平等幼儿园：瑞典学前班刻意“模糊”性别_时事

平等幼儿园：瑞典学前班刻意“模糊”性别

A preschool in Sweden (not pictured) is trying to stave off gender stereotypes by grouping Legos and baking toys together, and banning gender pronouns. Jennie Woodcock; Reflections Photolibrary/CORBIS

There are no boys and girls at a new school in Stockholm, just "friends." Is this the cutting edge of gender equality, or just "silly"?

At Egalia, everyone is a "friend." The news-making preschool in Stockholm is fighting gender stereotypes by banning the use of gender pronouns in the school, instead referring to all students as "friends." Is this bold move creating a gender-neutral "nirvana," or "gender madness?" Here, a brief guide:

What is Egalia?

Egalia is a taxpayer-funded school in the Sodermalm district of Stockholm, Sweden. The school has incorporated a gender-free pedagogy, operating under the theory that by eliminating any reference to gender, the students won't fall prey to the stereotyping of gender roles. "Society expects girls to be girlie, nice and pretty, and boys to be manly, rough and outgoing," says one of the school's teacher's, Jenny Johnson, as quoted by Britain's Daily Mail. "Egalia gives them a fantastic opportunity to be whoever they want to be."

How do the kids talk to each other?

For starters, there are no boys and girls in Egalia, just "friends." That's the term teachers in the school use to address all students. In addition, the staff refrains from using the pronouns "him" or "her." Instead, the gender labels, which are "han" and "hon" in Swedish, are replaced by the "genderless" pronoun "hen" — a word that doesn't actually exist in the Swedish language.