‘I don’t want to play with the Barbie boy’: Understanding Gender-Based Bullying in a Kindergarten in Indonesia

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of gender-based bullying in a kindergarten. Such places are often depicted as innocent spaces, and hence, teachers often overlook the fact that bullying could also take place. This paper is based on an ethnographic study, conducted in a kindergarten in Indonesia. Twenty-eight children and four teachers participated in this study. Drawing from feminist poststructuralist approaches, this paper illuminates the kindergarten as a site where heteronormativity is promoted. Using the experiences of young boys who do not conform to the dominant and traditional gender values in the school, the findings demonstrate how gender-based bullying takes place. The findings also reflect how increasing homophobia in Indonesia is channelled in kindergarten. The paper shows how larger socio-political discourses in Indonesia influence the school. Finally, it is suggested that teachers in early childhood education (ECE) should have a gendered lens in understanding children's play to tackle gender-based bullying in the school context.

Gender Constructions in Early Childhood Education

“…Meanwhile, girls are more directed to choose and carry out feminine activities. So that if there are girls who play in areas that are claimed to be boys' activities, they will be considered different or out of the ordinary [14]. This is evidence of the differences mentioned by Bourdieu because they are produced by the culture and social structure of society in which educators have experienced this before.…”

“…As previously mentioned, the concept of gender formation is carried out from an early age, so the teacher as the closest environment to students also shapes how gender is constructed. So that it results in the emergence of gender injustice in school institutions [14]. One of the common things about gender inequality occurs because we live in a dominant society with ideas about how to be right for men and women.…”

Gender and Toys in Early Childhood Education

“…For example, Smith explains how the discourse of salvation, the concept of "strangers" is considered a threat, dangerous, but in different discourses foreigners are considered as people who allow us to know or learn knowledge. Thus, feminist post-structuralism views gender as a social construction which is constructed and is reinforced by discourses (Blaise, 2009;Adriay, 2019a;2019b). Yelland (2005) also explains that gender discourse is constructed, reconstructed and negotiated at school.…”

“…Superheroes is indeed a medium by which conventional masculinity is reinforced and constructed in boys (Adriany, 2019b). The superhero discourse in the picture of the puzzle also instills the value of masculinity where boys assume that male superheroes are stronger than female superheroes.…”

“…The idea is depicted in the boy's comment that implies female superheroes are weak that is why they will die right away. The strong and aggressive masculinity discourse (Adriany, 2019b) seems to determine the boy's comment. This dominant masculinity discourse is often depicted in decades of superheroes stories loved by children, especially boys.…”