Oct. 5, 2016
Jackie Hong
Thestar.com
Overview:
On September 27th, a University of Toronto professor, Jordan Peterson, drew the ire of many when he published a Youtube video entitled, "Professor against political correctness: Part 1". In the video he argues against Bill- C16, an act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Acts, which protects gender identities. Specifically, he criticizes laws about the expression of gender neutral identities, by saying "I don’t know what 'neither' means, because I don't know what the options are if you're not a man or woman. It's not obvious to me how you can be both because those are, by definition, binary categories. There’s an idea that there’s a gender spectrum but I don’t think that’s a valid idea, I don’t think there’s any evidence for it.” He also adds that the idea gender is different from biological sex is just "a politically motivated and ill-informed opinion."
In the later part of the video, he contends that he will reject a non-binary gender student if s/he asks him to use a "gender- neutral" pronoun. He said,“I don’t recognize another person’s right to determine what pronouns I use to address them. I won’t do it.”
This video started a rally outside of U of T's Sidney Smith Hall on Wednesday to protest the professor's comments on gender identities. Riven Thorne, a member of the rally, told The Star that it was “shocking that someone (who) literally does not believe in your gender and in your pronouns is teaching and is able to educate other people when they need, themselves, to be educated.” Riven isn't a student at U of T, but she was furious when she heard about the video and joined the rally. Another attendee, Arden Chow said, “People don’t seem to understand what a big effect refusing to use someone’s pronouns has on them, it can really mess them up.”
When The Star confronted Peterson, he was unapologetic. He said that the rally is mainly criticizing him for denying non- binary genders, but he claims that he only refuses to use the proper pronouns for non- binary gender people because they don't exist in the standard English language.
Opinion:
The protest on U of T campus was caused by a professor’s refusal to give recognition, and use pronouns for non- binary genders. The anger from the protestors and others can be well understood since gender identity and recognition has been a continuous struggle across the world. He believed that the choice of personally addressing someone is part of the “freedom of speech”. However, this only serve as an excuse for him to adhere to his opinion about gender, surely, he has the freedom to say anything to his students, but he also has to face consequences and inevitable criticisms for making offensive comments.
His way of thinking is due to the traditional values and understanding of sex and gender. However, he also showed strong stubbornness when many criticized him, which I believe to be caused by arrogance. The arrogance as a professor who believed to fully understand the English language, he believed that gender and sex are the same thing, that you can be either male or female. However, he passes over the fact that sex and gender are drastically different. Sex refers to the two biologic options that you are born with, you can neither be male or female; on the other hand, genders can vary, not just the binary genders, but also non- binary and neutral.
Beyond this, he even stated that he will reject someone who asks him to use the right term for their gender. This act is very humiliating towards non- binary gendered persons and others, because it means that he doesn't accept who they are. This is as if he were to refuse to call a Jewish student, Jewish, simply because he doesn’t believe in Judaism. He later told the protestors that they are missing the point of the video, which doesn't conceive the fact that he deeply disrespected many genders. There is supposed to be a mutual respect between teacher and students but sometimes professors don’t show the kind of respect they should.
Therefore, I think the professor should start by admitting his mistake, and then delete the video that he posted which made the inappropriate comments. He should make a new video to unreservedly apologize to the non- binary gender students and protestors, or talk to the media.
Civics Blog Success Criteria
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Success Criteria
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I have reviewed many headlines and articles and I have chosen one that permits me to answer many prompt questions and discuss pertinent issues related to our course content and society.
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I have ensured that both of my sections are complete and meet the minimum expectations for content.
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I have paraphrased and used direct quotations, cited properly, from the entire original article to ensure I have conveyed the author's content/intentions in my own words.
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I have taken a stand on the issue, but respectfully and empathetically explained multiple perspectives towards the issue.
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I have used the prompt questions to help enhance my opinion and make original suggestions about possible solutions to the issue or relationships that exist between my story and other issues in society.
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I have edited my article for spelling and grammar and ensured that each item is formatted properly.
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Civics Blog Rubric
Name__________________________ Blogs: ___ ___
Criteria
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Mark
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Level 4 (10-9)
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Level 3 (8-7)
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Level 2 (6)
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Level 1 (5)
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Required Elements (K/U, A):
Entry contains ALL of the required elements, and each is complete and clearly identifiable.
Date, Hyperlinks, Newspaper Title, Article Title, Author,
Photo and photo description, Overview and Opinion clearly identified)
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/ 10
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High degree of effectiveness
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Considerable effectiveness
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Some effectiveness
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Limited effectiveness
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Understanding:
Summary provided suggests an excellent understanding of the article MINIMUM 250 WORDS.
Does not include YOUR opinion, but clearly conveys the intention of the original author, IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
Goes far beyond simply summarizing the article’s lead paragraph and completely explains all aspects of the original work.
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/ 10
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High degree of effectiveness
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Considerable effectiveness
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Some effectiveness
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Limited effectiveness
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Opinion (T&I)
Opinion presented shows an excellent level of understanding and effort MINIMUM 300 WORDS.
Clearly considers and mentions multiple perspectives on the topic/issue and goes far beyond the obvious commentary.
Uses many of the prompt questions provided to generate ideas and makes perceptive inferences related to other societal issues.
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/ 15
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High degree of effectiveness
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Considerable effectiveness
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Some effectiveness
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Limited effectiveness
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Communication
The responses are presented extremely well throughout BOTH segments, with proper spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Avoids run-on sentences and fragments, and clearly portrays a high level of attention to detail.
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/ 10
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High degree of effectiveness
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Considerable effectiveness
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Some effectiveness
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Limited effectiveness
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Overall (application)
-Excellent and organized overall presentation/order/format (title is largest, font style is consistent).
-Thoughtful choice of photograph.
-Excellent choice of article/topic that is very conducive to creating an intriguing opinion section.
-Success criteria checklist is completed accurately.
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/ 5
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High degree of effectiveness
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Considerable effectiveness
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Some effectiveness
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Limited effectiveness
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/ 50
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