What are some of the benefits of not emphasizing gender around our kids?
When kids experience more openness from us, they maintain greater access to themselves, others, what life has to offer, and the world around them.
Specifically, they don’t need to feel that they have no one to play with when there are no girls or no boys present in a group of kids. Instead they can view every kid as a potential playmate and decide for themselves who is kind, safe, fun, or doing an activity they like. A full range of activities is more available to them, as well; they can sit and draw, play tag, or anything else.
When we de-emphasize gender, we also open ourselves up to more experiences and people.
We can try things we have never tried before, give ourselves permission to play in a new way, and enjoy things we felt were off-limits before. Our kids will benefit from our openness.
As we connect with new people, we may start to notice like-minded parents and can develop a community with these new friendships. With a group of supportive adults, our kids can experience less teasing, surprise, and negativity when they are expressing themselves. What a gift that is.
Modeling Gender Equity | Words That Identify Gender | Handling Disagreements With Life Partner | Benefits of Not Emphasizing Gender | Keeping Gender in the Background | How Critical to Knowing Someone Is Biological Sex or Gender? | Overcoming Uncomfortable Discussions About Reproductive Parts | Handling Stereotypical Behaviours | Handling “Be a Man” Directives Towards Son | Handling “Smile” or “Hug Me” Directives Towards Daughter | Suggest to P.E. Teacher Not to Divide Teams By Gender | Explaining Why Girls and Women in Children’s Books Have Long Hair | Using Other Adjectives When Praising Your Child | Handling Pronouns for Toddlers | Handing Pronouns for Younger School-Age Children | Handing Pronouns for Older School-Age Children
