Τὰ ἄφυλα παιδιά

Tὰ ἄφυλα παιδιά

Διάβασα αὐτὲς τὶς ἡμέρες - τυχαῖα καὶ σκόρπια -
τὶς ἐκπαιδευτικὲς πολιτικὲς στοὺς παιδικοὺς
σταθμοὺς - καὶ τὰ δημοτικὰ σχολεῖα
τῆς Ἀμερικῆς - σὲ ὅ,τι ἀφορᾷ στὸν καθορισμὸ τοῦ
φύλου.
Μία κόλασι κυριολεκτικά.
Τὰ ἀμερικανικὰ πανεπιστήμια - παράγουνε
χιλιάδες κοινωνιολόγους, ψυχολόγους,
συμβούλους ἐκπαίδευσης κλπ - ἀπὸ τὰ τμήματα
ΛεσβιΟμοφυλόΕπαμφοτεΤραβεστὶ σχολῶν -
οἱ ὁποῖοι ἀναλαμβάνουνε θέσεις στὰ
ἀμερικανικὰ σχολικὰ προγράμματα.
Οἱ γονεῖς - πολλοὶ γονεῖς - εὑρισκόμενοι
σὲ πανικὸ - προσπαθοῦνε ὅπως
μποροῦνε νὰ σώσουνε
τὰ παιδιά τους.
Στ᾿ ἀλήθεια εἶναι σὰν νὰ διαβάζῃ κανείς -
τὴν Ἀποκάλυψη τοῦ Ἰωάννη.
Ὄχι μόνο ἔχουνε κατορθώσει νὰ
περάσουνε - τὰ
μαθήματα ἀπαγόρευσης τοῦ φύλου -
ἀκόμα καὶ στὸ μάθημα
τῆς ἀριθμητικῆς ἢ τῆς γεωγραφίας -
ἀλλὰ πλέον καὶ τὸ ἐμπόριο -
ποὺ ἀμέσως ἁρπάζει τὶς νέες καταστάσεις -
διαφημίζει τὰ παιδικὰ ροῦχα -
σὰν ροῦχα «gender neutral» -
κάτι ἐντελῶς διαφορετικὸ ἀπὸ
τὰ γιούνισεξ τοῦ
παρελθόντος.

Γονεῖς ποὺ κρύβουνε τὸ φύλο τοῦ
παιδιοῦ τους -
ἀπὸ τοὺς γείτονες, τοὺς φίλους, ἀπὸ τὰ ἴδια
τὰ παιδιὰ -
μέχρι αὐτὰ νὰ γίνουνε 5 χρονῶν
καὶ «νὰ ἀποφασίσουνε μόνα τους» - ἂν
θέλουνε νὰ εἶναι ἀγόρια -
ἢ ὁμοφυλόφιλα ἀγόρια - ἢ λεσβίες -
τὰ 5 χρονα κακόμοιρα
βασανισμένα παιδάκια - ἀπὸ τὴν
δαιμονικὴ ὑστερία
τῶν ἀνωμάλων γονιῶν τους.

(«Couple raise "genderless" baby so it can choose its own sex later in life», The Indian Express, 25-5-2011)

   «A Canadian couple has sparked controversy by deciding to keep the sex of their 4-month-old baby a secret as part of an attempt to raise a "genderless child". Kathy Witterick, 38, and David Stocker, 39, are raising their third child, Storm, to be free of societal norms regarding gender, reports the Mirror. They want Storm to decide for itself whether it is going to be a boy or a girl.

   »A couple who have spent five years keeping their child's sex a secret have finally revealed it's a boy. Beck Laxton, 46, and partner Kieran Cooper, 44, decided to hide it from all but their closest relatives and raise him as "gender neutral". According to them, gender neutral was the way to go, if they wanted to allow their child's true personality to emerge. Laxton is of the opinion that gender stereotyping is fundamentally stupid, and she wanted to avoid it all together. In fact she goes as far as to say that early gender stereotyping can be harmful. "Gender affects what children wear and what they can play with, and that shapes the kind of person they become", she says.»

