The Swedish Way to Parent and Play
Page 15
Looking back at history, it’s obvious that ideas about what girls and boys, women and men, can and should be and do are not immutable. We can also see that we, the people, have the power to change and shape the world we want our children to grow up in. This is clear when it comes to the environment and ecology. The greater the demand for organic food and environmentally friendly transportation, the greater the supply, and the more common these become in everyday life. Items labeled fair trade, organic, certified humane, and so on show up to meet that growing demand.
The more we demand, and the more of us that demand, that our children be treated as individuals, not as girls or boys, the more other parents, teachers, doctors, caregivers, and other important people in our children’s lives will pay attention to how they treat them. Conceiving of gender equality as a kind of quality is still in its early stages. Some preschools have a gender-equal profile, some publishers gender check their books, and some clothing stores are focusing on gender-neutral clothes marketed to all children. But there’s a lot of work left to do, and we hope this is just the beginning of an exciting gender equality journey. We also hope that our book will inspire a fun conversation on how we can create a more gender-equal world for our children. If we take small steps and make changes in our everyday existence, we can make a big difference, together. Hopefully, our children and grandchildren will have reason to thank us in much the same way that we thank the previous generation’s advocates for gender equality.
Acknowledgments
THANK YOU …
… to Martin, Inez, Emelie, Hedvig, and Clara for being in our lives and for constantly challenging us.
And thanks also to everyone who has supported us and cheered us on in our writing and thinking.
A special thank you to Ana Larsson for being a fantastic sounding board and having an awesome eye for structure, and to researcher Klara Dolk for her upside-down-turning expertise.
Thanks also to Martin Henkel, Tina Tomičić, Erik Ebbeson, and Herbert Henkel for encouraging us when we took our first faltering steps, and to Ina Petterson, Margareta Henkel, and Daniel Andersson for your careful reading and exclamation points as we approached the end.
Thank you everyone who has contributed stories and voices from the real world. Without you, this book would never have existed.
Thanks to all the survey respondents at FOFF (Forum for Feminist Parents).
Thanks to the heads of information at Lindex, design at Polarn O. Pyret, children’s clothing at KappAhl, communications at BRIO, and sales at BR Toys/TOP-TOY, along with communications directors at the preschools in Norrköping, Spånga-Tensta, and Hägersten-Liljeholmen who responded to our questions about children and gender equality.
About the Authors
Kristina Henkel is a gender equality consultant in pre-K–12. She runs the educational organization Jämställt.se and is the author of En jämställd förskola (A Gender-Equal Preschool). Kristina is the parent of one small and one medium child.
Marie Tomičić is a researcher and teacher, teaching leadership and creativity. She operates the publishing company OLIKA which promotes diversity in children’s literature. Marie is the parent of one large and two small children.
Mia Lidbom is a graphic designer. She designs books, information, product packaging, brochures, and advertising distinguished by thought and function. In 2002, Mia received the Utmärkt Svensk Form (Exemplary Swedish Design) award.
Emili Svensson is an illustrator of magazines and books, often focused on children. Her illustrations convey feelings with a lot of humor. You can find her images in Normkreativitet i förskolan (Creative Norms in Preschool) and Ta makten (Claim Power).
Copyright © 2009 by Kristina Henkel and Marie Tomičić
Design: Mia Lidbom www.spektrum.nu
Illustrations © by Emili Svensson www.emilisvensson.com
Translation copyright © 2020 by Paulina Essunger
All rights reserved
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Cover design: Lidija Tomas
Author photographs © Emili Svensson
Production manager: Devon Zahn
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Names: Henkel, Kristina, 1981– author. | Tomičić, Marie, 1969– author.
Title: The Swedish way to parent and play : advice for raising gender-equal kids / Kristina Henkel and Marie Tomičić; translated by Paulina Essunger.
Other titles: Ge ditt barn 100 möjligheter istället för 2. English
Identifiers: LCCN 2019033461 | ISBN 9781682684306 (paperback) | ISBN 9781682684313 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Sex role in children. | Equality. | Play. | Parenting.
Classification: LCC BF723.S42 H4613 2019 | DDC 155.4/182—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019033461
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