Sexuality in Early Childhood: Inspire 2020 Conference

In February 2020, Semann and Slattery hosted the INSPIRE 2020 conference for early childhood education professionals. Body Safety Australia CEO, Deanne Carson joined Sarah Louise Gandolfo, Dr Rachel Chapman and Alistair Gibbs to discuss sexuality in early childhood.

Below is an excerpt from Semann and Slattery magazine ‘Pedagogy’.

Click here to purchase a physical or digital copy of ‘Pedagogy’, or click here to see Semann and Slattery’s upcoming seminars.

All panelists spoke from their personal experiences of being LGBTIQ and working in the early childhood education space. They also drew on research on how to best support children, parents and staff who are LGBTIQ or gender non-conforming.

For more information on making your education service more inclusive, check out Body Safety Australia’s Gender Glorious professional development.

Below is the think sheet pulled together from the conference:

Our panel came together with one thing in mind: to share our own deeply personal stories to make a difference to the way in which LGBTIQ adults and children are treated, seen and understood in early childhood education and care settings. Through our sharing of stories, we covered many matters related to children, adults, play, relationships, environments, resourcing and language. We also shared statistics related to LGBTIQ youth, not to shock, but to stress the vital impact that our work can have on stopping our youth from becoming just another statistic.

STATISTICS

61% of LGBTIQ youth have experienced verbal homophobic or transphobic abuse
80% of transgender youth have self-harmed
50% of transgender youth have attempted suicide
Intersex youth are 6 times more likely than the general population to attempt suicide
50% of bisexual women over 16 have been treated for mental health concerns
66% of transgender youth are not supported by their families

CHILDREN, PLAY, ENVIRONMENTS AND RESOURCING

Heterosexuality is a sexuality and children have a sexuality. It may be an uncomfortable topic to think and speak about but it’s something that actually occurs quite naturally in our interactions with children in early childhood settings. Think back to the pretend wedding, where we helped the little “girl” get ready with her gown and flowers, and how we facilitated conversation around what it means to be married and who we are allowed to marry. This is a conversation about sexuality, and one that can unintentionally other those children who will eventually find the language to identify as LGBTIQ.

So, what do our set ups say to children about gender specific roles in and out of the home? Take, for example, the home corner. Is the home corner always a home with a kitchen? Are the resources in the home corner aimed at girls only, whether intentional or not? Do all of our play spaces send a message that this play area is for everyone, or only for a few?

One thing we can easily do is conduct audits of resources and books that already exist within our services. This is something we already do when we consider the need for dolls with varying skin tones, but are we including varying genitalia in this reflection also? Books are also quite an easy one to consider, and this doesn’t mean throwing out books that are not inclusive, but it does mean questioning them and being intentional about how and when we read them. We can wonder with children, why is the mum always in the kitchen cooking the meals and the dad is always out cooking on the BBQ? Why do all these children have a mum AND a dad? What other words can we use to describe our parents/siblings/grandparents?

Another reflective point is to consider how it looks and feels to walk into your building. Do we have visual resources and representation, such as flags, door stickers, and pronoun badges that tell families, children and the community that is a safe space where they are seen, understood, known and welcomed? It also sends the message to the community that diversity and inclusions are an integral part of the philosophy of the service.

RELATIONSHIPS, LANGUAGE AND ADULTS

Language isn’t a new concept, nor is the constant changing of language. It’s important that as early childhood practitioners that we keep up to date by accessing appropriate resources, and what better way than through the internet and social media. The panel recommend the Social Justice in Early Childhood Facebook page, the Assigned Male Facebook page, Transgender Victoria, Aids Council of NSW, Rainbow Families, the Royal Children’s Hospital, and Parents of Trans and Gender Diverse Children. An example of changing language is the word “queer”, that is ever evolving and in recent years has been reclaimed by the LGBTQI community. It is always a good idea to approach language with caution as while some members have embraced the term queer, others may find it unnerving.

Coming out in the workplace can be extremely difficult, as can simply walking into a new space where you don’t know if you will be “the only queer in the village” upon arrival, or where you aren’t sure if the families and educators within the space belong to the 38% of Australians who voted “no” to marriage equality. This stresses the point that it’s important to consider the language used in workplaces around LGBTIQ people and culture. We need to use language and resources effectively to create a culture an environment that allows people to safely and confidently express who they truly are in the workplace; without fear of harm and ridicule. An example of this is to reflect on how often the term “the girls” or “ladies” is used to address a group of early childhood educators. What do these terms say to trans men or non-binary people?

SOME FINAL POINTS ABOUT ADVOCACY

Check in with our own biases. Reflect deeply on these and where they originate from. Read, learn and expose yourself to different ways of knowing and being,
Be bold, brave and courageous. Don’t be afraid to tell someone, whether a staff member or a parent, that the values and philosophy of the service are there for a reason and if that doesn’t align with their own then they may need to find a service more suited to them,
Join groups as an ally and speak up in the face of injustice, bias and discrimination,
Share stories of inclusion with the community through writing articles, speaking at conferences and networking.