Gender Neutral Preschool

awesome

 

Dumb.

 

It would be interesting to see what the result of this is. So long as they stay with not promoting gender roles and not going as far as repressing them, then I don't see anything wrong with it.
I bet that even with gender roles taken out, the kids will still follow them. When I was little I liked dinosaurs and outer space stuff: not because T-Rex was more manly than Barbie, but because its what made me happy and i had fun with it.

Speaking of which, I can't believe how many "Land Before Time" movies have been made now... When I was little there were the original three and now theres like 11!

 

I read this yesterday and found it interesting. It would go over like a lead balloon in my little town but I do try to give my kids gender role freedom and let them play with and who they want!

 

Read this awhile ago and I can't help but think it's the result of extreme feminism. Which I dislike.

 

I think that this is a good idea. I was always the little kid that played with the wrong toys and was interested in things that girls usually are not interested in..

 

I dunno :S

 

There is a difference between fitting into a gender role and being forced into one. There is nothing wrong with a guys that only likes to play with toys that are meant for guys, but the problem only comes when every single guy is forced to play with the same toys JUST because they are guys.

Either way, I think it could work really well if its implemented correctly, but its something that isn't easy to manage since our whole society revolves and follows gender roles.

 

I'm not so sure what to think of this.
In a way, I think it's good. You'll probably get less homophobic people, everyone is more accepted and everything.
But on the other hand, especially after reading the comments, you're born as a girl or a boy or something in between, like me(and now I'm not talking about your body). You may get as a result that everyone becomes an in-between. And isn't it important that everybody is different? Sure, equality is important, too, but so is difference.
So I don't know what to think.

 

Too far... This cannot be healthy.

 

I can't think of any benefits of enforcing the gender stereotypes rather than not, other than an appeal to tradition (which is not a supportive argument in any circumstance).

 

This one of the most absurd things I have ever heard of...what crackpot thought this up?

 

Maybe, but on the other hand, wouldn't it be nice if society could free men from the ridiculous and restrictive standards imposed on them from childhood? People on EC talk about it all the time, directly and indirectly... Doesn't that start with not enforcing strict gender roles and letting kids play with whatever the heck they want without being judged or pushed by our expectations of them? Maybe.

 

See I don't see that society pressures kids into doing simple things like boys choosing to play with army soldiers and girls with dolls. I mean to add to the ridiculousness of this they don't even allow old fairy tale stories to be told like Cinderella and Snow White. I mean those are classics.

In the end I think it's just a way that people over analyze things and that kids shouldn't be some sort of experiment for the world.

 

I agree, but I don't think pretending gender roles don't exist is the right place to start or at all healthy. This is too extreme too fast._

 

It's one preschool. In Sweden.

If your "natural" gender roles are so threatened by a single fucking Scandanavian preschool not recognizing them, you need to rethink your priorities folks.

 

Every time a post is made on a story like this, I see so many comments about how terrible it is and I despair at the fact that even HERE on an LGBT support forum(?!), these things are said.

It's interesting to read the serious, reasoned arguments about why this might be bad. But it seems like people just have to post about how it's bad because their initial reaction was to dislike it.

A lot of people say on EC that they're scared to come out because their friends say bad things about gay people. The answer that they get is that people say these things because they don't know anyone who is gay and have not thought about what they're saying - supposedly, once you come out to them they'll stop.

And yet, people are so quick to judge stories like this. Why - because it's new and unusual and not part of your own experience? Aren't you doing the same thing as the people who make homophobic remarks just because they're ignorant? The same thing as the people who say same-sex marriage is unnatural because it's not what their family looks like?

 

I personally feel that this is a step to far. Let the kids be who they are. Let them play the games they want to play. If a boy wants to play with a doll, let him. if a girl wants to play ball, let her. Deny gender doesnt help anything. Gender exists, but you can acknowledge gender without forcing gender to have any real meaning.

If a child is transgendered, then you can deal with it when it comes. but gender neutrality is pointless, because all you really need to do is let the kids play and be who they are, not deny them a basic aspect of their phyiseology.

 

Oh my god, I'm not saying it's terrible, I'm saying it's too extreme for a first step. It's fine with me if you don't agree.
And the other reason I don't like this is that it could easily become exactly as restrictive as keeping the gender roles. Most kids in the world are not LGBT. I understand the value of treating everyone equally, but the fact is, the gender roles are what they are for a reason. Most kids will probably fall into them anyway. It's a wonderful idea to instigate acceptance, but not to force something that isn't there.