Kan Batman vara rosa? – färg, rörelser och röst som markörer då förskolebarn ’gör’ kön.

The study focuses on the practices and negotiations of children in connection with ‘being a boy' and
‘being a girl' through specific markers in their play at being a hero (Batman).

Gender is demonstrated/practiced in certain ways when playing Batman. The children's movements and bodily expressions,
voices and colours are significant markers of gender. By using these markers, children learn what it means to be a boy and girl, respectively, and to be boyish or girlish. Batman-related games not only reproduce, but also challenge stereotypical perceptions of gender. The children transform, change and transgress gender roles throughout the play. The implications
of non-stereotypical practices for gender depend on the situation, e.g. on participants, or on the dominant norms for gender. Body markers of gender seem to be crucial for games where the body is important. By facilitating children's negotiations and opportunities to practice both masculine and feminine roles, child carers and parents can support children in exploring various ways of ‘being a boy and a girl', both by polarisation of the genders and by in transgressing stereotypes.

The study is an ethnographic study conducted in two daycare centres over a period of two years. The study is based on data from observations of four employees and 22 children (14 boys and 8 girls) aged three to five years, as well as face-to-face interviews.

Hellman, A. (2008). Kan Batman vara rosa? – färg, rörelser och röst som markörer då förskolebarn ’gör’ kön. I: Nordberg, A. Maskulinitet på schemat. Stockholm: Liber.

Hellman, A. (2012). Democracy among girls and boys in preschool: Inclusion and Common Projects . I: Johansson, E. & Berthelsen, D. (red.). Spaces for Solidarity and Individualism in Educational Contexts.  (s. 99-115). Gothenburg studies in educational sciences 318: Göteborg. ISBN: 978-91-7346-718-6.