A new lesson plan teaching secondary school students that Joan of Arc was “non-binary” has sparked a strong backlash from academics and women’s rights advocates. Included in Who We Are, an anthology by publisher Collins for UK students aged 11 to 14, the material states:
Joan of Arc (1412–31) is today considered by some to have been non-binary.
The lesson is part of a broader “educational” unit focused on drag queen Amrou al-Kadhi’s memoir Life as a Unicorn, and introduces forced, made-up examples of gender diversity in history, including Joan of Arc, ancient Mesopotamia, and the hijra community in India.
Critics argue that labeling Joan of Arc as non-binary is historically inaccurate and offensive. “Joan of Arc fought as a woman and died as a woman,” said Robert Tombs, emeritus professor of French history at Cambridge. “To call her something else is insulting to her and indirectly to all women who are brave enough to risk their lives for their beliefs – as if women are incapable of heroism.”
Carolyn Brown of the Women’s Rights Network echoed the sentiment, calling it “another ridiculous example of attempting to rewrite history,” adding, “It’s insulting to suggest that non-conforming women are not women.”
Brown referred to the UK’s Supreme Court, which ruled against “non-binary” being included as an option in passports. In her words:
It’s also another example of the junk science of queer theory being visited on children. It’s unhelpful psychologically to children’s development and is likely to cause confusion and anxiety.
