By Kate Hodges
03rd March 2021
March 8 is International Women’s Day – the day provides a focus for those who choose to raise their children as feminists. Many female-focussed books are published in March, and in recent years there has been a rich choice of events to choose from; we love the Southbank Centre’s WOW festival’s Feminist Corner workshops for boys and girls, but this year expect everything to take place online. Raising children as feminists however is about more than just one day.
Siani Driver “We demonstrate equality by modelling feminism in our relationship and by example. We take equal shares of responsibility and action on all aspects of parenting and household work. Childcare and school pick ups are split 50/50, and we challenge any views such as ‘pink is a girl’s colour’ and ensure a balance in the types of toys, books, equipment and viewed material available.”
Hannah McEwan “We are raising our children free from gendered stereotypes. There are no such things as colours, activities, clothes, or toys for girls or boys, just toys and clothes. We challenge and question any stereotypes. We avoid books or films where women are rescued by or seen as different to men, and search for books and films where children are seen playing together, not just with children of their own gender. We’ve enjoyed Swallows and Amazons, Harry Potter, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Ronja the Robber’s Daughter, and His Dark Materials trilogy. But most importantly, we practice what we preach!”
Dave Medina “I’m a stay-at home-dad and my wife works full-time. When I go to my part-time job our son tells me to put on my work dress, so he’s definitely not picked up on the normal stereotypes at home! It’s hard to find feminist stories so we stick to animal ones such as The Gingerbread Man and Three Little Pigs and we change the words to songs like Wheels on the Bus so the mummies and daddies do the same thing. We also like Stories for Kids Who Dare To Be Different, but our son is a little too young for that at the moment.”
Vicki Anidem “I’m the full-time working wife Dave Medina is referring to! We both do all of the housework tasks, so our son doesn’t pick up the notion of ‘male and female’ household jobs and chores. We also make sure we praise him for being clever or resilient - not for gendered attributes. I also try to expand our son’s emotional vocabulary.”
WORD UP Lady-lovin’ books to inspire everyone
F is for Feminism (Ladybird) Carolyn Suzuki £6.15
Step Into Your Power (Wide Eyed Editions) Jamia Wilson and Andrea Pippins £14.99
My First Book of Feminism (For Boys) (Downtown Bookworks) Julie Merberg £8.99
Recipes for Self-Love – How to Feel Good in a Patriarchal World (Morrow Gift) Alison Rachel £12.99
The Feminism Book (DK) Foreword by Lucy Mangan £19.48
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