Οἱ Σουηδοὶ εἰσαγάγανε φέτος στὰ λεξικά τους μία νέα -
οὐδετέρου
γένους ἀντωνυμία - ὥστε νὰ μὴν ξεχωρίζῃ τὸ φύλο.
Στὴν διαδικτυακὴ ἔκδοση τῆς Ἐθνικῆς
Ἐγκυκλοπαίδειας τῆς
Σουηδίας -
μετὰ ἀπὸ μάχες -
δημιούργησαν τὴν λέξη hen -
ποὺ δὲν προσδιορίζει τὸ φύλο.
Στὰ Σουηδικὰ han = αὐτὸς καὶ hon = αὐτή.
Ηen - ἀντὶ ὀνόματος, χωρὶς φύλο.
Στὰ σχολεῖα οἱ δάσκαλοι δὲν κάνουνε ἀναφορὰ
στὸ φύλο -
τοὺς ζητᾶνε π.χ. νὰ ἀποφεύγουνε ἐκφράσεις ὅπως
«καλημέρα ἀγόρια καὶ κορίτσια».
Ἀκόμα καὶ οἱ λέξεις πατέρας καὶ μητέρα - ἔχουνε
μπεῖ στὸ στόχαστρο -
καὶ προσπαθοῦνε καὶ αὐτὲς νὰ τὶς
ἀντικαταστήσουνε μὲ λέξεις - ἄφυλες καὶ
οὐδέτερες.
Διαβάστε ἐδῶ  -
γιὰ τὸ σχολεῖο
ΠΟΥ ΑΠΑΓΟΡΕΥΣΕ ΤΟ ΠΑΙΧΝΙΔΙ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΥΛΗ -
γιατὶ τὸ παιχνίδι τῶν παιδιῶν - ὅπως
λένε - ἀναπαράγει τὰ
στερεότυπα τοῦ φύλου - τὰ ἀγόρια
γίνονται ἀγόρια ξανὰ - καὶ τὰ κορίτσια κορίτσια -
κι αὐτὸ ἀπαγορεύεται !

(«Sweden's new gender-neutral pronoun: hen - A country tries to banish gender», Slate, 11-4-2012)

   «Ironically, in the effort to free Swedish children from so-called normative behavior, gender-neutral proponents are also subjecting them to a whole set of new rules and new norms as certain forms of play become taboo, language becomes regulated, and children's interactions and attitudes are closely observed by teachers. One Swedish school got rid of its toy cars because boys "gender-coded" them and ascribed the cars higher status than other toys. Another preschool removed "free playtime" from its schedule because, as a pedagogue at the school put it, when children play freely "stereotypical gender patterns are born and cemented. In free play there is hierarchy, exclusion, and the seed to bullying." And so every detail of children's interactions gets micromanaged by concerned adults, who end up problematizing minute aspects of children's lives, from how they form friendships to what games they play and what songs they sing.

   »The Swedish school system has wholeheartedly, and probably too quickly and eagerly, embraced this new agenda. Last fall, 200 teachers attended a major government-sponsored conference discussing how to avoid "traditional gender patterns" in schools. At Egalia, one model Stockholm preschool, everything from the decoration to the books and toys are carefully selected to promote a gender-equal perspective and to avoid traditional presentations of gender and parenting roles. The teachers try to expose the pupils to as few "gendered expressions" as possible. At Christmastime, the Egalia staff rewrote a traditional song as "hen bakes cakes all day long." When pupils play house, they are encouraged to include "mommy, daddy, child" in their imaginary families, as well as "daddy, daddy, child"; "mommy, mommy, child"; "daddy, daddy, sister, aunty, child"; or any other modern combination.»

Παιχνίδια - στολὴ σπάϊντερμαν γιὰ τὸ ἀγόρι -
σπάϊντερμαν μὲ καροτσάκι μωροῦ καὶ
ἀσορτὶ τσαντούλα -
καὶ αὐτοκινητάκι γιὰ τὸ κορίτσι.

