Miss Representation

The documentary I just finished watching this evening was only fitting after the events of today.

This morning during my third grade lessons the students were learning how to say phrases related to money and what they "can buy" from a store pictured in their books. The students were grasping the new language fairly well when a boy mentioned he could buy the doll and the ball for the amount of money he was given. He was correct in how he answered the question and I was ready to move on. However, the teacher I was teaching with asked the entire class "Can he buy the doll?" to which I was confused and thankfully a lot of the students also were because he of course had enough money to buy it. She then went on to say that "boys can't buy dolls...he could buy one for his sister but he wouldn't want a doll". I'm sure my face said it all as I was very upset she told an entire class of 3rd graders this. Every time a gender stereotype comes up in school I have to think how to address it. For today, all I did was tell the class that I think boys can buy dolls because dolls are fun to play with. It frustrated me and made me very anxious to end that class and move on to something different.

Back to the documentary though, I just finished watching "Miss Representation". I enjoyed the film and feel it had some great insights into "the media’s misrepresentation of women [which] has led to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence." That last bit was taken from the website. I highly recommend watching the film, especially if you are a parent as today's media has such a strong influence on girls and boys. Learning how to be literate and a critical thinker in today's society is crucial. You can find more information and learn about the documentary here:


Miss Representation

The rest of my evening will be filled with knitting, music, and another documentary. I'm so happy to have a relaxing evening at my place :)

"May we make empowering other women and girls a priority."

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.