Fitzroy High School in Melbourne has recently launched Australia’s first ever accredited subject that addresses gender inequality and teaches students about the various issues surrounding sexism.
The subject, which has been titled Fightback: Addressing Everyday Sexism in Australian Schools, consists of 30 classes which will teach students about topics such as the media’s representation of gender, statistical differences surrounding the pay gap, and the link between gender equality and domestic violence.
The subject will be made up of a series of modules exploring issues such as sexist language and students will also have access to various resources such as videos and presentations on gender equality.
The idea for the subject was started by a group of students who claim they were sick of gender discrimination within their school.
These students formed a group named The Fitzroy Feminist Collective and would regularly meet to discuss their frustrations regarding gender equality. With some guidance from teacher Briony O’Keeffe, this group gradually developed a teaching resource which has since been approved by the Department of Education.
Nia Stanford, a student at Fitzroy High School has spoken out about what the subject means to her, stating:
“It’s not teaching kids to be feminists, or a political ideology, it’s teaching kids about gender inequality and that it does exist.”
O’Keeffe has also spoken out about the school’s new subject and how it will be aimed at both male and female students.
O’Keeffe hopes the introduction of Fightback: Addressing Everyday Sexism in Australian Schools will encourage young people to think more critically about “sexist behaviours they might either engage in or see on a daily basis.”
However O’Keeffe has also commented on the amount of criticism that the school has already received due to their inclusion of the new subject in the curriculum.
She noted that many online groups have assumed the subject will “promote misandry” and that “a few men’s rights websites” had even compared them to the KKK.
However it seems that the people complaining about the subject haven’t looked at the subject’s online resource, otherwise they would know that the subject also explores the ways that men suffer from sexism in addition to covering various other forms of discrimination experienced by both men and women.
Image via The Fitzroy Feminist Collective official Facebook page.
