A primary school in the U.K. is facing criticism for promoting transgender actor Elliot Page as an exemplary representation of “masculinity” to challenge traditional gender roles.
Formerly Ellen Page, the actor underwent radical trans surgeries and hormone treatments in 2020, and has since adopted the name Elliot Page.
According to the Daily Mail, London’s Streatham Wells Primary School is highlighting Page and gender-fluid singer Harry Styles as positive depictions of “softness and strength” within masculinity.
Streatham Wells headteacher Sarah Wordlaw claims her goal is to counter “harmful” masculinity.
Wordlaw expressed on the education platform Teachwire that teaching about harmful masculinity stereotypes is crucial. However, introducing and labeling masculinity initially as toxic might harm young boys more than help them.
“It is extremely important to teach about positive masculinities,” she added. “We need to encourage empathy, kindness, showing emotions, listening to alternative points of view and developing emotional literacy.”
“To do so we highlight well-known figures such as Harry Styles and Elliot Page. They show that masculinity can mean softness and strength, and everything in between,” she claimed.
Wordlaw’s proclamations and suggestions come on the tail of the impact from the sensationalist Netflix series, Adolescence, which continues to reverberate in the U.K.
The series depicted a white 13-year-old boy who stabs a female classmate to death because she would not pay attention to him. The series sent the controversial message that boys are toxically masculine in the U.K. and a danger to females. After the series became a hit in Britain, the government felt compelled to launch an anti-bullying, and ant-masculinity campaign in the nation’s schools.
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