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A Genderless Preschool

Earlier today, I read about Egalia, a Swedish preschool that aims to break down gender stereotypes. At this taxpayer-funded preschool located in the liberal Sodermalm district of Stockholm, staff avoid using pronouns such as "him" or "her" and address the 33 children as "friends" rather than boys and girls. Every little detail — from the color and placement of toys to the selection of literature (which mostly consists of books dealing with homosexual couples, single parents or adopted children) — has been carefully planned to ensure that the children do not fall into gender stereotypes from a young age. I couldn't help but be reminded of the Canadian parents who are hiding the gender of their baby. Upon reading that article, I remember asking...

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Claire Learns to Wave Bye

J and I took Claire to visit some friends over the weekend, and when we were all saying our respective goodbyes, Claire started waving bye too! Immediately J and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows. We hadn't been trying to teach her how to wave, so we thought it might just be some coincidental arm motions. But long after we had returned home, Claire continued to wave bye whenever we asked her to, and we knew that this had to something she had picked up just from observing the world around her. I finally managed to take a short video of it today. I stupidly aimed the Flip too high to get her first waves in the frame, but you can...

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