Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation



One way that I have noticed heterosexism permeating the world of young children is in toys. If you go to any department or toy store, you will see a big difference between toys that are being targeted towards girls, and toys that are targeted towards boys. Most of the girls’ toys are in bright pink or purple packaging with pretty lettering and deal with cooking, make-up, dressing up, or taking care of something else (dolls, babies, animals). The boys’ toys are in dark blue packaging and deal with cars, weapons, soldiers, and being tough. This type of marketing sends a signal saying that there is a definite difference between what boys and girls should be playing with, and it is a line not to be crossed. What happens to the little boy who loves to bake because it’s the only thing he gets to do with his Grandmother? Or what about the little girl who wants to grow up and be in the Army because her favorite Aunt was? They should be allowed to go up and down the toy isle and pick out whichever toy they wish, not the toy that society or packaging tells them is right for their gender.

A personal experience I had where a child used a homophobic term when referring to another child happened last year in my kindergarten classroom. I had a group of boys who loved playing football during every recess, and there was a little girl who wanted to play with them. With any other girl that had asked to play, they said no, but when this girl asked one of the boys said, “you can play because you’re a tomboy, and you’re good at football.” The comment the little boy made wasn’t meant to be hurtful, instead he probably gave it as a compliment, but it could send the wrong message not only to the little girl, but to the other children as well. The little girl could take it in a negative way meaning she is more like a boy than a girl. The other girls could take it to mean that in order to play football, they must act more like a boy than a girl. In the end, I made sure to have a classroom conversation about how we can do anything we put our minds to, regardless of whether we are a boy or a girl.