School Pushes Gender Neutrality

A child reads a book at “Egalia”, a Swedish preschool aiming at gender stereotypes, in Stockholm, Sweden, Monday. At the “Egalia” preschool, staff avoid using words like “him” or “her” and address the children as “friends” rather than girls and boys. Every little detail has been carefully planned _ from the color and placement of toys to the selection of literature _ to make sure the 30 or so children don’t fall into gender stereotypes. “Society expects girls to be girlie, nice and pretty and boys to be manly, rough and outgoing,” says Jenny Johnsson, a 31-year-old teacher. “Egalia gives them a fantastic opportunity to be whoever they want to be.” The public preschool which opened last year in the liberal Sodermalm district of Stockholm is among the most radical examples of Sweden’s efforts to engineer equality between the sexes from childhood onward. (AP Photo/Scanpix Sweden, Fredrik Sandberg)

Question: Would you like to live in a gender neutral society?