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I thought my daughter was learning spelling for school – but she was also learning gender stereotypes
🇸🇬 Singapore /Culture & Society

I thought my daughter was learning spelling for school – but she was also learning gender stereotypes

From CNA · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • A mother discovered gender stereotypes in her daughter's primary school spelling booklet, where women were depicted in domestic roles and men in professional ones.
  • The booklet's sample sentences reinforced narrow ideas about gender roles, such as women baking and sewing while men worked late or read newspapers.
  • The mother expressed concern that these subtle messages could shape children's perceptions of what men and women should be and do.

A mother in Singapore has raised concerns after finding pervasive gender stereotypes embedded within her daughter's primary school spelling booklet. Penelope Chan, a senior editor at CNA, shared her experience of discovering that the sample sentences used to illustrate new words consistently depicted women in domestic roles and men in professional or external ones.

Father reads the newspaper

— Penelope ChanIllustrating a gender stereotype found in the spelling booklet.

Chan noted examples like "Father reads the newspaper" contrasted with "Mother bakes a cake." Other sentences included "Grandmother sews a dress for me" and mothers adding salt to soup, while grandfathers told stories and fathers returned late from work. A particularly jarring sentence was "Mother screams when she sees a lizard," reinforcing a stereotype of women as fearful and domestic.

Mother bakes a cake

— Penelope ChanIllustrating a gender stereotype found in the spelling booklet.

Chan expressed worry that these subtle messages, presented in an otherwise innocuous educational tool, could instill narrow ideas about gender roles in young children. She questioned the assumption that a woman's place is solely in the home and highlighted that her own husband is an excellent cook and that many mothers also work outside the home.

Grandmother sews a dress for me

— Penelope ChanIllustrating a gender stereotype found in the spelling booklet.

The mother's reflection underscores the importance of critically examining educational materials for hidden biases. She found herself challenged not just in helping her daughter learn words, but in offsetting the assumptions reinforced by the spelling booklet, aiming to foster broader perspectives on gender in her children.

Mother screams when she sees a lizard.

— Penelope ChanHighlighting a specific sentence that reinforced gender stereotypes.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNA. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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