University of Gothenburg
Rainbow families and everyone’s right to love whomever they please are givens in many children’s perceptions of the world. Preschool policy documents also clearly state that children are to learn about different family structures. However, parallel to this, the games children play at preschool are still strongly characterised by heterosexual norms. These findings are described in a new thesis.
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Lena Sotevik.
“The critical analysis of norms is both desired and questioned within preschool and children’s culture. There is a demand for preschools that actively work with the critical analysis of norms, and in children’s books addressing issues such as same-sex love. On the other hand, this approach is questioned by people who believe they are protecting children, on the basis of the idea of childhood innocence. I wanted to study these issues from a child’s perspective,” says Lena Sotevik, the author of the thesis.