University Calls Declaration of Independence ‘Sexist
The University of Minnesota has labeled the Declaration of Independence as a document with “embodied sexist policies,” according to a report form Libs of TikTok.
According to screenshots of a module shared by the social media account, the university’s teaching said, “The Declaration of Independence embodied sexist policies by excluding women in both its language and policies.” It shared an image of the founding document and read, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal … “ while inserting “and women” in the text.
The module also provided definitions of “gender” and “sexual orientation.” It further shared a “knowledge check” from the module, which asked students to match definitions with the correct term.
Meanwhile, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has a Declaration of Independence exhibit that “situates the Declaration of Independence in its historical moment and contextualizes the actions of the founders of the new republic,” an event website reads.
This is not the first time the university has been exposed. In 2023, a University of Minnesota professor called on students during a “teach-in” panel to “dismantle” and “decolonize” the United States. “It’s our responsibility as people who are within the United States to go as hard as possible to decolonize this place because that will reverberate all across the world,” the assistant professor stated, adding that it is their responsibility because the “U.S. is the greatest predator empire that has ever existed.”
Last year, the university warned against a “whiteness pandemic,” which was described as a “centuries-old culture” featuring “colorblindness, passivity, and White fragility, which are all covert expressions of racism common in the United States.”