(«Swedish boys' new hero: pram-pushing Spiderman», The Local, 30-3-2012)

Kατάλογοι ὀνομάτων μὴ προσδιοριστικῶν
τοῦ φύλου - (ὀνόματα ἀνδρόγυνα) -
γιὰ νὰ δώσετε στὸ παιδί σας. Ἡ Σουηδία
ἔχει διὰ νόμου 170 τέτοια
ὀνόματα. Ἀγόρια ποὺ τὰ λένε Λίζα -
εἶναι νὰ τρελλαθῇς μὲ
τὰ δαιμονικὰ ὑστερικὰ καμώματα τοῦ
δυτικοῦ ἐκφυλισμοῦ.

   «Activists are lobbying for parents to be able to choose any name for their children (there are currently just 170 legally recognized unisex names in Sweden). The idea is that names should not be at all tied to gender, so it would be acceptable for parents to, say, name a girl Jack or a boy Lisa.»

Ἐδῶ ἕνα σύγχρονο gender neutral παιδάκι.

(«It's a boy! Couple reveal sex of their 'gender neutral' kid after five years», The Sun, 21-1-2012)

   «I wanted to avoid all that stereotyping,’ Miss Laxton, from Sawston, Cambridgeshire, explained last week. ‘Stereotypes seem fundamentally stupid. Why would you want to slot people into boxes?’»

καὶ προτάσεις ὀνομάτων:

- Σουηδία: «Könsneutrala förnamn kan gynna männen», Språk
- ΗΠΑ: «Gender-neutral kids are bait for bullies, but have awesome names», Chicago now, 20-1-2012
Flash, Eire, Wind, Bell, Pallas, Wyoming, Onyx, Seven...

Προσέξτε τὸ σωληνάκι. Ἡ ἄκρη του
ἐγχειρίστηκε στὸ στῆθος του.
Τὸ κακόμοιρο τὸ μωρὸ στὰ χέρια
τῆς διαστροφῆς.

(«La Leche League Canada rejects breastfeeding dad's bid to become lactation coach», TheStar.com, 19-8-2012)

* * *

Mὴ μοῦ ἅπτου ...

Γιὰ ὅποιον θέλει νὰ τὸ μελετήσῃ λίγο βαθύτερα.
Ἕνα ἀπὸ τὰ πολλά.
Ναί, ὑποχρεώνουνε τοὺς δασκάλους νὰ λένε στὰ παιδιά -
πόσο τοὺς ἀρέσει τὸ πλέξιμο -
καὶ στὶς δασκάλες τὸ ποδόσφαιρο.
Ἐδῶ -
ἐλέγχουνε τοὺς τρόπους μὲ τοὺς ὁποίους οἱ δάσκαλοι καὶ οἱ
δασκάλες ἀγγίζουνε τὰ παιδιὰ - στὶς εἰκόνες τῶν βιβλίων
τῶν παιδικῶν σταθμῶν.
Ταξινομοῦνε τὰ ἀγγίγματα - καὰ ἀνακαλύπτουνε -
«πατριαρχικὲς δομὲς» - δηλαδὴ καθορισμοὺς τοῦ φύλου -
στὸ ἄγγιγμα - καὶ στὸ ἐλεύθερο παιχνίδι τῶν
παιδιῶν.
Δεδομένων τῶν ἀναφορῶν ἀπὸ τὴν Σουηδία - ὅπου μεταδόθηκε
ἡ ἀμερικανικὴ ὑστερία -
τὸ παιδικὸ παιχνίδι κοντεύει νὰ ἀπαγορευθῇ.
Ὅπως εἶπε κάποιος - οἱ ἀνώμαλοι τῆς νέας ἐκπαίδευσης
δὲν ἔχουνε καταλάβει -
ὅτι τοὺς ρόλους τῶν φύλων τοὺς δίνει ἡ ζωή.

