4/13/13

I Am A Hen and I Am Proud!


Earlier this month, the online version of Sweden’s National Encyclopedia introduced a new pronoun hen as a “proposed gender-neutral personal pronoun instead of he [han in Swedish] or she [hon].” The addition of this pronoun is a landmark victory in the movement for gender-neutrality, which has been widely embraced in Sweden. The Slate.com article “Sweden’s New Gender Neutral Pronoun: Hen” by Natalie Rothchild says that even though Sweden is considered the most gender-equal country in the world, activists there are pushing for gender-neutrality in order to show sensitivity to those who do not identify with binary labels. One of the issues that activists are tackling is for parents to be able to choose any name for their child regardless of its current ties to gender. A Swedish toy catalog chose to disregard traditional gender labels and switched the toys that boys and girls are typically photographed with.  Several preschools have completely abandoned the use of gender pronouns and instead, children are referred to by their first names or as “buddies.” However, there are many who strongly oppose the changes being made in Sweden out of concern for the effects on children.

Elise Claeson, a former equality expert at the Swedish Confederation of Professions believes that gender-neutrality can be socially and psychologically damaging, stating that “young children can become confused by the suggestion that there is a third, ‘in-between’ gender at a time when their brains and bodies are developing. Adults should not interrupt children's discovery of their gender and sexuality.” Even Rothchild herself seems to oppose the changes. She writes, “Ironically, in the effort to free Swedish children from so-called normative behavior, gender-neutral proponents are also subjecting them to a whole set of new rules and new norms as certain forms of play become taboo, language becomes regulated, and children's interactions and attitudes are closely observed by teachers… And so every detail of children's interactions gets micromanaged by concerned adults, who end up problematizing minute aspects of children's lives, from how they form friendships to what games they play and what songs they sing.”

I think that Claeson and Rothchild are underestimating the level of awareness that children have about their own identities and gender. The issue of gender-neutrality is personal to me because I distinctly remember the confusion I felt as a child being forced to conform to the stereotypical “girl” gender role. Even though I was unable to articulate my opposition, I knew for sure that I hated wearing dresses and playing with Barbie dolls. Whenever I saw flowers in the park, I would stomp on them just because I knew that they were associated with being “girly.” Oddly enough, my favorite color was still pink. Eventually, my mother accepted my unconventional identity and started dressing me in the same clothing as my twin brother just to make me happy. Once I began elementary school it was a lot more difficult for me to understand what I should or should not like because of gender stereotypes. For all of kindergarten I remember wanting to play with the toy dinosaurs in our classroom so badly, but I never had the courage to do so out of fear for what others would think. I truly believe that had I known an “in-between” gender could exist, my childhood would have been a lot easier to cope with. If we teach future generations of children about the fluidity of gender, then perhaps they could be free of the fear and confusion that I once felt.

Me and my twin brother in identical outfits!

12 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading about your personal memories with this delicate issue. It was very insightful. I also think that the Swedish advertisement where both the boy and the girl are playing with dolls is fantastic! I could see how some may think that it may be confusing to some children to portray a third, in-between gender. I am sure that the third option is comforting to the child that turns away from the gender based norms of childhood. I do not believe that the issue lies so much in the label but rather the community's attitude towards a child that does not wish to conform. Just because a little girl wants to wear boys clothes does not mean she is not, or does not want to be a girl. I was a bit of a tomboy myself as a child but I was still enjoyed "girly" things. I do not think that I would have liked being referred to as hen just because I was not conventionally "girly". I think I would have liked it if my classmates or teachers tried to put me in the hen category because I did not appear to be such a girly girl. I think it may leave some children feeling left out either way. I predict that the next step may be asking the child what they prefer. I would not want to discourage a child but I do not think that it is such a good idea to ask them what they want all the time. If they always had a choice about everything I am pretty sure that obesity and tooth decay would be on the rise!

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  2. While I think that Sweden is introducing a very interesting and unique concept in regards to gender neutrality, I also wonder if it might be more detrimental to children to not be able to associate with a specific gender. As they grow up, they will have to realize that there are some differences between girls and boys. I recall the story Professor Pok told in class in which the child stated "The only difference between boys and girls is that boys have penises and girls have vaginas." I wonder how it might be to teach a child who grew up with boys and girls being seen as equal that they use the bathroom in different ways and can reproduce in different ways. Boys and girls do have some fundamental differences, and while I agree with eliminating certain gender stereotypes, I do not know if I agree with eliminating the term boy or girl from a child's vocabulary.

