Merton Council has responded following outrage over its advertising of courses which are segregated by gender.

Last Monday, Merton Council sent out an email advertising its events for teenagers at Merton Libraries.

The courses included a “Free Rap Course for Boys aged 13-18” and a “Free Cheerleading Course for Girls aged 13-18”.

There was also an “Online Mindfulness Session for Young People aged 12-17”.

The segregation of the rap and cheerleading courses by gender has caused outrage among one Merton resident who says that although it is “great” that the Council is encouraging teens to get involved in courses, the segregation is “shocking”.

The person, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the Wimbledon Times: “Why on earth is the Council imposing these arbitrary restrictions?

“I just find it frustrating that those who should be leading equality by example are entrenching the opposite.

“While it is great that the Council is encouraging teenagers to get involved in courses, I am shocked that it thinks it is still reasonable to segregate courses on gender.”

A spokesperson for Merton Council said that where it does not normally advertise events to particular genders, its research shows that boys and girls can face challenges that they want to be supported with, and sometimes feel more comfortable with targeted activities in single-sex groups.

The rap course “for teenage boys” is described as a “series of innovative workshops uses rap as a therapeutic tool to help young people reach their creative potential and to positively express themselves.”

The cheerleading course, run by Maddie Garry, one of the England National Cheerleading squad, says it will enable “girls to learn new skills, improve their fitness, make new friends and develop a love for all things cheer”.

A Merton Council spokesperson said if there is sufficient demand from boys for a cheerleading course and from girls for rap therapy, it will look to organising more courses in the future.

The Merton resident went on to explain: “If only boys are allowed to rap, then we would have no Cardi B, no Nicki Minaj, no Lauryn Hill and no Salt-n-Pepa.

“There are professional male cheerleaders, for example the LA Rams currently have five male cheerleaders on their squad.

“Ironically I think cheerleading started in the mid-1800s as a male-only activity where women were normally excluded.

“It was only in the 1940s, because of gaps created in the male cheerleading squads caused by the men going abroad to fight in WW2, that women were allowed to join the predominantly male teams.

“It was in the 1950s, when the likes of the US National Football League realized if they altered the role of cheerleaders from pseudo-athletes who would cheer the team from the side-lines, to young women who dressed and acted sexily, that they would enthuse the predominantly male fans and audience. “It was therefore in the 1950s/60s that the men were the ones who were then excluded.

He then added: “There is enough prejudice in the world as it is, and I would have hoped that a London Borough in 2022 would be more sensitive to such thoughtlessness.”

The full statement from the Merton Council spokesperson said: “We don’t normally advertise events to particular genders but research shows and teenagers have told us that boys and girls can face particular challenges that they would like to be supported with and that they feel more comfortable doing some targeted activities to improve their self-esteem, self-expression and body confidence in single-sex groups.

“For the rap therapy course, we are working with a specific company that tries to tackle and address issues specifically faced by teenage boys and ultimately avoid them taking the wrong path in life such as becoming involved in gangs.

“There are currently a lot of programmes running nationally, including courses such as these, to help support teenage boys in particular.

“If there is sufficient demand from boys for a cheerleading course and from girls for rap therapy, we would certainly look to organise more courses in the future.”