“They think joking about it was OK because their own teacher was telling them it was OK.”
An Anglican school in Australia is facing criticism after a group of male students were asked to rate girls on certain qualities that included attractiveness, virginity and on being a “strong Christian” during a Christian Studies classroom exercise.
The year 10 boys, aged 15-16, were separated from female peers and asked to allocate points to qualities they would look for in a girl at St. Luke’s Grammar School in Sydney.
During the lesson, a slide had been projected onto the whiteboard with a points system ranking the qualities they deemed important “for a long-lasting relationship.”
The points system was as follows:
- Six points: popular, loyalty, good looking/attractive, intelligent, strong Christian, kind and considerate, virgin, trustworthy
- Five points: physically fit, easy to talk to, fun/sense of humour, wise
- Four points: sporty/sexy, goes to church, honest/doesn’t lie or cheat, similar interests to you, friendly
- Three points: well dressed/groomed, artistic, good manners, good pedigree, ambitious goals, hard-working, great kisser, owns a car
- Two points: right height, good at school, brave – stands up for rights, socially competent
- One point: favourite hair colour, favourite eye colour, has money, sincere and serious, generous, adventurous, similar beliefs, cares for the world, comfortable even in quiet moments.
Some of the boys laughed about the exercise afterwards, dubbing it “build a bitch” (possibly in reference to the TikTok-loved song of the same name).
“They think joking about it was OK because their own teacher was telling them it was OK,” one student told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The girls they had been separated from, said to be “disgusted and really offended” by the task given to their male peers, instead were given a series of articles on avoiding casual sex and the importance of retaining virginity until marriage.
Following outrage from parents and students, headmaster Geoff Lancaster sent an apology letter.
In it, he promised to oversee future Christian Studies lessons and said he had spoken to the teacher involved – a member of the Anglican clergy – about his poor judgement.
“He is very sorry for the offence he has caused and saddened to think that the way this discussion was framed has upset our students,” the headmaster wrote.
“This term the students have been looking at the complex issues of consent and toxic masculinity and contrasting the negative images portrayed in society with God’s plan for strong, healthy relationships where people respect each other as equals.”
Lancaster also told the Sydney Morning Herald that “despite the best efforts to teach respect, healthy relationships, gender equality, consent and inclusivity” the school doesn’t always get it right and that the incident was a good example of how “the very best intentions can go terribly wrong.”
