Teachers are telling schoolboys that displaying traditional gendered roles in a family could lead to them committing rape, a bombshell report has claimed.
The report from the Family Education Trust (FET) found that almost a third of schools that it surveyed use relationship and sex education classes to teach pupils about ‘toxic masculinity’.
In one schools’ teaching materials on the subject, children are told that while masculinity ‘in and itself is not necessarily a harmful thing’ certain masculine traits can be be seen as ‘problematic’.
Another presents a ‘pyramid of sexual violence’, which suggests that certain minor behaviours such as ‘displaying traditional gendered roles’ may develop into other examples of ‘gender-based violence’ such as flashing, groping and even rape.
The FET said that such lessons are teaching pupils about a ‘problematic new ideology’ that presents the idea that ‘boys and men possess traits that are inherently negative for society’.
Teachers are telling schoolboys that displaying traditional gendered roles in a family could lead to them committing rape, a bombshell report has claimed (Stock image)
One slide teaching pupils about the concept presents a ‘pyramid of sexual violence’, which suggests that certain minor behaviours such as ‘displaying traditional gendered roles’ may develop into other examples of ‘gender-based violence’ such as flashing, groping and rape
The report, titled ‘Boys and the Burden of Labels: An examination of masculinity teaching in schools’, surveyed 303 secondary schools and academies across the country, asking whether they taught the concept of ‘toxic masculinity’ in lessons on relationships and sex education.
It found that of the 197 schools that responded, 62 confirmed they were teaching lessons on ‘toxic masculinity’.
A total of 10 schools also admitted that they were teaching that ‘men and boys possess traits that are inherently toxic and negative for society’.
The FET were also shown a range of teaching materials that the surveyed schools used for lessons about ‘toxic masculinity’.
The report stated that these resources often portrayed masculinity ‘exclusively through a feminist lens’ and ‘on occasion this was overtly political’.
One slide from a lesson on ‘toxic masculinity’ states that while ‘masculinity in and itself is not necessarily a harmful thing…the way that masculinity is traditionally defined in society can be problematic’.
It adds that certain masculine traits ‘can be limiting for women, girls and other people who don’t identify as men who are not expected to display these traits’.
Another slide also informs pupils of the difference between ‘toxic masculinity’ and misogyny. It states that ‘ordering a man a beer without first asking what he wants’ as an example of ‘toxic masculinity’, while ‘trying to control what your girlfriend wears’ is seen as misogynistic.
One slide from a lesson on ‘toxic masculinity’ states that while ‘masculinity in and itself is not necessarily a harmful thing…the way that masculinity is traditionally defined in society can be problematic’
Another slide also informs pupils of the difference between ‘toxic masculinity’ and misogyny
The reports adds: ‘There was a strong emphasis that traits such as strength when inhabited by men could very quickly lead to misogyny.
‘Anyone can display toxic behaviour, but schools are confusing behaviour taken to extremes as the standard archetype of masculinity.’
It also stated that ‘versions of the “pyramid of sexual violence” was also presented in several resources’.
This was shown on one teaching slide, where examples of certain attitudes such as believing in ‘traditional gendered roles within the family’ were seen at the bottom of the pyramid, while crimes such as flashing, stealthing and even rape were towards to the top.
The report states that this presented ‘the idea that a man displaying ‘traditional gender roles within the family’ might go on to commit rape’.
Summarising its finding, the FET said that it beleived ‘children and young people should be encouraged to view themselves beyond the narrow confines of their protected characteristics’.
It also called on schools to teach topics around sexual violence ‘holistically, without pathologising either sex as inherently “good” or “bad”‘.