ABSTRACT
This chapter situates gender, sexuality, and early childhood education (ECE) within the context of colonial and postcolonial discourses. It sets the scene for the chapters that follow, highlighting the ways in which normative understandings of gender and sexuality are shaped by colonial legacies, sociocultural norms, and power dynamics. Rooted in the postcolonial condition, the chapter explores experiences of heterosexual domination, male power, the impact of religion and conservative politics, and the evolving social and cultural landscapes that shape ECE. Coloniality, gender binaries, and heteronormativity in Global South ECE are brought together to suggest its enduring form and to emphasise the need to challenge and transform gender and sexuality within a postcolonial context. Overall, the aim of the chapter is to introduce key themes of the book and to destabilise the silence surrounding gender and sexuality in Global South ECE contexts. The significance of addressing inequalities and injustices in ECE is highlighted, as is the complex and nuanced nature of gender and sexual norms in postcolonial contexts.
