An ‘early child activist’ wants Father’s Day in Australia to be renamed ‘Special Person’s Day’ to be more “inclusive” to children in “special communities” who do not have fathers.
Australian academic Red Ruby Scarlet, convenor of the Social Justice in Early Childhood Activist Group, told todaytonight’s host that scrapping Father’s Day in favour of a non-specific ‘Special Person’s Day’ was not political correctness, but about “rights”.
“Why are they calling this political correctness when it’s in fact about our rights?” said Dr. Scarlet.
She claimed that “shifting the language around emotive days” makes school more “inclusive” to children from “special communities” including single parent families and same-sex parent families.
Host Rosanna Mangiarelli noted that a “growing number” of politically correct schools and kindergartens were adopting the move and asked the childhood activist what kind of feedback she was getting from parents and teachers.
The activist dismissed the backlash from parents who support traditional days honouring mothers and fathers saying: “[There has] not [been] a backlash from people in those [special] communities.
“It’s people outside of those particular contexts [who object the Special Persons Day].”
This is not the first time educators in Australia have attempted to wipe celebrations honouring traditional families or parental figures.
In May, Moonee Ponds West Primary School principal Jeff Lyon decided that his school would abandon Mother’s Day celebrations and mark the UN International Day of Families instead.
“I believe celebrating International Day of Families is a more inclusive way of celebrating the richness, diversity and complexity of living and loving as a family in the modern world,” said Mr. Lyon at the time.
The decision was later reversed following intervention by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, whose electorate includes the Melbourne school.
Leftists have raised opposition to other aspects of Australia’s culture in recent weeks with calls to change the wording on colonial-era monuments and to end the country’s national holiday, Australia Day, referred to by Aboriginal activists as “Invasion Day”.