(Andrew Gilbert & Shané Williams, «Analyzing the impact of gender on depictions of touch in early childhood textbooks», Early Childhood Research and Practice, 2008)

   «Early childhood contexts often enact “common-sense identities” that create and sustain the notion that teachers of young children are expressly female and heterosexual. It has also been argued that touch is a key difference between men and women in early childhood classrooms. This exploratory study examined 10 early childhood textbooks to determine whether images depicting touch enacted these common-sense notions. To investigate whether implicit gendered messages existed within the texts, images displaying touch between teachers and children were grouped according to three main recurrent themes: teacher touching child, child touching teacher, and mutually negotiated contact. Findings indicated that, although the images of male teachers were positive, troubling patterns did emerge concerning the type and nature of men’s contact with children. These patterns worked to reaffirm larger patriarchal structures at play in schools and society while simultaneously painting women as more suitable to nurture young children. Furthermore, the texts provided clear messages to beginning teachers that acceptable types of touch were delineated by gender. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for early childhood preservice teacher education»

* * *

Γιὰ τὶς ἀλλαγές στὴν γλῶσσα τῆς ἐκπαίδευσις

(Sara Hailstone, «Gender neutral pronouns and the inclusive classroom», Teacher Tips, 15-1-2012)

   «The need for gender neutral pronouns

   »Singular gender-neutral third-person pronouns should be employed within the classroom in order to demonstrate the utmost of establishing an inclusive environment. Conventionally, the third-person pronoun commonly used is “he” which excludes the female students, and most especially, students transitioning between gender affiliations. There is also many undertones and historical currents that can be translated from the dominating use of ‘he,’ but the focus of this article is to expose the existence of gender-neutral pronouns and how they can be employed in the classroom. Sexual orientation is a sensitive matter, one that has become forefront in conversations within our societies. Transforming language conventions to include a neutral pronoun that is neither male nor female specific is the first step in promoting a fully inclusive 21st century classroom.

   »Gender neutral pronouns (Teach about them, display them, use them)

Ne/ Nem/ Nir, Nirs/ Nemself

Ve/Ver/Vis/Verself

Spivak (ey/em/eir/eirs/eirself)

Ze/Hir and its derivatives

Xe/Xem/Xyr/Xyrs/Xemself

   »What we are left with

   »Gender-neutral pronouns align to a lifestyle of diversity and inclusiveness. However, existing gender-neutral pronoun sets still have much adaptations and transformations to undertake. Transitioning into such language patterns will be difficult and tedious, but rewarding for identity constructs and the self-perceptions of your students.»

Ρίξτε μιὰ ματιὰ καὶ ἐδῶ. Χωρὶς πανικό.

Teaching language and gender

* * *

Τὸ κορίτσι καὶ ἡ ζωγραφιά του

   Ἡ Liz Bierendy, ἕνα ὄμορφο 17χρονο κορίτσι μὲ ἔφεσι στὴν ζωγραφικὴ, ἀνέλαβε νὰ κάνῃ μιὰ τοιχογραφία στὸ σχολεῖο της. Ζωγράφισε ἕνα ἀγόρι ποὺ παίζει παιχνίδια, μεγαλώνει καὶ παίζει τὴν κιθάρα του, πηγαίνει στὸ Γυμνάσιο, ντύνεται μοντέρνα καὶ διασκεδάζει ὅπως ὅλοι οἱ νεαροί, πηγαίνει στὸ πανεπιστήμιο, σπουδάζει, βρίσκει μιὰ ὡραῖα κοπέλα, παντρεύονται καὶ κάνουν ἕνα παιδάκι. Μιὰ μοντέρνα, δεμένη, εὐτιχισμένη οἰκογένεια.

