theChat.scot

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Talking about equality for boys and girls

As our children grow, we want them to understand that they can be a girl or a boy who has interests, skills, hobbies, dreams and ambitions regardless of their sex. The reality though is that children will pick up messages – sometimes quite subtle, but sometimes very explicit – that they should be or behave in a certain way just because they are a boy or a girl. Of course, ideas like this can also be heard within your own family and this can be tricky to challenge. It can also be the case that children can be criticised or have stereotypes imposed by other children. 

Some of the best chats happen when you child has had an experience of their own that they want to talk about, maybe because they have a sense of the injustice of something, or maybe because they don’t understand what has happened.

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Talking about gender stereotypes

if you want to encourage chats about gender stereotypes you could use these questions to get the conversation going: Have you ever heard someone say, ‘that’s boy’s stuff?’ Have you ever heard someone say, ‘that’s girl’s stuff’? Why do you think a person might say such a thing?

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Sexism and misogyny

Developing your conversations, it might be helpful to name and discuss what sexism and misogyny are. It is likely children will have heard of sexism, but there is much in mainstream and social media about misogyny. They might hear older young people talking about it. They might want or need to understand what this is. These explanations might help.

Sexism is a kind of prejudice and discrimination. Sexism is the belief that members of one sex are less intelligent or less capable than those of the other sex. Sexism is when someone is treated unfairly just because of their sex.

Misogyny is more than the kinds of prejudice or discrimination that we see when we talk about sexism. Misogyny is more like a hatred of girls and women. It is a belief that men should dominate over women. This is an idea that is harmful and hurtful to girls and women and boys and men.

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Feminism

Talking about equality between girls and boys, women and men, might provide an opportunity to talk about feminism. These words might help.

Feminism is the belief that everyone – girls and boys, women and men – should have equal rights and opportunities. Feminists are people who do their best to make sure that girls and women have the same chances in life as boys and men. If something is holding girls or women back from being equal, then feminists will try to change that.

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About gender stereotypes: animation

Two children talk about the hurtful things others say just because they love football or singing https://youtu.be/lbhd-23mloc (2 minutes 31 seconds)

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Should some toys be just for girls or boys?

Newsround investigates the idea of toys for boys or girls. Scroll down the page for a short film to watch together and chat:  Should some toys be just for girls or boys? – BBC Newsround (2 minutes 12 seconds)

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Books

You might like to read these books together. Your school or library might have them, or you can ask the library if they will order a book for you.

An illustrated celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, brought to life by internationally renowned artists

Malala saw a world that needed fixing. Malala realized that she could work hard every day to make her wishes come true. Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist, student and the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

An introduction for children looking at the history of feminism, what it is today and its relevance to young people and a vital tool for children in the process of figuring out the world and how it works.

A dictionary of twenty-six thought-provoking words from A-Z.

True tales of amazing boys (who became famous and not so famous men) who changed the world.

The stories of heroic women from around the world

A comprehensive collection of true, inspiring profiles of successful young women throughout history who made their mark on the world before turning twenty.

Each life story is accompanied by a portrait, along with stories on hard-fought causes and iconic quotes.