Category Archives: boys and girls

Mama Panya's Pancakes | Books for kids who want to change the world | Sacraparental.com

Picture books for kids who want to change the world

No one is too young to make the world a better place! Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize when she was only seventeen. She began her public life as an activist for girls’ education in Pakistan when she was just eleven years old, blogging about life under the Taliban. She’s proof that ordinary young people can have genuine influence […]

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People keep saying 'boys won't read books about girls' - but it's just not true. | Sacraparental.com

Please stop saying ‘boys won’t read stories about girls’. It’s total nonsense.

I keep reading this baseless crap about how boys won’t read stories about girls, so we should just stop writing and publishing them. It’s nonsense. Worse, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, because how will boys read about girls if everyone’s been warned not to offer them those books? I recently wrote a round-up of 12 notable New […]

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Fabulous Children's Picture Books with Diverse Characters | Sacraparental.com

Fabulous Children’s Picture Books with Diverse Representation

Have you ever noticed that all the animals in the popular children’s lift-the-flap book Dear Zoo are male? Every single one. It’s not an isolated example. Looking at almost 6,000 children’s books published between 1900 and 2000, the study, led by Janice McCabe, a professor of sociology at Florida State University, found that males are central characters […]

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13 fabulous children's TV shows that pass The Maisy Test for sexism, and give kids a diverse range of characters to relate to and learn from. See the full list at Sacraparental.com

13 Fabulous Kids’ TV Shows that Pass the Maisy Test and Have Other Great Features, Too

We’re still swimming in sexism Here’s a quick exercise for you: grab a pen and paper, or open a document on a device. Briefly note down the ten or so kids’ television shows that you see or hear most of when you are around kids. You could include kids’ movies as well if you like. What shows […]

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Nine-year-old Jessica tells us about feminism

A very warm welcome to Jessica, who wrote this stunning speech about feminism for her school speech competition. I am looking forward to hearing more from this extraordinary person. Ko Mataatua te Waka Ko Maungapohatu Te Maunga Ko Waikaremoana te Moana Ko Whakatane toku Awa Ko Tuhoe-Potiki te Iwi Ko Ruatahuna te Rohe Ko Ngati […]

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'Colours are for everyone!' - one of a great list of phrases for feminist parenting | Sacraparental.com

‘Colours are for Everyone’ + 38 More Phrases for Feminist Parenting

A little visitor came to our house for the first time recently. This was the conversation between the visitor and my four-year-old son, SBJ: Visitor: Whose bike is that? SBJ: Mine! V: It can’t be yours. It’s pink. Pink is a girl colour. SBJ: No, colours are for everyone. Pink is one of my favourite colours. […]

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The Maisy Test for Sexism in Kids’ TV Shows and Movies: What to look for and what to do about it

This is something of an experimental post, so please be kind in your comments! I’d love your help to hone it. I’ve been working on it for months, so it’s time to let it out into the world and get your help. Thanks! Sexism in kids’ TV and movies I’m thoroughly, wretchedly ambivalent about children’s television and […]

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Everyday Misogyny: Sexism in Paradise Video Update

You’ll be astonished to know that my complaint via the Air New Zealand website (thanks Lucy for the motivation to make it) has not resulted in the ‘Safety in Paradise’ ads being withdrawn. Here’s how the correspondence has gone so far, and what I’m doing next. After I wrote this post about why I thought […]

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