The headmaster of a prestigious school for boys in Sydney has criticised woke culture and “victimhood” within the education and media sectors, in response to a wave of media articles targeting single gender schools.
“Sections of the government and the press seem intent on deriding independent boy’s schools with any story they can concoct, invariably referencing the kind of clickbait memes that tantalise memetic cliches, such as toxic masculinity linked to stories on single-sex schooling, or elitism linked to stories on school fees and funding,” he wrote.
The headmaster then elaborated on how “toxic masculinity” had become a theme of “progressive extremism.”
“To be clear, any kind of toxic behaviour is bad, whether by males or females in single-sex or co-ed schools,” he wrote.
“However, the practice of linking toxic behaviour to masculinity is to malign all males, such as linking oppression to the West maligns all Western countries as oppressive.”
Mr. George also noted that there was bias in the criticism of private single-sex schooling as similar government-run schools seemed to avoid scrutiny.
“The underlying agenda against the straw man of white privileged males has fuelled the creation of the term toxic masculinity and the religious fervour it subsequently generates,” he wrote.
Headmaster Criticises’ Wokeness’ and ‘Victimhood’
At the same time, Mr. George said the term “wokeness,” which used to be a heightened awareness of social and racial injustices, had degraded into a movement of “complaint and victimhood.”“Wokeness often appears driven by a spirit of complaint rather than hope, as compared with the more hopeful and proactive stances of previous social justice movements,” he wrote.
The headmaster’s remarks come after reports emerged in recent years that hundreds of women had allegedly been sexually assaulted at schools.
The petition occurred not long after the high-profile sexual assault allegations of Brittany Higgins made headlines and became a national topic.
“In recent years, the discourse surrounding social grievances and identity politics has undergone significant transformation,” Mr. George wrote.
“This shift, often termed as ’the age of victimhood,' is marked by a distinct focus on microaggression and a departure from the approaches of traditional civil rights movements.”
Mr. George then highlighted the importance of distinguishing between the suffering of real victims, and the illegitimacy of victimhood culture.
“The emphasis of victimhood within wokeness may lead to a lack of agency and a dearth of effective leadership, as characterised by a narrative focused on external blame, and its demands can potentially stifle self-empowerment and internal leadership within communities,” Mr. George wrote.
“There is a world of difference between those who suffer violence and abuse, and those who experience ideological incongruence.”
