A women’s group has called on the Department of Education (DepEd) to scrap sexist themes and gender stereotyping in its learning modules, saying that such “backward and dangerous ideals” have no place in the new normal.
Gabriela deputy secretary general Joan Salvador said that the DepEd should reorient its learning modules to a “progressive education” that values people “regardless of their gender.”
“Within only a week of classes in the ‘new normal,’ the Department of Education has revealed not just how disastrously unprepared they are for the resumption of classes—they come to us with backward and dangerous ideals as well,” Salvador lamented.
“Not only are their existing modules verifiably littered with numerous errors, they contain a breadth of sexist and misogynistic lessons, too,” she said.
Several screenshots of DepEd’s modules containing themes of gender stereotyping have recently made the rounds online.
In the modules, men were described to be “strong, logical, and brave” while women were “weak, dependent, and fragile,” among other things.
Salvador said these should not be the values parents will want to teach their children. Women should not be considered “weak, feeble, and voiceless,” she added.
“There is a pressing need to not only expose but completely eradicate these forms of sexist stereotyping in our educational system. These ideals, drilled into our children’s heads early on, are what shape individuals who value women as less than human compared to men,” Salvador said.
The women’s rights group asserted that such values have profound consequences for women. Although the statements in the learning modules may seem harmless, “these ideals reduce our children’s perception of humanity to mere stereotypes.”
Salvador said that under these so-called values, men are pressured to be stoic, to never show their emotions, and to assert their authority over women. On the other hand, women have to limit their own potential to give way to a patriarchal society.
But such stereotyping isn’t only destructive to an empowered society, it also impacts children of LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning) parents.
“A strict gender binary is enforced in this process, and the diverse and colorful identities of our LGBTQ+ children are completely erased and shunned, leading to often traumatic experiences of our children being forced to conform to gender stereotypes,” Salvador said.