Big and small, girls and boys

Intersecting gendered touch practices in early childhood educators’ discourses

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12232136
AutoresVirve Keränen (0000-0002-4506-7482, University of Oulu, autor de correspondencia), Outi Ylitapio-Mäntylä (0000-0002-0516-2223, University of Oulu)
Año2023
Volumen36
Número2
Páginas135-147
Fecha de publicación2023-11-16
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaGender and Education (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0954-0253 • E-ISSN: 1360-0516
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09540253.2023.2282985
OpenAlexW4388734325
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas39

In this study, we argue that touch is a way of producing gender in preschool and our aim is to explore different kinds of matters that intersect with gendered touch practices in this context. Our theoretical starting points draw on the performativity of gender and the discursively constructed touch practices of early childhood educators. We analyse these discourses by employing intersectional analysis. The data consist of three group discussions among 27 female early childhood educators. The findings suggest that gendered touch practices intersect across children's age, materiality, time, place, and heteronormative assumptions. Furthermore, cultural conventions affect the ways in which children are touched and the kinds of touch that are considered appropriate in relation to gender

Developmental psychology · Early childhood · Early childhood education · Masculinity · Pedagogy · Sociology · Children's Rights and Participation · Early Childhood Education and Development · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Psychology