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?

OP, I'm curious what you mean in relation to "centring women and girls". Do you mean that in a trans-exclusionary sense, or in the sense of giving all kinds of girls a safe place to listen and understand some of the things that affect them? Or both / neither?

@ByGrabtharsHammerWhatASavings

Absolutely the opposite of what I would like to happen and articulately explains the concerns of others regarding what kind of feminism.

It has occurred to me that the religious education subject should include a little feminist and atheism theory even if just to explain that some people take the view that all religions exist to control human behaviour and in particular women’s’ reproductive capabilities.

@ByGrabtharsHammerWhatASavings

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.

I agree. I don't want my imaginary daughter taught that. I equally don't want her taught much of what I see on here under the umbrella of radical feminism.

So I completed my undergraduate dissertation on gender neutral pedagogy in early years, so for the posters who’ve mentioned HOW you teach - I completely agree, it is vitally important.

I still feel that women and girls are underrepresented in the curriculum and am considering doing my masters dissertation on that subject.

Which is why I’m here picking your brains...

I think history of women's oppression and the fight against it should be taught.
Young people often seem to think that men and women are treated equally and have have been for a long time. So far from the truth.

Might have had a mild preference to have known the dissertation part in your OP, but not to worry. What would you recommend for representing women and girls in the curriculum?

@NeedToKnow101

I think history of women's oppression and the fight against it should be taught. Young people often seem to think that men and women are treated equally and have have been for a long time. So far from the truth.

Obviously you all know that! (Last sentence).

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

This
There's the rad fem viewpoint, and the lib fem viewpoint
Lib fem gets shouted down as "choosy woosy" if you dare to say women are able to think for themselves, rad fems try to speak for everyone and it's their way only - which one do you go for to teach?
It'd be chaos

I think history of women's oppression and the fight against it should be taught

That's true, I think that would be a good way to go about it.
Maybe teach about the history of oppression and how it still goes on to this day

I wonder whether teaching about "women's rights" rather than "feminism" would work better? For example, learning about the suffragettes, about historic inequalities and how they were tackled (e.g. the equal pay battle), and about things that are still an issue today? For example, my DS recently read "Invisible Women" and it seemed to really open his eyes, every few minutes he seemed to pop up saying "Wow, did you know that.....?" or "Can you believe that...?" (yes, DS, I read the book before you did! ).

I would still be a bit worried about it being hijacked by groups with an agenda, but by keeping the focus on history and facts rather than feminist theory that might reduce the risk a bit.

I do think RSE/PHSE lessons could/should also do a lot more in terms of discussing girls' boundaries, the harms of porn, stereotypes and so on. But I think if it was framed as "teaching feminism" specifically, there would immediately be a lot of kickback from some students and parents, as well as the risk of it being warped into some dubious version of supposed "feminism" as previous posters said.

Ha, X-posts NeedToKnow

@ahagwearsapointybonnet Definitely agree with this. The history of women's rights is an important thing to discuss, and can be using facts rather than personal opinion / any kind of leaning agenda. I think in a social movement with majorly opposing sides and a relatively fluid definition, it makes more sense on why feminists feel they need feminism as opposed to the practicalities of feminism on the whole.

Just my thoughts though. I do know that the suffragettes are still being taught in history classes, which is maybe a nod towards something OP's looking for in terms of focusing on women.

@mrscarbonara

Might have had a mild preference to have known the dissertation part in your OP, but not to worry. What would you recommend for representing women and girls in the curriculum?

Sorry @mrscarbonara I certainly didn’t mean to mislead you in anyway.

My school has a topic on the Suffragettes in Y3.

I try and teach equality through modelling it. This applies to sex, religion, race... We also teach the children that children don’t need to fit into stereotypes.

It's fine @IheartJKR, not to worry at all! Just making you aware that it might be good for your protection and the privacy of others to make your intentions clear if you want any hands on opinions for your dissertation (but no problems here at all, if you're just wondering about opinions). x

I agree that the slant should be women's rights rather than feminist theory.
A lot of the curriculum is hidden. If you teach the French Revolution you should be recognising the complexities and should definitely bring out the contribution made by women only to see the men exclude them from power.

A salutary lesson for all Lib Fems.

Same with the Trade Union movement.
This is also about the inclusion of women's testimonies. I agree that there is an inbuilt inertia that considers the world from a male perspective that should be addressed more intelligently than rolling out the token woman.

But this is the problem... why do so many people have a negative view of feminism?

My dd was called a feminazi at school for years. Our young people are being told to be kind and supportive and understanding apparently that doesn’t seem to apply to women and girls.

So many young people I interact with male and female have absolutely no idea about the patriarchy and the very real oppression that women endure everyday.

To answer the questions about WHAT to teach...this is the problem.
I’m very much against pressure groups, political groups etc entering our schools to push an agenda or a particular viewpoint...that also includes feminism.

Teaching should most definitely be left to the experts. Teachers!!

There's the rad fem viewpoint, and the lib fem viewpoint
Lib fem gets shouted down as "choosy woosy" if you dare to say women are able to think for themselves, rad fems try to speak for everyone and it's their way only - which one do you go for to teach?
It'd be chaos

Why does it have to be one or the other?

Couldn't the class be informed about all strands of feminism and then invited to think about it for themselves? This could encompass lessons on critical thinking to help them make informed decisions about these important things.

I think that girls (and boys) could benefit from such additions to the curriculum.

Maybe now with with diversity and equality included in the curriculum rather than just indicated there will be a push for teachers qualified to teach in diversity and equality areas that can include feminism.
I agree that Women’s studies is a good alternative.
There used to be women studies A levels.. I wish they’d bring that back.

@IheartJKR I think "Feminazi" is a trite insult and I don't agree with the usage of it by any means. But I can also see why, from a libfem or non-fem perspective radical feminism can seem oppressive.

That's just my personal views, feel free to disagree.

I understand your position. I think it’s fair to say many libfems and non-fems agree with you.

However my dd is neither. She’s a 16 year old girl trying to navigate her life surrounded by people who minimise her experience and ridicule the solidarity she feels towards her fellow women and girls as ‘outdated’.

Apparently, according to her history teacher, we have achieved equality now.

Also I feel I should clarify, I don’t advocate teaching Radical feminism.
I think @IwishNothingButTheBestForYou2
Has it.

[quote mrscarbonara]@IheartJKR I think "Feminazi" is a trite insult and I don't agree with the usage of it by any means. But I can also see why, from a libfem or non-fem perspective radical feminism can seem oppressive.

That's just my personal views, feel free to disagree.[/quote]
I think radical feminism comes across as very oppressive. It's so utterly negative for one thing. That will be denied of course. I'm thinking of the many, many posts along the lines that it's perfectly normal to hate puberty or hate your developing body or how "society" will shame you about periods, how choice is just an illusion.

I think children should be taught what their rights are. I had to explain the equal pay act to my daughter - she had heard of the gender pay gap and just assumed she would be paid less than a man.

If I hated puberty that makes me a radical feminist?