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.

They use a made-up word?

Yep. For example, when a doctor or plumber is coming into the classroom, "we don't know if it's a he or a she, so we just say, 'Hen is coming around 2 p.m.," says director Lotta Rajalin, as quoted by the Associated Press. "Then the children can imagine both a man or a woman. This widens their view."

What about playtime?

Lego blocks are stored directly next to kitchen and cooking toys, so as not to encourage gender preference through toy storage and organization. There are no squabbles over who gets to play mommy in a game of house, either. If one girl has already claimed the role, "then we suggest two moms or three moms and so on," says Rajalin. And don't expect to find gender-promoting fairy tales on the bookshelves, either. Snow White and Cinderella are nixed in favor of books featuring gay and lesbian couples, single parents, and adopted children, says CNN.

Umm... is this really a good idea?

Parents in Sweden seem to be fans. Not only is there a waiting list to get into Egalia, but "only one family has dropped out," says Erin Anderssen at Canada's The Globe and Mail. And according to a 2010 World Economic Forum report, Sweden leads the world when it comes to gender equality. The country is also widely considered a pioneer when it comes to gay and lesbian rights.

Does everyone agree?

Well, no. "It sounds like a load of manure to me," says Jeanne Sager at The Stir. No matter how much Egalia tries to hide gender norms within its walls, the truth is that outside them, they do exist. "It's still going to have to be dealt with." One Swedish mother agrees. "Different gender roles aren't problematic as long as they are equally valued," says Tanja Bergkvist, as quoted by the Associated Press. And in the end, says Meredith Carroll at Babble, Egalia may be confusing gender neutrality with gender equality. We should "celebrate the differences between the genders," not push for a "homogenized society." Eliminating gender-specific pronouns altogether is both "confusing and silly."

在斯德哥尔摩的一所新学校里，没有“男生”和“女生”，只有“朋友”，这是性别平等的先锋潮流，还是一次“傻兮兮”的尝试？

据《The week》杂志报道，在平等幼儿园

什么是平等幼儿园？

平等幼儿园是瑞典斯德哥尔摩马尔姆区的一家公立幼儿园。这家幼儿园采取模糊性别的教学方法，希望通过消除有关性别的所有指称来避免让学生形成对性别角色的固有印象。据英国《每日邮报》报道，“社会希望女孩子像个女孩子，漂漂亮亮，男孩子像个男孩子，坚强外向，”学校的一位老师珍妮•约翰逊说：“在平等幼儿园，孩子们可以成为自己想成为的人，在这里，他们有很好的机会。”

在这里孩子们如何称呼彼此？

首先，这里没有“男生”“女生”的说法，只有“朋友”，老师们把学生们都叫作“朋友”。然后，老师们不会使用瑞典语里表示“他”或“她”的“han”和“hon”，而是造了一个词——没有性别含义的“hen”。

他们造了一个词？

是的。举个例子，如果有医生或是管道工要来，“我们不知道是他还是她，就会用hen，'hen两点左右来'。”据美联社报道，园长洛塔•拉吉林说，“孩子们就会猜来的可能是男人可能是女人。这样能扩大他们的思维面。”

孩子们玩的时候呢？

乐高玩具就放在厨房玩具旁边，通过玩具的收纳来避免性别偏向。玩过家家的时候，我们也不限定只由女生来扮演妈妈。如果已经有女生想扮妈妈，“我们就会鼓励可以再来一个两个妈妈。”拉吉林说。另外，园内也没有性别区分导向明显的童话书。《白雪公主》和《灰姑娘》是被禁止的，倒是有同性伴侣、单亲父母和领养儿童这些元素的书籍，CNN报道。

嗯，这样真的好吗？

瑞典的家长们似乎很支持。有一批家长排队要把孩子送进这所幼儿园，而且“只有一家退学了，”加拿大《环球邮报》的艾琳•安德森说。根据2010年世界经济论坛的报告，在性别平等这方面瑞典做得比其他国家都要好。在同性恋权益方面瑞典也是公认的先驱。

所有人都支持吗？

也不是。“这个主意在我看来就是一坨屎，”The Stir博客的珍•塞及说。不论平等幼儿园如何试图避免性别词汇，这些词在园外都还是真实存在的。“还是需要去面对性别区分的，”一位妈妈表示赞同。“只要男性女性的价值是被平等看待的，性别角色其实不是什么问题，”博客作家坦娅•柏克维斯特说道