THE SEXUALIZATION OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

Let me first make the clear distinction between sexualization and sexuality or sex.  Children are naturally curious about their bodies.  It is normal for children to have questions about their bodies, love, affection, and intimacy as they gradually develop a sense of sexuality and sex.  However, according to Levin and Kilbourne (2009) "When people are sexualized, their value comes primarily from their sex appeal, which is equated with physical attractiveness" (p. 4). Unfortunately, children are bombarded with images, music, and ads that can create an unhealthy development of body image, caring relationships, and healthy sexual intimacy.  

When my daughter was four years old she wanted to take dance lessons.  We were new to town and on the recommendation of a local parent we signed her up at a dance studio nearby.  The night of her first recital we were sitting in the auditorium with great anticipation of our little girl coming on stage to wow us with her new dance skills.  There were several performances from other classes prior to hers.  The one that stood out the most was a group of girls that had to be about 8 or 9 years old.  They started out the dance crawling on the floor with their knees spread wide and preceded to dance around poles like they were doing a strippers dance.  Although my little four year old came out and danced a completely age-appropriate and sexless dance this image of the other girls would not disappear.  We took her out of that studio shortly after the recital.  I regret never expressing my feelings with the owners of the studio so that they could be aware of how such dances are perceived.

Working at a children's clothing store as a manager for five years I was constantly flabbergasted at the horrific sexist and sexualized content of children's clothing.  In particular the graphics on t-shirts.  Even starting as infants we sold shirts and one piece outfits that commented on little girls' lack of intelligence, dependence on beauty, and dating and marital interests.  In contrast little boys' clothing commented on their strength, power, and action.

Halloween was also another eye opener for me when it came to the sexualization of young children.  I found that little girls are marketed to be very submissive characters with little power and their costumes left little to the imagination.  We often found that we had to make our daughter's costume because there were not appropriate costumes that allowed her to be a non-sexy kitty or a serious veterinarian.  This only worsened as she got older.  Now at 15 years old it is almost impossible to find a costume for girls that is not marketed to be sexy (i.e. sexy witch, sexy nurse with not mention of being a doctor, sexy princess, etc.)    

These images send young girls the message that they are objects of little value other than their appearance.  They are subject to judgement of males and at their mercy for a good life.  This kind of marketing lays a foundation for girls in early childhood to become women consumers of products that will help them achieve perfection in their appearance and earn the attention of men.  It cannot go without saying that it is also damaging to young boys who are at risk of growing into men that do not value and respect women, but see them as objects to be obtained.  There are always worse case scenarios, but not every girl will grow up to be a prostitute or every boy into an abuser.  However, these images can create confusion for young children that can alter their attitude of themselves and their future female/male relationships. 

As early childhood professionals we can provide a safe environment that is absent of these images.  We can ensure that dress-ups in the dramatic play area are not gender specific or stereotypical.  Recently I just added different size pieces of fabric in many different patterns and colors to my dramatic play area and watched how the boys suddenly flocked to the dramatic play area to make the fabrics into masks, capes, belts, wings and more.  The girls were still able to make dresses and veils, but the fabrics have not been used the same way twice.  All the children are using their imagination and creativity instead of being limited by an outfit that has one use.  The books and puzzles in the classroom can provide images of non-stereotypical gender roles, men and women performing the same profession or same care giving role.  

According to Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2010) "young children typically focus on the external and cultural aspects of their gender identity-that is, they believe that how they dress (appearance) or what they like to do (behavior) is what makes them a girl or a boy" (p. 91).  As early childhood professionals it is important that we provide clear age-appropriate information and language about their bodies and their sex so that we can make the distinction between anatomy and actions when it comes to gender identity.  Children will feel more free to take risks and try things that are outside their perceived boundaries of gender.

I must add on a personal note that when I found this image I was reminded of how disgusted I am when breastfeeding is reduced to a sexual act as well.  Critics of breastfeeding in public like to sexualize this natural act by being offended by the slight appearance of breasts.  How many times have you noticed someone breastfeeding?  Except for first time moms, it becomes so easy that a woman could sit with you and carry on a conversation and you would probably think she was just holding a sleeping baby.  With all the images of breasts that we see on a daily basis how do we allow ourselves to be bothered by the image of a baby doing what nature intended?  I believe people are bothered because they grow up learning that breasts are sexualized objects.  Therefore any act of sucking, even an infant, becomes a sexual act.  It is time to change. 

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

  
Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

EVALUATING IMPACTS ON PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

"Almost everything adults say or do around children carries messages about gender, economic class, racial identity, ability, and family culture." 

-Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 32

One of the most important things we can do as early childhood professionals is to assess and reflect on our social identities, schema, and bias.  We know that children, from birth, observe and internalize the words and actions of adults in their lives.  Even the most subtle and covert messages become realities for our children and are reflected in their learned actions and stereotypes.  Even a teacher with good intentions could be perpetuating stereotypes in their language and learning environment which is why it is so vital that we constantly evaluate our perceptions of the world and how we think about gender, class, race, culture, sexual orientation, abilities, and age.

Personally, I have been reflecting on how sexism has affected me in my life as a woman and how it influences my interactions with children and the building of a nurturing learning environment in my classroom.  Internalized oppression can cause me to believe that the stereotypes about girls and women are true.  Then unintentionally I can react and interact with the children in my class in a way that perpetuates those stereotypes.  I have to be aware of my bias so that I do not treat girls as nurturers and boys as builders.  I have to be careful not to compliment girls on their appearance and boys on their actions.  In addition to assessing my interactions I have to ensure that I am encouraging healthy gender exploration in the learning environment as well.  This means that boys feel comfortable and encouraged to investigate different roles in the dramatic play area and that girls feel confident and motivated to explore in the block area.  The library area also needs to have books that do not perpetuate gender stereotypes, but show a wide variety of females and males crossing gender boundaries (e.i. female firefighters, leaders, construction workers, and male nurses, dancers, and caretakers).  

 



Reference
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

OBSERVING COMMUNICATION

MY OBSERVATION:

My observation took place in a preschool classroom with four year-olds.  After an extended time of free choice play the teacher announced that it was time to clean-up.  She turned on a song that seemed to trigger, for most, a time of transition.  Many children stopped what they were doing and began to put the toys, games, and materials on their places on the shelves.  There was one little boy that continued to cut a piece of paper at the table.  The teacher told him twice "it is time to finish and put away the scissors."  This child did not respond and continued to cut.  After encouraging other children to clean up the teacher returned to the boy at the table and this time bent down so that she was eye level with him.  She put her hand on his so he would stop cutting and said, "I know you are working very hard to cut this paper, but we are getting the room ready so that we can go outside."  The little boy shook his head and said "no."  The teacher said, "If you would like to finish what you are doing you can put the paper in your cubby and finish it this afternoon, would you like to do that?"  The little boy smiled and nodded and stood up from the table immediately and put the paper in his cubby and put the scissors away.

REFLECTION

I was so impressed by this interaction because the teacher was able to get what she wanted and still value the needs and wants of the child.  Children do not understand the schedules that the adults in their lives make.  They become really comfortable with routines, but schedules are different.  A schedule has the influence of time restrictions.  Children are not usually opposed to routines, but often the adult time schedule does not coincide with a child's schedule.  One of our goals as early childhood educators is to see children truly engage in activities that are self-motivated.  When we force a child to stop what they are doing because of a schedule it sends a message that we do not value what they are doing compared to what we have planned.  When this teacher gave the boy the option to continue his cutting activity at another time he received the message that what he was doing is valuable, and it allowed  him to be more open to move on with the schedule.  

In order to communicate with children in this way the teacher used a step back approach that allowed her to look at the situation from the child's perspective and respond in a way that both parties got what they needed (Stephenson, 2009).  It is so important to effective communication for adults to remember that children are whole people with their own thoughts and ideas about what and how they want to do things.  It is harder to make a child understand our perspective as adults when we can not understand their perspective.  When the boy in the observation felt he was being listened to then he was immediately more willing to listen to what the teacher needed.

Key Points in Effective Communication Strategies with Young Children (Laureate Education Inc., 2011):

• Watch children's play
• Ask open-ended questions
• Go slow
• Be receptive to their oral and body language
• Be respectful of their ideas (do not laugh unless they are laughing)

I found this video does an excellent job of summarizing the important key elements of effective communicating with young children.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Communicating with young children. Baltimore, MD: Author

Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90-95. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database. http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=37131016&site=ehost-live&scope=site

CREATING AFFIRMING ENVIRONMENTS

Family Child Care Home

I think the most important part of my new family child care home would be the entrance area.  It is important to have an area that is warm and welcoming for children and their families.  This is the first area that they see when they arrive so it needs to feel like a safe place that is inviting.  It is important for me to have a space (like a sofa) where families can sit with their children and and take their time saying goodbye, as well as visit with other families.  This makes adults feel less rushed and more involved in the school community.  In this area I would also provide a space for every child to keep their belongings so that they feel as though they belong here.  It is important that they feel as though they are a member of this community.  I would also provide a space for guardians to communicate individual needs or questions for the day as well as receive daily information from me (Laureate Education Inc., 2011).  

