A “non-binary” public elementary school teacher’s demand to be referred to as “Mx. Martine” rather than “Mr.” or “Ms.” has become a cultural flashpoint in Quebec.
Ecole de Richelieu principal Christine Derome wrote a letter to parents of grade five and six students informing them of one of their teachers’ “non binary” gender identity.
The letter explained that grade five and six teachers “benefit from a one-day reduction in their duties per cycle,” and that on these days, students will be taught by Mx. Martine Laviolette.
“Mx is pronounced ‘Mix’ and is the gender-neutral equivalent of ‘madame’ and ‘monsieur’, and is used among other things to refer to non-binary people (whose gender identity lies outside the male/female binary system) and people who simply prefer not to be addressed by their gender,” the letter said.”
The principal said she would be explaining the teacher’s naming preference to students on the first day, accompanied by a “discussion about openness, differences, gender names, etc.”
Derome added that “Mx Martine invites us to use the feminine to talk about her” as the gender neutral pronoun “iel” (French equivalent of they/them) is sometimes difficult to use due to the constraints of the French language. “It will be her pleasure to guide us through this learning process in a respectful and inclusive way.”
The letter was leaked and posted to social media, where it received strong backlash, which the school district subsequently told the legacy media included hateful, violent and defamatory comments, and that such comments led to the police being contacted.
Marie-Claude Huberdeau, general director of the Centre de services scolaires (CSS) des Hautes-Rivières, told La Presse that comments about the teacher were “of a violent, hateful, defamatory and intolerant nature in a way I’ve rarely seen.”
“And that’s unacceptable,”
Richelieu-Saint-Laurent police told La Presse they had opened an investigation into comments made online about the teacher.
“One or more parents shared the letter on social networks and there was a snowball effect,” said Sgt. Jean-Luc Tremblay. “In some cases, there was apparent aggression [in the comments], perhaps even of a criminal nature.”
Responding to the controversy, Quebec’s education minister Bernard Drainville said “let’s calm down now. There’s no reason to start insulting, intimidating and threatening anyone.”
Drainville did however not seem keen on embracing gender ideology, noting that he was “a little taken aback” when he first heard about the teacher.
“Do we need to think about a way of naming or calling a teacher or a member of the school staff who doesn’t consider themselves Mr. or Mrs.? Of course we need to think about that. And I’m going to think about it, but I don’t have an immediate answer for you on that.”
Parti Quebecois leader Paul St. Pierre Plamondon meanwhile said “please, let’s not come across attacks targeting one person. We don’t want to live in that kind of society.”
He however added that he would not be compelled to use gender neutral language. “No one is going to force me to call someone else “mx”. I’ve never heard of “mx”. I think that the French language, social conventions cannot be imposed by one person on everyone, all the time.”
“Suppose my gender identity wants me to be called Y or W, I can’t impose it on others.”
Conservative Party of Quebec leader Eric Duhaime also reacted to the teacher’s demands.
“Elementary school children will have ‘inclusive writing’ explained to them… Can’t the teacher just be called Martine, rather than Mx. Martine? Wokism is entering daycares and schools with full force. The CAQ is doing absolutely nothing to bring back common sense.”
In France, gender ideology language has also been the subject of mainstream controversy.
In 2021, France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron, a former teacher, called out French dictionary Le Robert after it added the gender neutral pronoun “iel” to its lexicon.
“There are two pronouns, he and she,” said Mrs. Macron. “The (French) language is so beautiful. And two pronouns are good.”
She added that “learning French is already difficult. Let’s not add complexity to complexity. It’s a cultural position,”
French education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer shared similar sentiments, “you must not manipulate the French language, whatever the cause.” Blanquer also said genderless pronouns are a woke expression.