   Τὴν εἶπαν ρατσίστρια. Οἱ καθηγητὲς τῆς εἶπαν νὰ σβήσῃ τὴν ζωγραφιά της. Ἀπὸ κι ὡς ποῦ, εἶπαν, ἡ οἰκογένεια νὰ παριστάνεται μὲ πατέρα καὶ μητέρα, ποὺ εἶναι μάλιστα παντρεμένοι; (Καὶ μάλιστα εὐτυχισμένη. Καὶ ἡ μητέρα νὰ ἀκουμπᾷ προστατευτικὰ τὸ χέρι στὸν ὧμο τοῦ παιδιοῦ.) Αὐτὸ εἶναι ρατσιστικό. Γιατὶ δὲν ζωγράφισες δύο ἀνώμαλους ἢ ἕναν ἀνύπαντρο ἢ χωρισμένο;

   Τὸ κορίτσι ἀναρωτιέται τί κακὸ ἔκανε καὶ ἀρνεῖται νὰ σβήσῃ τὴν ζωγραφιά του.

(«High school teen Liz Bierendy's mural of traditional family unit stirs trouble at Rhode Island school», The Huffington Post, 12-4-2012· βίντεο)

* * *

Ἀπαγορεύεται τὸ ὄρθιο καὶ τὸ τίναγμα ...

Κι ἐδῶ ὁ Σύριζας τῆς Σουηδίας - αὐτὴ ἡ χώρα τελικὰ εἶναι
ντὶπ λοβοτομημένη.

(«Swedish Left Party Chapter wants to make urinating while standing illegal for men», The Huffington Post, 13-6-2012)

Οἱ ὄρθιοι καὶ οἱ καθιστοί ...

(«Gender neutral bathroom week, 2-6 Apr 2012», Gender Diversity at WSU Vancouver)

   «There will be one set of bathrooms in each of seven buildings that will be gender neutral. The rest of the bathrooms in those buildings, as well as the rest of campus, will remain gender-segregated. For the bathrooms that are marked “Gender Neutral” all students will be able to use the bathroom of their choice, no matter their gender identity or expression. There are all sorts of gender identities and expressions out there, beyond the two you see the most. Raising awareness of that diversity is part of our mission with this event. Thank you for asking!»

(«How can you get involved? Be a toilet trainer!», Gender Diversity at WSU Vancouver)

   «We are going to need a small army of Toilet Trainers on campus throughout the week, to answer questions and ensure everyone stays safe and comfortable.  Without Toilet Trainers, the week educational opportunities will be lost, and confusion might take away from the potential power of an event like this.  You can make the week a success!»

Biological liberty

Ἀπαγορεύσανε καὶ τὸ κάπνισμα μέσα στὸ σπίτι σου ...

(«Smoking banned inside Santa Monica residences», NBC4, 12-7-2012)

* * *

Τὰ νέα φύλα ...

2 εἶναι καὶ μένουνε -
καταχρηστικῶς 3. Αὐτὸ τὸ 3ο φύλο -
ἐπλήθυνε καὶ κατακυρίευσε τὴν γῆ -
καὶ ὣς ἐδῶ τὰ ξέρετε.
Σήμερα εἴμαστε - στὴν αὐγὴ ἑνὸς
4ου φύλου.
Τοῦ οὐδετέρου. Οὔτε ἄνδρας οὔτε
γυναῖκα.
Δὲν εἶναι μόδα.
Εἶναι ἡ ἐφεύρεση μίας νέας ψυχικῆς
καὶ σωματικῆς κατάστασης.
Ὅπως οἱ γκαίηδες μιμοῦνται τοὺς
τρόπους τῶν ἀρχαίων
ἑρμαφρόδιτων
θεῶν - καὶ τῶν ἱερέων τους -
τὸ νέο 4ο φύλο -
μιμεῖται τὴν κατάσταση τοῦ ἀρχαίου
εὐνούχου.
Δὲν εὐνουχίζονται ἀκόμα - καθὼς
συναντᾶνε μεγάλη ἀντίδραση -
τόσο ἀπὸ τὸ κράτος
ὅσο καὶ
ἀπὸ τὶς θρησκεῖες.
Εἴμαστε ὅμως στὴν ἀρχή.
Τὸ 4ο φύλο τῶν - (ψευδο) ἁγίων.

asexuality.org
asexualnews.com


(Ἔρευνα καὶ κείμενα: Ἀνδρέας Φαρμάκις)