Different play areas and materials in the classroom would first need to represent the families and cultures of children attending.  It is difficult to say in detail how this would look "because the physical environment begins with who children are, each early childhood classroom will have its own unique look" (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010).  However, there are several key elements and materials that I feel would be included.

Dramatic play is a vital area for children to reflect on the realities of life and mimic what they see and hear while participating in pretend and make-believe worlds too.  I feel that many of the materials in this area should be real  items.  If possible include pretend food or empty food containers that represent the kinds of foods that the children eat at home.  Dress-up clothes should be open-ended such as scraps of material that is not gender specific and can be made into dresses, capes, scarves, veils, etc.  Having dress-ups be open ended helps to prevent tokenism where a piece of clothing represents an entire group of people or culture (ex. a kimono represents all people from Japan).  Dolls should represent the skin tones of the children.  I also like the idea of have a story box where children can create the dolls used as well as the furnishings of their choosing (Laureate Education Inc., 2011).

The library should be a warm and cozy place where children will want to curl up with a book.  Many books should represent the families, cultures, abilities, and economic groups in your service.  It is important to avoid books that misinform or misrepresent people.  Including books that perpetuate stereotypes about race, culture, class, abilities, and gender.  Class-made books are a great way to ensure that every child is represented.

There are some other ways to ensure a more anti-bias approach in the family child care home setting.  It is important to include music, rhymes, songs, stories, and poetry from diverse cultures and languages especially ones that represent the families in your service.  I would try to ensure that rugs, fabrics, posters, and art represent the families in my service as well.  Diversity puzzles can be purchased or they can be made with pictures taken of current families members performing different jobs, in local businesses, or with differing abilities.  Many of these ideas will also involve family participation which builds a partnership between home and school.  

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Welcome to an anti-bias learning community. Baltimore, MD: Author

HOPES, GOALS, AND THANK YOU

HOPE:  My hope is that my work with anti-bias education creates a future citizens that will respect, celebrate, and fight for the equity of others.

GOAL:  My goal for the field would and for myself would be to help further the anti-bias pedagogy into the elementary early childhood years grades K-3.  This work is so vital when children truly start making friendships and either including or excluding other children based on similarities and differences.

THANK YOU to all my friends, family, and colleagues for supporting my personal and professional growth in the area of anti-bias education.  Thank you for listening to my thoughts, ideas, insights, and questions while I am working out my path along this journey of self-awareness and discovery!

START SEEING DIVERSITY

"The heart of anti-bias work is a vision of a world in which all children are able to blossom, and each child's particular abilities and gifts are able to flourish."

-Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012

Giving children the words to express their feelings about the world they see around them and investigate the injustices of bias and prejudice helps to accomplish the following core goals of anti-bias education:

ABE Goal 1

Each child will demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities.

ABE Goal 2

Each child will express comfort and joy with human diversity; accurate language for human differences; and deep, caring human connections.

ABE Goal 3

Each child will increasingly recognize unfairness, have language to describe unfairness, and understand that unfairness hurts.

ABE Goal 4

Each child will demonstrate empowerment and the skills to act, with others or alone, against prejudice and/or discriminatory actions.

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2012). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

WE DON"T SAY THOSE WORDS!

I was waiting in line at the grocery store when a small child asked their mother why another customer was fat.  The mother, probably embarrassed, silenced and scolded the child by whispering "shhh we don't call people fat."  Although it was not wrong to correct the child on their language (using "fat") the scolding sent the message to the child that there was something wrong with the size of that other person because it is something forbidden to talk about.  If the mother would have continued to explain in a calm and normal voice that people come in all shapes and sizes then the child would have learned the language to correctly talk about people of different weights.

When our children point out differences in others they are not necessarily putting a judgment on what they see, they are merely trying to make sense of the world and the people in it (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012).  However, because of our own schema and bias we often see those differences as something that people are ashamed of and would not want to have people talk about.  So when our children say something about those differences aloud it is embarrassing and we quickly try to silence them or avoid real answers.  This misleads children into thinking that there is something wrong with those differences.  Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2012) explain that "to understand the differences they see around them, children need language and accurate information" (p. 33).

As anti bias educators we must be ready to respond to children's curiosity in a way that is factual and developmentally appropriate.  To do this we must willing to:

• Listen without judgement.
• Figure out exactly what the child wants to know so that we do not give too much information or over explain.
• Distinguish between curiosity and discomfort or fear.
• Answer matter-of-factly.
• Always respond, even if you have to tell them you need time to think about what to say.
• Finally, follow up with individual children or group (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p.33).

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2012). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.