introduction 13
young children is predominantly the responsibility of women? Estola
identifies gender-based rules among the children and teachers, and dis-
cusses teachers as role models who should, therefore, examine their own
behaviors.
While Estola’s chapter is based on observing the discussions with
teachers from different child care centers, Jeanne Marie Iorio and Hema
Visweswaraiah contribute a chapter that analyzes how conversations
between children and teachers construct understanding about gender
(“Do Daddies Wear Lipstick? and Other Child-Teacher Conversations
Exploring Constructions of Gender”). The authors suggest that dis-
rupting the social construct of gender is crucial for helping children
develop different ways of looking at traditional gender roles. To help us
understand what they mean, Iorio and Visweswaraiah describe detailed
conversations where the teacher deliberately provokes discussion that
might change children’s ideas by offering other realities that children
have not yet seen. The authors identify a number of items for teachers’
self-reflection, including documenting and examining one’s own prac-
tice and encouraging conversations about gender-related topics to occur
in a trusting environment.
“Most of us, gender-bending and gender-conforming alike, experi-
ence the confines of gender identity as both positive and negative,” con-
cludes Gail Masuchika Boldt (“One Hundred Hotdogs or Performing
Gender in the Elementary Classroom”). She arrives at this supposition
after asking numerous questions upon observing what children were
saying and doing about gender in her classroom. The larger question
Boldt’s conclusion asks is “Why . . . in spite of my critical attention to ste-
reotypes in literature and daily life, did the children continue to express
preferences, attitudes, and behaviors that seemed so clearly delineated
by gender?” (p. 90). This chapter first offers a narrative about a kin-
dergarten class at group time where the author shows us that gender is
ever-present in the classroom. Dr. Boldt discusses the notion that chil-
dren and adults perform gender norms in behavior, desires, and gestures
and that the reasons we are compelled to perform gender norms con-
stantly are complex and enforced from birth. An interesting discussion
follows showing how our gender performance is constantly nurtured
through rewards and punishments. It is up to the teacher to create a safe
environment for children to converse and explore their gender identity
through authentic interactions with teachers who admit to their own
struggles with performing gender—through experiences both positive
and negative.