The issue of gender stereotyping has received a flurry of media attention; institutions across the country are doing away with gendered restrooms and Target stores are reorganizing products based on functionality instead of gender. Like any social issue, people have very strong opinions, some even refusing to use public restrooms and others boycotting Target. The underlying issue here is whether the world would benefit from the destruction of gender norms. While the issue is still being hashed out in America, Sweden is one step ahead. In 1998, Sweden passed legislation that required schools to make changes to their curriculum and teaching styles in order to give boys and girls the same opportunities and allow them to develop without gendered restrictions.
In her article for The Guardian, Anna Leach explores how five Swedish preschools were able to make such drastic changes and whether or not the public could get behind these new ideas. Lotta Rojalin, the head of these five schools, opened the first in 2011 and named it Egalia, which translates to "equality" in Latin. Within these schools dress-up clothes, building blocks, cars and doll houses are not organized by gender but, instead, are jumbled up, encouraging boys and girls to play together. Rajalin says, "It's all about democracy. We want to give all children the same opportunities [sic] the same rights."
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Teachers at Egalia must go through rigorous training. Rojalin explains that in order to open the teachers' eyes to their own gender biases, they were filmed interacting with both boys and girls and the differences were clear. Girls were comforted for a longer time than boys were and teachers spent more time conversing with girls than boys. She explains that it is not easy to reflect on one's own gender biases, but it is necessary for the job. Teachers must also refrain from using the terms "girls" or "boys" and instead use "friends". Also, instead of saying "him" or "her" they must use the gender-neutral pronoun "hen".
Malin Engelson, the parent of a 15-month-old student at a gender-neutral preschool explains why she chose the school for her daughter. She says, "It's so important to start at an early age" referring to the discussion of gender roles. Of course, not everyone agrees.
Peter Rudberg, the father of a three-year-old student at the same school, calls the gender neutral approach to teaching "a boon". He believes that gender inequality is a nonissue in Sweden and the focus on gender neutrality could be ineffective in the sense that boys are discouraged from playing traditionally masculine games and encouraged to try more traditionally feminine ones. A child counselor in north London, Pippa Hodges, agrees with Rudberg. She says, "There might be a danger of children identifying strongly with a particular gender and not being supported in that; the risk of confusion and shame is high at this developmental stage."
Whether teaching in a gender-neutral style is effective or not will continue to be a topic of debate but for now, it is a step toward encouraging gender equality.
