Now schoolchildren are being told in English lessons that French heroine Joan of Arc was non-binary

Secondary school children in the UK are being taught that Joan of Arc may have been ‘non-binary’. 

The ‘Who We Are’ anthology, published by Collins, features a lesson plan which contains a biography of the French heroine which states ‘Joan of Arc (1412-31) is today considered by some to have been non-binary.’

The wording has caused fury among some in the academic community, with one professor calling it ‘insulting’ and a women’s rights campaigner calling it ‘another ridiculous example of attempting to rewrite history.’

Born as a peasant girl around 1412, Joan of Arc became a knight and ultimately a patron saint of France after helping to repulse an English attempt to conquer her nation.   

Believing she was enacting God’s will, she led the French army to victory at Siege of Orléans in 1429, a tipping point in the Hundred Years’ War between France and England. 

Joan famously had short hair and took to wearing male clothing, a key fact against held her during her trial for heresy in 1431, which ultimately led to her being burnt at the stake. 

However, she never claimed to be anything other than female and did not use the term ‘non-binary’ which only gained traction in the 1990s. 

‘Joan of Arc fought as a woman and died as a woman,’ Robert Tombs, professor emeritus of French history at the University of Cambridge, told The Telegraph. 

Joan of Arc is one of the most famous and inspirational women in French history and one of the country’s patron saints

A publicity picture for the 2022 play at The Globe, which prompted some controversy after portraying Joan as non-binary and referring to her with ‘they/them’ pronouns

The Globe Theatre, on the South Bank in London, is one of the word’s most famous attractions

‘To call her something else is insulting to her and indirectly to all women who are brave enough to risk their lives for their beliefs – as if women are incapable of heroism.’ 

‘This is yet another ridiculous example of attempting to rewrite history and erase strong, rebellious female characters from our past,’ Carolyn Brown, of the Women’s Rights Network, added.

She called it ‘another example of the junk science of queer theory being visited on children’ and claimed non-binary was a ‘nonsense term’. 

However, the Collins anthology is not the first cultural artefact to seek to claim Joan for the non-binary community. 

In the summer of 2022, The Globe theatre hosted a play called ‘I, Joan’ which prompted controversy after portraying Joan as non-binary.

Pre-publicity used the pronouns ‘they’ and ‘them’ when referring to the French historical figure.

The theatre defended itself and insisted Shakespeare would have approved.

But one academic told MailOnline at the time that it ‘completely violated the meaning of history’ and reframed the real-life heroine in terms completely alien to her time.

Pre publicity for the play ‘I, Joan’ used they/them pronouns to suggest Joan was non-binary

 Frank Furedi, emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent, told MailOnline: ‘Playwrights are allowed to have a bit of poetic license but I think what is interesting about the play is that it very much falls in with the idea of rewriting history.

‘The reinterpretation violates the historical reality. It’s plundering history to legitimise views in the here and now.

‘Someone like Joan of Arc would not have any idea what non-binary was. It is a recharacterisation of something that did not even exist at the time.

‘It completely violates the meaning of history – it’s the projecting of a fantasy backwards.

‘I imagine in time someone will suggest Jane Austen was transgender or George Elliot was non-binary.

‘It completely violates the meaning of history – it’s the projecting of a fantasy backwards.

‘For French patriots Joan of Arc is someone very special. Her role was all the more heroic because she was a woman.’

Harry Potter author JK Rowling also ridiculed the Globe Theatre’s portrayal of Joan of Arc as non-binary after women’s rights campaigners said the switch was ‘insulting and damaging’. 

Harry Potter writer JK Rowling is a long-time campaigner for women’s rights who has faced a strong backlash for her takes on trans-related issues

Ms Rowling liked a tweet ridiculing the new no-binary Joan of Arc production at The Globe

It came after a Twitter user criticised The Globe’s production.

Her remark of ‘Coming next: Napoleon was a woman because he was defeated at Waterloo’ was liked by Ms Rowling on what was then Twitter.

It came moments after Heather Binning from Women’s Rights Network told MailOnline the play was damaging to women.

She said: ‘This demonstrates just how our arts and creative industries have taken on the woke mantle without realising that ‘being kind’ to one group of people actually hurts and damages another important and fundamental group.

‘Joan of Arc was female. Her early years were spent cooking and cleaning and looking after the animals. When she was 10 she had a vision that she was to fight for France. In order to do this she took on the outward appearance of being male.

‘This had nothing to do with ‘feelings’ and everything to do with the biological reality and disadvantage that being female brought. Many women throughout the ages have had to adopt ‘maleness’ in order to be taken seriously and advance their ambition.

MailOnline has contacted Collins for comment. 

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