Elliot Page spoke about how classrooms and textbooks are painting a misleading picture of biology.
The 39-year-old actor believes biology classes are being weaponized to make it seem like “there’s something wrong” with queer and trans people.
He also believes human beings seem to be the only species to have such a “huge problem with trans folks.”
Highlights
- Elliot Page appeared on the TransLash podcast last week.
- The actor believes biology classes are being weaponized to make it seem like “there’s something wrong” with queer and trans people.
- He also said human beings seem to be the only species to have such a “huge problem with trans folks.”
- Critics responded to Page’s statements with transphobic comments.
Elliot Page spoke about how classrooms and textbooks are painting a misleading picture of biology
Image credits: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images
During an appearance last week on the TransLash podcast, Elliot Page argued that the way biology is traditionally taught can reinforce the idea that heterosexuality and cisgender identities are the only “natural” outcomes.
This paints queer and transgender people as deviations or exceptions to the rule, despite these identities having existed throughout human history, said the actor, who came out as a transgender man in 2020.
Image credits: TransLashMedia
“The natural world and what we learn in biology class in terms of it seemingly being this cis hetero-patriarchal... system... I feel, is used against queer and trans people in terms of us being made to seem maladaptive, like there's something wrong with us or we're some modern thing, which, of course, we know is not true,” Page said.
“We’ve been everywhere forever,” he added.
It’s like “there's something wrong with us or we're some modern thing,” the Canadian actor said on the TransLash podcast
Image credits: elliotpage
The Odyssey star believes the dominant cis hetero-patriarchal narrative is preserved to maintain a status quo that serves a certain section of society.
“We’re told and taught stories by those in power to uphold a status quo that serves very, very few. I don’t even think it serves those very few…” he said before adding that the “truth” is withheld “for obvious reasons.”
Elsewhere in the podcast, Page said trans individuals are “just constantly being gaslit by people, and it’s baffling.”
“Human beings are the only species that are ridiculous enough to seem to have a huge problem with trans folks,” he added.
Critics slammed the actor, saying, “Elliot Page demonstrates the mental health crisis in our country”
Image credits: ABCNews
Online reactions to Page’s comments saw significant transphobia, with many commenters rejecting the idea that biology education should change.
“A person who has become something which does not exist naturally in the real world says science & truth are targeting fantasy & lies,” one said.
Another wrote, “She is losing her last brain cell. Biology is science. It is facts. You are mentally ill.”
“They were never against until many trans just were so inappropriate. They don’t need to teach children about it I hope they get out of the educational system,” said another.
One wrote, “Biology is biology. There’s no arguing it out of existence just because you don’t want it to be true.”
“So instead of getting mental health help the world must change to accommodate their delusion and debauchery,” a hater wrote online
Image credits: elliotpage
“She wants the curriculum adjusted so no one feels ‘othered’… seems to be her activist position right after declaring basic biology a hetero- hate crime,” said one critic.
“[He] doesn't look very happy for someone finally in the right body. It needs help…” snapped one.
Researchers have found that introductory biology textbooks often contain inaccurate gender-based language
Image credits: AsapSCIENCE
Page’s argument about biology education reignited conversations about how gender and s*x*ality are taught to students.
Researchers have raised questions and concerns in recent years about how the subject is taught.
Image credits: CherylRobertsTX
One study found that introductory biology textbooks often contained inaccurate gender-based language.
The findings of the study also revealed that students, when asked to change questions to make them more accurate, would frequently replace gendered words like “man,” “woman,” “boy,” and “gender” with s*x-based terms like “male,” “female,” or “s*x.”
Image credits: Zarina Khalilova/Pexels (not the actual photo)
Another study examined six textbooks in four of the most popular states in the US: California, Texas, New York and Florida, and found that none of the books differentiated between s*x and gender.
S*x refers to biological traits (like chromosomes, hormones, and reproductive anatomy), while gender refers to how a person identifies themselves.
Misunderstandings taught to students in classrooms can someday become their justification for discrimination as adults
Image credits: Katerina Holmes/Pexels (not the actual photo)
Experts have further concluded that biology classrooms have a significant role in shaping how students understand s*x and gender.
When current “teaching paradigms” fail to acknowledge s*xu*l and gender diversity, students can be left with the misconception that LGBTQIA+ people are somehow acting against nature or “basic biology.”
These misunderstandings don’t just stay within the classroom. When students go on to become doctors, teachers, politicians, parents and other members of society, such beliefs can be reinforced or used to justify discrimination, researchers warned.
They argued that adopting more accurate and inclusive teaching practices, including using precise language, highlighting diversity, providing social and historical context, and exposing students to diverse role models, can help challenge harmful misconceptions about biology, s*x and gender.
“Teaching science and understanding bodies and organs is important,” one commented online
