Audio From Canada School Showing Teacher Saying 'Gender Exists on a Spectrum' Sparks Controversy

An activist in Canada shared audio on Monday that he wrote on Twitter "grooms children to reject their parents' views." The audio was recorded in a seventh grade classroom, during which gender identity is being discussed.

The audio was posted by Chris Elston, who uses the online nickname Billboard Chris. He's firmly opposed to the concept the class was addressing—that, in the teacher's words, "gender exists on a spectrum" and is not necessarily what's assigned at birth. The teacher can also be heard commenting that "parents and grandparents may not be as informed about these topics" as the students.

Elston shared the audio in a YouTube video where he also discussed his opposition to the lessons being discussed with his producer. In the video, he said, "The assumption as a fact, as a scientific fact, that there are all these other identities...This is an ideology. Right? There's no science behind this. This is an idea that's been created by some activists, and it's now being presented to children all over the country as though it's just scientific fact."

On his Twitter account, Elston further criticized the class, at one point writing: "It's not enough just to be a kind kid. They have to be activists fighting for social justice, scoring woke points. Great indoctrination!"

Below is his original tweet about the audio. He made several other comments about it in this thread and elsewhere on his account.

He revealed the recording came from the father of a 12-year-old, seventh grade student at Bowmore Road, a public school in Toronto that teaches students from kindergarten to eighth grade. The video, posted on his "Billboard Chris" YouTube account, is a little over an hour and 12 minutes long, while the audio recording from the class is approximately 30 minutes.

The voice of a male teacher is heard in the audio from the class. He states at the beginning that his preferred pronouns are he/his/him, and tells the students "there are a lot of identities that exist between the male and female identity." A video is also played during the class. Audio picked up from the video indicates different scenarios are acted out to exemplify various gender identities, and states people may express themselves as "male, female, a blend of both, or neither."

"Gender ideology teachings like this are dangerous, because they're often the starting point which leads vulnerable kids down a medical pathway which starts with puberty blockers, and continues onto cross-sex hormones and surgeries," Elston wrote to Newsweek when reached for further comment. "Gender nonconformity is great, but it doesn't mean that children are actually the opposite sex."

He also wrote: "Our media refuses to report about thousands of children coming to medical harm, so I took this into my own hands and I'm traveling the country, wearing my signs, and having conversations on the street with Canadians. This is child abuse and we have to speak up."

While many comments on his Twitter posts support his activism, others felt he was overreacting to the Toronto class lesson. One person wrote, in part: "Honestly I see little to object to in this lesson."

On his YouTube page biography, Elston states, "I'm a father of two girls and I decided to take a stand against gender ideology. Children should be free to be who they are—not indoctrinated to believe they were born in the wrong body." On his personal website, he further discusses his crusade against teaching that gender is a social construct to children.

Elston also firmly supports Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who some feel has disparaged transgender people with comments about birth-assigned gender. He even seemingly took up the title of "Billboard Chris" due to him putting up a "I ❤️ J K Rowling" billboard in East Hastings, Vancouver. That billboard was splattered with paint and eventually taken down.

Newsweek contacted Bowmore School for comment but has not heard back as of press time.