has included “toxic masculinity” as a teaching topic for many years.
It was created after student walkouts and complaints about how the board handled sexual harassment and assault. And unsurprisingly, this comes from the board’s anti-oppression and equity apparatus.
Once “toxic” is defined by ordinary male traits, you have successfully pathologized being a man.
Ellard, who is now running for city councillor in Mississauga, told Juno News that he’s been an advocate for education for a long time.
“I’ve been in education advocacy all along. It’s what drives cohesion in our society, makes good citizens, and provides us with a common foundation. Right now, we’re not fulfilling that mandate, and that concerns me,” he said.
Some researchers agree with Ellard. Surrey University Sociologist Emily Setty has warned that “toxic masculinity” as a slogan can alienate the very boys educators are trying to reach.
Peel’s slide even admits that the language they’re using “may sound demeaning to males.”
Boys already underperform girls on several school metrics. Adding a narrative that core male-typical traits are a social hazard is a high-risk pedagogical choice.
One might blame the Peel board, but it is currently under provincial supervision because of its poor governance and financial management. At least we can say that those setting the tone now are the province.
As for Ellard, he says he hopes slides like this one will help raise awareness of what goes on in schools under the banner of equity.
“That slide is pretty consistent with the overall teaching around how I would say that they’ve approached their DEI mandate.”
“When you finally see these presentations, you go, whoa, what are we teaching our kids?”
The Peel Region District School Board did not respond to a request for comment.
So these communists prefer men to be whiny, snivelling, little victims.