ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the changing and critical lens teachers need to be using to better understand and teach children that their gender identity is not the binary experience they have typically referred to as male and female, girl and boy. Instead, it is a much richer and more complex combination of things, including gender expression, anatomy, trans-gender identity, intersex, chromosome diversity, and the role that both sexism and homophobia play in development. There are many great resources for people who want to use more inclusive and reflective pronouns to encompass gender diversity. One of the ways young children communicate their internalization of gender roles and stereotypes is in their play themes and choices. In everyday conversations with children, they share stories about home and their families that reflect the ways they are learning about gender roles and stereotypes.
