Femmephobia in kindergarten education: Play environments as key sites for the early devaluation of femininity and care

Abstract

In this article, the authors argue for a rethinking of kindergarten education from a critical feminist perspective. They illustrate how the devaluation and denigration of femininity and care – otherwise known as femmephobia – that permeates patriarchal societies is present in the seemingly innocent spaces of play in kindergarten. Tracing femmephobia in the spatial-material arrangements of play, teacher–student interactions during play, and children's play practices in two Canadian classrooms, the authors show how care-related activities and learning are deeply marginalized in kindergarten education. Given these findings, the authors propose a femininity-affirmative pedagogy in early learning. Specifically, they discuss the importance of intentional practice around an ethics of care. The authors argue that a refocus on an ethics of care in early childhood education is urgently needed in collective work towards social change.