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  3. I heard about this change last week and could not help but imagine how great something like this would be in our country. Sweden seems to always be on the forefront of social progression and I think that needs to be exclaimed, haha. In terms of the actual change, I don't quite understand how this change could be seen as a potential detriment? Distinctions seem incredibly problematic, especially at the prime of growth. Without the limitation of gender pronouns and all the troubling societal expectations that come with them, children are free to grow in their own vision of freedom and not be held back by the divisions of gender. It just seems incredibly forward-thinking to do away with something that not only stifles those of us who are not on the traditional spectrum, but to move forward in the fight for gender equality.

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  4. Often many people feel like you do.. I remember myself as a child growing up with brothers and being the only girl, all I wanted to do was to be like my brothers and play with them. However, since I was the only girl my mother always enforced gender roles on me and dressed me up with big dresses and bows, until I started crying hysterical at the store one day and she begin to dress me up similar to my brothers by buying me the girl version of their sneakers or jerseys to make me feel a little comfortable. But I believe we should be able to self identify what we want to be I think I didn't feel completely girly until my adolescence stage when I got my first boyfriend.. Than there is when I started behaving more lady like and started spending more time on my hair, nails and dress codes.

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  5. This is really interesting. I have two siblings and I'm the oldest, then is my sister, and the last one is my brother. My sister and myself used to have Barbies. So when he was five years old, he started taking our Barbies to play with. He would have his transformers toys and my Barbies to fight in a "battlefield". It never crossed my mind to tell him not to play with my Barbies, or told him that Barbies are only for girls because he was just a kid. Also, I used to have friend, she was seven years old, and who loved to play soccer with the big boys of our neighborhood. Although, sometimes she was criticized by other kids and adults that because she was playing soccer, she would be a "boy" instead of a girl. She did not care at all about those remarks that her parents supported her, they even enrolled her on soccer classes.

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  6. I love the change that Sweden has made. I think it is important that children view each other as equals without gender distinctions. I have a five year old nephew who argues with me that girls favorite color should only be pink and that they cannot like blue, and he thinks girls cant be superheroes which shows all he has been taught is that boys are superior to girls. Slowly I have taught him otherwise but it is difficult because his parents of course teach him the norm.

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  7. I think that this gender neutral pronoun introduced by Sweden is a good idea. This slowly teaches young kids that we are all equal. If kids choose to play or to dress with something that is not typical for their gender it's ok. This doesn't mean that they will turn out to be a homosexual. There is underlying fear for people who are against this but those simple things like playing with and action figure, being a girl, will not determine anything. I grew up with an older brother and played with his action figures and Legos and I turned out just fine.

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  8. I really enjoyed reading your blog, especially because you put a little bit of yourself in this blog and it tied up your argument for the knowledge of this "in between state" for little kids really well. Me and my older brother are really close in age and when we were younger, I remember that I wanted my mom to dress me up just like him or how he used to play with barbies with me. I feel like a lot of people can relate to this. I really love what Sweden has put in place and it allows baby steps to accept gender equality across the world. I think changing up the types of toys little kids play with is also clever because it does not tie them down to one certain way of living life. I have to disagree with Claeson because i feel like it would not confuse kids, but it would open up the different possibilities of them trying to pretend to be someone else, just like playing dress up. The way we dress, talk, and the people who we surround ourselves with, does not define who a person is, so i think this opportunity to erase specific labels for gender is a good idea and other countries should take example for this.

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  9. Cool post. I disagree with Claeson and Rothchild that teaching children about gender neutrality as they are developing is damaging. Claeson states that teaching them about an "in-between gender" could confuse children. If kids aren't taught to adhere to the gender binary in the first place how can they be confused? It seems as though they believe it's best to enforce gender norms first and teach about how to deconstruct later. I feel that this may be more damaging as the children will have already learned that "girls are this way, and boys are this way," and those ideas may be harder to deconstruct later. By not forcing children to adhere to gender norms/the binary, they are free to examine aspects of life that may not be available to them under strict gender norms. They won't have to worry about being ostracized about enjoying things they "arent supposed to."

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  10. This is not my comment for the week - but, I cannot help it! Shazzy Mac, you and your brother are so cute.

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  11. I think this is a very interesting post. I believe Sweden is in on the right path. There should be a gender neutral pronoun. There are a lot of people that do not identify themselves as a man or a woman, labels that have been established by society. I really like the toy ad, it breaks though many stereotypes and the "idea" that there are gender specific toys.

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