Theatre Visit – PSHE

Mr Slater writes:

Before half term we welcomed a theatre group, AlterEgo, who performed a play called ‘Unacceptable’, which was watched by students from years 7, 8 and 9. The topic of the play was on sexism and how gender stereotypes and sexist attitudes can lead to more sinister behaviour such as sexual harassment. The performance centred around a young man being challenged by his friends about his use of sexist language both socially and on-line. Helping him to realise the kind of toxic culture he was reinforcing as well as the impact it had on women he cared about. It contained some very powerful and challenging messaged which were well received by the students.

Students were asked to complete an evaluation form anonymously on Show My Homework. One response showed the impact the play had on a student:

“It really opened my eyes to a deeper view on sexism and I did know that sexism is bad and a few meanings towards it but it really shows me how deeper it is than just making a comment on someone’s gender and being disrespectful. It also made me think of the times where I have heard sexist comments being made towards someone or myself and just left it instead of talking to someone about it because I didn’t know how serious it could be. I also knew about sexual harassment but I never knew that it was a form of sexism. for example, I have heard a lot of people say ” You’re a girl, you can’t do that,” and “that’s so girlie man up,” to me and other people and I never really though much of it but it did affect me in some ways.”

In order to uphold our ‘Trinity Together’ values we need to lead the conversation on what is unacceptable, and be prepared to challenge attitudes and behaviours that prevent students from feeling safe or respected. Through interventions like this we can provoke empathy from our students which can help create an inclusive and accepting atmosphere in school.