A class assignment from the Peel District School Board in Canada purports to “challenge your perspective” while demanding students blindly accept that able-bodied straight White cis-gendered males are all evil oppressors.
The assignment is about “isms”: Ageism, classism, ableism, sexism, faith as an ‘ism’, heterosexism, and racism. These “isms” only exist when they are coupled with “power” which is defined as “the ability to exert control and influence over others.” It goes without saying that this assignment defines straights, Whites, the able-bodied, and men as the only ones with “power,” and how these nefarious monsters define themselves as “normal” in order to oppress everyone else while concomitantly not even noticing they are doing it.
Unsurprisingly, all these “isms” are declared to be interconnected; in other words, “Kyriarchy.” So, according to the assignment, you have to oppose everything they tell you to oppose in order to not be an oppressor (assuming that you are not a left-handed transgendered queer Inuit midget on welfare…).
Some of the highlights include:
- Declaring that thinking “she’s too young to make an informed decision” is ageist bigotry.
- The middle class being valued as “normal” while poverty is a state to look down upon, is classist bigotry.
- That believing that not being disabled is normal is ableist bigotry.
- That believing that boys and girls are not the same is sexist bigotry.
- That being heterosexual is the normal sexual orientation for most people is heterosexist bigotry.
- Recognizing that Canada’s culture and society come from White Western European societies is racist bigotry.
- The assignment then requires the students to explore their own “isms” and in effect repent their privilege for homework.
The full assignment can be seen below.
Unit Test Question – The Isms – 2012
Hat Tip: Socialist Studies.
