Introduction

‘Gender is a social construction. In most of Western society, children born male (sex) are expected to behave like boys and then men (gender), which means a lot of things from playing with certain toys to assuming certain roles as an adult. It feels to me as if feminism and our notions of equality are changing. The generation of young people currently in our schools are doing a pretty amazing job, on the whole, of speaking up and speaking out about sexism and discrimination on the basis of gender and sexuality (among other things). Boys, and girls, and many who don't feel their identity is expressed by either label, are telling the world in voices loud and clear that they want schools to be different for them. ‘Sexual harassment, sexist language and gender stereotyping are commonplace in school settings, yet teachers report feeling unsupported and ill-equipped to respond’, began a recent report from the National Education Union.