‘Men’s Week’ posters at Utah school sparks backlash, report says

A high school in southern Utah faced backlash after sexist posters emerged on campus as it kicked off its "Men's Week." (Google Maps)

A high school in southern Utah is under fire after several sexist posters were placed around the school Monday and surfaced on social media as it kicked off "Men’s Week."

The school-backed event at Snow Canyon High School runs between Oct. 22-26, and features events such as arm wrestling, dodge ball, and a Super Smash Bros tournament, The Spectrum reported.

Steve Dunham, the Washington County School District director of communications, said the posters were not school-sanctioned. They featured sexist and insensitive messages and were blasted on a since-removed Facebook post, according to the paper.

"What's a woman's point of view? The kitchen window," one poster read, according to the paper. "How do you blind a woman? Put a windshield in front of her," read another, with a third poster calling men the “superior gender.”

Dunham told the paper the posters were put in place when school was not in session. They were removed by faculty the next morning. He also said some of the photos shared on social media were posters from previous years.

Rik Andes, a parent at the school, told the paper that his daughter was “not happy at all with the posters” but also added that there was a school assembly that featured male faculty talking about the event and what he said was referred to as a celebration of "toxic masculinity."

"After explaining what she had seen, and after saying there were worse posters that she didn’t take pictures of, she just looked at us like she had no idea how such a thing could be happening, and we had no answer for her," Andes told the paper. "I personally felt at a complete loss to explain it, and my wife and I kept looking at each other, not knowing what to say."

Andes noted that he is not upset with the fact that there is a “Men’s Week,” but rather the "narrow definition of manhood.”

Dunham, who said the school also hosts a "Women's Week" in February, told the paper “people need to be more aware of what's happening in society before they choose an activity of this sort.”

"These types of activities are insensitive, and there's no place for them anymore," he said, adding that the school district plans to meet with other schools to make sure similar events and celebrations are not scheduled and eliminated.

In an email to parents on Tuesday, SCHS Principal Warren Brooks apologized for the “inappropriate” and “thoughtless” posters and said the rest of the event has been "reviewed and revised to be all-inclusive," according to the paper.