Do you think feminism should be taught as part of the curriculum in schools?

[IheartJKR]

If you think feminism should be taught in schools, how do you think it should be done? What age range would you start?
What do you you think the benefits would be for both girls and boys?

I think the principles should be taught in that men and women should be equal, but I don't think a separate mandatory class is the right approach (or MRAs / similar groups would be campaigning for similar). Should just be a subsection of civics or ethics class, IMO.

Thanks for the reply...

I agree to a certain extent but I also ask why can’t women be centred??

Does anyone know of any diversity & equality training that actually centers women even for a portion of it?

Given that “Women’s Studies” at university became bastardized into “Gender Studies” with all the damage done, I feel very wary of anything of this sort.

I have however, seen there are initiatives in some parts of the world, that boys should be actively taught to respect girls more. I wonder whether attempts to teach boys to react less with violence and girls to assert their boundaries, might be more productive.

But I might be wholly wrong. Who knows?

Whose version of feminism? Not everyone in the world agrees on what that means.

Perhaps it would be better if we taught and encouraged people to think for themselves, and then let them come to their own conclusions, instead of foisting whatever opinion we happen to hold on them?

@Moondust001

Whose version of feminism? Not everyone in the world agrees on what that means.

Perhaps it would be better if we taught and encouraged people to think for themselves, and then let them come to their own conclusions, instead of foisting whatever opinion we happen to hold on them?

Agreed. Given that the radical feminists on here consistently rubbish liberal feminism there clearly isn't a consistent view.

If I had a daughter I would not want her being told sex work is empowering; equally I would not want her being taught the negativity of all aspects of being a girl or a woman which informs so much of what is behind radical feminism.

Very interesting replies thank you...

I’m interested because I feel there is a need within schools to talk to our children about feminism in a way that benefits boys and girls.

The whole feminists hate boys rhetoric is very damaging and divisive.

The rise of porn use in young men etc...the damage it is doing in their ability to form healthy relationships and their view of women as they grow up...

Not so much feminism, as feminist behaviour.

For example teachers being mindful in their classroom management, and not using girls to compensate for boys' behaviours, or praising them differently, or responding more actively to those demanding attention (usually boys), positively reinforcing that everyone must be silent when a quieter child is speaking (usually a girl).

Pointing out the missing females in stories and history. Eg the story of Mary Anning sounds feminist, but it's always about her and her father - her mother is never mentioned.

Drawing attention to the fact that life choices were historically so different - or even entirely absent - for women and girls, yet have barely changed for boys.

Porn use is also common amongst young women though, it's just talked about in relation to young men more. I agree it has negative consequences, however. Tricky to get the midpoint between liberal and radical feminism, particularly when you're trying to teach it to people who may not have experience in this type of issue (like children potentially though I suppose it depends on the child).

I think a bigger problem is the complete lack of critical thinking/teaching of critical thinking.

@Moondust001

Whose version of feminism? Not everyone in the world agrees on what that means.

Perhaps it would be better if we taught and encouraged people to think for themselves, and then let them come to their own conclusions, instead of foisting whatever opinion we happen to hold on them?

I would also be concerned that an approach like this would put feminism on a par with religious studies, i.e. here are some beliefs that different people have which you are expected to learn about but not necessarily assimilate.

Noooo. Can you imagine national curriculumn feminism.

Porn use is also common amongst young women though

Good point, do you think we should be having a conversation about this in class? Dispelling the myth of the ‘happy hooker’?

Should our young people be informed within schools about the femicide statistics in the UK?

The whole ‘be kind’ bullshit... should we talk to them about female social conditioning?

Given that the radical feminists on here consistently rubbish liberal feminism..

I'm free!

No. It'll become something else. Stick to math, English, science, art blahblah etc

@ChestnutSquash

I agree

Perhaps children could be taught about free speech and what the equality act actually says.

For starters.

I agree

That’s was to @IwishNothingButTheBestForYou2

No. Except for in a modern history class regarding 19th and 20th century civil rights movements.

So within PHSE teaching I see, diversity, relationships, friendships, puberty, sex ed etc. Some touch on porn use and social media but I don’t see any that contain feminism.

Shouldn't our young people be informed about something so important which effects everyone?

I mean I think the idea of teaching some middleground feminist principles are important, such as being respectful and most obviously trying to avoid sexist behaviour, but I don't necessarily see the need for the "feminism" label as it has so many variants and is kind of a big collective ideology. Also I think it's important to factor in the climate that kids are growing up in - a ton of it is on social media and social justice issues are incredibly visible, so kids will (hopefully) be more aware of these issues and decide what they want to take part in irrespective of school.

Just my thoughts though!

I think until there is some unified theory of feminism that can be communicated in an effective way, it'd do more harm than good. Imagine a feminist curriculum that was pro sex work, pro porn, pro gender and anti sex. Imagine a feminist curriculum where children are taught that "the role of feminists is to always be there and let TW know we support them to be themselves". I wouldn't be letting my daughter attend such classes, and yet that's the state of mainstream feminism atm.

See, @ByGrabtharsHammerWhatASavings I'd be uncomfortable letting my daughter be taught trans-exclusionary forms of feminism, because we are on different sides of a sliding scale.

I think OP this is a good example of the vulnerabilities of teaching feminism as a concrete thing, and it opens you up to a lot of criticism on the very definition of feminism and is potentially more divisive.

It was a significant section of my DS's Politics A-Level. He loved it.

Thank you everyone for your replies they are all very valuable.

I suppose from my opinion, I would want to implement some form of feminist teaching within schools that centres women and girls.

I feel that within PHSE young women aren’t being advocated for. I would like that to change, but not at the expense of anyone else.... just an expansion to include feminism that centres women and girls unapologetically.

I think that all of any cohort would benefit from the knowledge and information.