Gender Equity

I was privileged to have been able to attend the annual "Reading for the Love of It" conference in February and take part in a surplus of incredible workshops and speakers. One workshop that especially resonated with me was conducted by Larry Swartz, an incredible teacher who works at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in Toronto. Swartz specializes in drama and the arts and has written incredible resources for teachers to use to incorporate drama into everyday experiences of young children.

Swartz's presentation at the conference was not about drama this time, but was on gender equality.  He provided a large list of wonderful children's books which blur the lines between genders and open up possibilities for exploration and discussion in the classroom in terms of gender differences and equality.  His knowledge on this topic and simple explanations on what gender equality really is and how it is in the classroom in conscious and unconscious ways really opened my eyes to this topic in ways I had never seen before.

I am so lucky to have this incredible list of magnificent children's books which promote gender equality and being true to oneself.

He talked about a book called My Princess Boy and you can view more information about how this book was created here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DnbjtXDlv0&feature=related

The list of books is found below.


Picture Books:

• Bedford, David; Illus. Russell Julian (2008). It's a George Thing!
• Browne, Anthony (1986). Piggybook
• Cole, Babette (1986). Princess Smartypants (also Prince Cinders)
• DePaola, Tomie (1979). Oliver Button is a Sissy
• Fox, Mem (1994). Tough Boris
• Harper, Charise Mericle (2010). Pink Me Up!
• Hoffman, Mary (1991). Amazing Grace
• Kilodavis, Cheryl (2010). My Princess Boy
• Konnecke, Ole (2006). Anthony and the Girls
• Mackall, Dandi Daley: Illus. Renee Graef (2008). A Girl Named Dan
• McQuinn, Anna (2010). Lola Loves Stories
• Munsch, Robert (1980). The Paper Bag Princess
• Richardson, Justin and Peter Parnell: Illus. H. Cook (2005). And Tango Makes Three
• Rickards, Lynne: Illus. Margaret Chamberlain (2009). Pink
• Zolotow, Charlotte: Illus. William Pene Du Bois (1972). William's Doll

Novels (grades 4-8)

• Ellis, Deborah (2001). The Breadwinner (trilogy)
• Clements, Andrew (2009). Extra Credit
• Fine, Anne (1985). Bill's New Frock
• Fitzhugh, Louise (1974). Nobody's Family is Going to Change
• Holm, Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm (2005). Babymouse: Queen of the World (series)
• Howe, James (2006). Totally Joe
• Walliams, David (2008). The Boy in the Dress

Professional Resources

• Banarjee, Robin and Vicki Lintern (2000). "Boys will be Boys: The Effect of Social Evaluation Concerns on GenderTyping" in Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
• Booth, David (2002). Even Hockey Players Read: Boys, Literacy and Learning
• Bone, Linda Karges (1998). More than Pink and Blue: How gender can shape your curriculum
• Crawford, Susan Hoy (1991). Beyond Dolls and Guns: 1010 Ways to Help Children Avoid Gender Bias
• Lamb, L.M., R.S. Bigler, L.S. Liben, and V.A. Green (2009). "Teaching Children to Confront Peer's Sexist Remarks: Implications for Theories of Gender Development and Educational practice". Springer Science and Business Media.
• Odean, Kathleen (1998). Great Books for Boys
• Orenstein, Peggy (2011). Cinderella Ate My Daughter.
• Peterson, Shelley Stagg and Larry Swartz (2009). Good Books Matter
• Scieszka, Jon (ed.) (2005). Guys Write for Guys Read (also: Guys Read Funny Business)
• Eliot, Lise (2009). Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How small differences can grow into big gaps