an independent school shouldn't be gender stereotyping

[m0therofdragons]

Okay, so I get that they argue the adverts are part of a whole campaign but seriously, who is likely to see every advert. Surely, if you need to see the whole collection of ads to realise the school isn't sexist, it's a pretty crap campaign?

m.somersetlive.co.uk/millfield-school-in-street-rubbishes-claim-that-adverts-are-8216-disgraceful-8217-gender-stereotyping/story-30138823-detail/story.html

Sorry, can anyone make the link work? It's a safe link from my local paper.

No school should be.

I like the ads. Millfileld is definitely not a stereotypical school.

I like the idea of the ads but the first 2 that were printed together were badly selected and very much girly jobs for the girl and traditionally male dominated jobs for the boy.

I used to work in a deprived school raising aspirations so maybe I'm over sensitive.

m.somersetlive.co.uk/millfield-school-in-street-rubbishes-claim-that-adverts-are-8216-disgraceful-8217-gender-stereotyping/story-30138823-detail/story.html

No school should be gender stereotyping but I'm not sure that this is all that bad. Looking at he wider range of adverts I don't think they're particularly gender stereotyped. A biologist is a great career for anybody. It's a bit sad you're seeing it as a "girly job" and not something that a highly qualified scientist would do.

I didn't see them as careers, I saw it as what they enjoy now

It's what the children have said they are interested in.

Surely girls can still aspire to jobs that some might think of 'girls' jobs?

I think it's more the first 2 together that upset people. The balance seems poorly thought out. Science plus 2 creative roles for the girl whereas the boy is more city-type jobs.

I grew up in the south east in a school that never made me feel there were any jobs I can't do but when I worked in a school in the West Country I found attitudes very different - boys looking at plumbing and girls looking at hairdressing or childcare. Obviously these are good jobs but it was clear gender stereotyping was prevalent. I come across it all the time in society and with comments my dds make.

Have you been on the website? Those are the girl's actual interests. She plays netball and the harp and loves biology.

millfieldschool.com/Everyfield/juliet.htm

Yanbu.,of the 6 jobs listed, the boy has the best 3. And netball is a wishy washy sport, certainly not a career.

I only looked at the first page, thought they referred to the jobs they wanted to do.

The balance seems poorly thought out. Science plus 2 creative roles for the girl whereas the boy is more city-type jobs.

I'm very surprised you're now saying "science plus two creative roles" is stereotyping the girl. Since when was a scientific job a typically female one? I've been trying to convince young girls that science isn't a boy's subject for years.

No they are real children that enjoy these things and can do them at millfileld hence the slightly esoteric choices!

netball is a wishy washy sport

!

No it isn't! Not when it's done properly!

My son goes to a public school that takes girls at sixth form, and they have precisely this on their website - profiles of actual boys and girls.

I don't consider a biology to be a typically 'girlish' field, do you?

Yanbu...,of the 6 jobs listed, the boy has the best 3. And netball is a wishy washy sport, certainly not a career.

They're not jobs, they're aspirations and thing they enjoy doing.

Netball certainly isn't a wishy washy sport. How snobby.

If netball is good enough to go in the Millfield advertising campaign it must be far from wishy washy

Netball pretty much dominates girls' competitive sport in London as far as I can tell. Mind you, I have boys.

There is nothing wrong with those ads at all!

The idea that netball is a wishy washy sport is more worrying to me. The young women who play at a national level are certainly not wishy washy.

I think the top word is the "career" and the bottom two words are their interests. It is unfortunate that the boys show "diplomat and explorer" as his interests rather than say drama and football. (We have Diplomats and Explorers Clubs at our school).

Hence the girls' pictures show "doctor" and then her interests and guitarist/hockey player.

The boy they used just was unfortunate as it could be seen as 3 careers making the girls "interest" appear to be " careers" and flim flam!

Just not well thought out.

They are not stereotyping. Those are actual children with their actual interests and aspirations. Each child has a variety of skills and interests. Think this is a case of anything being pounced on so people can be professionally offended about nothing.

No school should be gender stereotyping . I agree these adverts aren't great - probably unintentional though.

Actually, I think it's worse now I've looked at the mill field site.

Take the two years unrest children as an example, one boy, one girl, both age 5.

The boy's examples are: number cruncher (really? A 5 year old used this expression?), diplomat (again, from a 5 year old?) and explorer.

The girl's example: storyteller (note, not author), mini chef (wtf? Why not a full, grown up chef?!) and runner (not athlete)

Why do the boys aspirations and interests get put down as full, career-based options and the girls left sounding as hobbies (or things that can fit around home life/family commitments)?

It would put me off, as a prospective parent.

But Millfield is a sports oriented school, with lots of scholarships available, so the girl that likes netball may well be aspiring to a place in the national squad or an Olympic medal. I used to swim competitively and the first hurdle at country level was that you were competing against half the GB team as Millfield could register as a swimming club, not just a school. Mark Foster and Duncan Goodhew went there, along with many others in all fields of sport.