A primary school in south‑west London has made a smart and progressive move by featuring Elliot Page – alongside Harry Styles – as positive examples of masculinity in their curriculum. They’ve used Page to show that masculinity isn’t just about grit or toughness, but can include softness, emotional literacy, and empathy.
Headteacher Sarah Wordlaw explained on Teachwire that the approach aims to challenge toxic masculinity not by demonising it, but by offering wider, more inclusive visions of what being male can look like. She wrote:
If the first time we teach and name masculinity is calling it toxic, that could do more damage… It is extremely important to teach about positive masculinities.
Having both Elliot Page and Harry Styles in the teaching materials helps illustrate the point: that caring, expressive, emotionally aware people can and do embody masculinity – even if their biological sex or history differs from starker stereotypes.
Why this is brilliant:
- It normalises emotional range in boys, reflecting neurologically diverse, non‑binary, or gender‑fluid experiences.
- It expands public understanding of masculinity beyond cis, rugged caricatures, saying: softness is human too.
- Including a trans man (Page) and AMAB non-binary/pop-culture figure (Styles) emphasises masculinity’s spectrum in a school setting – a powerful counter to the usual cis-hetero default.
If you want to lean into critique: some educators worry that featuring a trans man as an example might leave cis boys thinking masculinity isn’t for them – or miss the deeper lesson that gentleness and empathy are masculine possibilities too. But word on the ground suggests the staff have seen improvements in pupils’ emotional literacy and advocacy.
How this relates to me
As a non-binary AMAB (Assigned Male at Birth) eunuch, different models of masculinity are inspiring when they chime with my own feelings about masculinity.
Early examples of masculinity were not positive – my dad was aggressive and authoritarian, as was his father: not examples of masculinity that I felt comfortable with.
I felt inspired when I read the article by the courage teachers continually demonstrate in challenging stereotypes and the imagination they show in the ways they choose to challenge. It’s a stark contrast to the world I grew up in.
I hope that it offers acceptance from other children – and adults. Visibility is risky, but worth it.
Given that children have to be taught to hate, teaching them acceptance and love brings hope to the world.
References
Eunuchorn 
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