does not distinguish between "he" or "her" Swedish Sexuality has been taught in kindergarten
household Swedish fairy tale "Stocks Pipi". The protagonist is not the image of a traditional princess, but a little girl with great strength, joking and adventurousness.
neutral word replaces him or her. The princess no longer waits for the prince to save
in Igriya. The teacher will not use the pronouns him (Swedish word: Han) or her (Swedish word: Hon), but uses the neutral word Hen from Finnish , or is called friends, and they do not call parents father or mother. In addition, words like the traditional spelling ending with males, such as Snowman's English as Snowman, will also be converted into neutral characters, such as Snow figure.
is not only very careful about using words and word selection, but when reading children's books, they are also careful to choose books that avoid traditional gender stereotypes and division of labor. For example: Readings like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are not on the menu, but are replaced by stories like "Two giraffes found an abandoned crocodile baby, and they decided to adopt and protect the crocodile baby". Teachers will also rewrite stories, songs and dramas to ensure that the story or nursery rhyme contains concepts of non-traditional family, such as single-parent families and same-sex families.
When playing with toys, traditionally considered to be girls' toys, such as Barbie dolls, and toys considered to be boys, such as trucks, will be arranged to intersperse each other with care, so that children can freely choose the toys they want to play with without being restricted by gender identity. Children will not be corrected if they accidentally use non-gender neutral words, but teachers must adjust themselves to use gender-neutral words.
Although there are many criticisms that Igriya Kindergarten has gone too far in sexual education, Swedish psychiatrist and writer David Eberhard said in an interview that it was "dishonest" to allege boys and girls as Hen because it "turns a blind eye to biological differences", and said that "this brainwashing method works when children are young and they will adapt to it in the short term, but what happens when they go to traditional schools"? Uberhart said he was not against boys playing with dolls, but he thought calling boys or girls was going too far. Lotta Rajalin, founder of
, believes that a lot of criticism is wrong because people don’t understand what they are saying. She said: "We are not saying that girls should be boys, or boys should be girls. We just hope that everyone has the right to be a complete person regardless of gender." The concept of Igriya Kindergarten is quite successful. There are currently about 115 students aged one to five, and many parents have their babies on the waiting list waiting to enter. According to a study of Igliya Kindergarten by Ben Kenward, a researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden, through structural observations, children in Igliya Kindergarten are as capable of categorizing different genders as children of other ages, but they are also more likely to play with children of the opposite sex and do not make conclusions based on their own or others’ gender.
is not only in Iglia Kindergarten National Curriculum, but also echoes
Although Iglia Kindergarten is at the forefront, according to the National Curriculum of Kindergarten published by the Swedish National Agency for Education, educators should inspire and challenge children to expand their abilities and interests in ways that transcend typical gender choices. Educators should ensure that all children have the same influence and receive equal attention regardless of their gender.
In terms of implementation details, the Education Bureau recommends: "Educators should challenge and further develop", "Educators should let unexpected materials collide with each other", "Educators should evaluate materials, books, and pictures to confirm that there are multiple choices for the characters children encounter", "Mix teaching aids to encourage children to use traditionally used for boys and traditionally used for girls in the same game", "Use language to challenge and inspire children, for example, to replace him and her with neutral synonyms in fairy tales at the right time".
Learn to refuse to be the owner of the body
In addition, Berga Kindergarten in Eskilstuna, Sweden has been the first to use "Stop!" This is my body! 》(STOPP! MIN KROPP!) teaching materials, one of the kindergartens that teach children about their own physical rights. Toddlers must recognize the private parts of their bodies, including the butt, vagina, penis, and chest, and refuse to touch others at will.
If someone "beats" the child, the child is taught, "Stop! This is my body!". This textbook comes from Sweden Save the Children ( Swedish : Rädda Barnen), which teaches adults how to talk to their children about sexual harassment, body and set boundaries, and is also compiled into songs to teach children to learn to sing. Since the rise of the #MeToo movement in 2017, leading the world to reflect on the issue of sexual assault and sexual harassment, the textbook has gradually received attention. In July 2019, the new version of the syllabus began to be implemented in kindergartens, which clearly included the personal autonomy of the body.
The concept of gender has been developed since childhood, and the experience gained in early childhood is one of the factors that affect the concept of gender in early childhood. Children can obtain gender information by observing and learning adult division of labor and roles. Research shows that young children before the age of one begin to observe gender behavior, and at the age of two or three, they will show behaviors that they think are suitable for their own gender, and after the age of three, they will organize social information based on their own gender. Children's sexual education and physical autonomy education are extremely important. Although there is still a gap between the Swedish elite and the public, no matter what, how to take the first step and irrigate the important gender and physical issues of irrigating future seedlings is an issue that must be pondered.
[Text, Photography/Huang Lingyi (Live in Stockholm)]
