Congleton Town Council’s White Ribbon Ambassadors visited Castle Primary School recently to talk about gender equality, showing respect to everyone, and challenging unhelpful gender stereotypes.
Years 5 and 6 took part in the sessions which were led by White Ribbon Ambassadors Jonathan Dakin and Mike Wesley, with White Ribbon Champion Cllr Kay Wesley.
White Ribbon engages men and boys, in particular, to challenge the attitudes and behaviours that lead to men’s violence against women. The White Ribbon charity provides age-appropriate materials to help with discussions at all ages that will promote equality and help young people to challenge unacceptable attitudes and behaviour.
The focus of the workshop was on what is ‘fair’ and ‘not fair’ and Mr Wesley facilitated a quiz where the class shouted out whether certain things were unfair on girls, boys or ‘everyone’.
The youngsters were surprised to find that 85% of Hollywood film directors and 76% of computer games developers are men, leading to stories dominated by male characters, although girls enjoy movies and games as much as boys. These and other influences can lead to perceptions about what girls and boys are supposed to be like, in other words, gender stereotypes.
Mr Dakin told the class: “Harmful gender stereotypes can prevent people from being themselves, doing the things they love and reaching their potential. We should all feel free to choose how we behave, dress and speak, what our hobbies are and what jobs we want to do.”
The session included a number of ‘text messages’ and things that friends might say, and asked the youngsters to write ‘responses’ to these that challenge assumptions and unconscious bias, for example about girls playing football or boys showing their emotions.
Mr Wesley said: “The students had great ideas for how to respond to negative stereotypes and support their friends with compassion and humour. It was really good to see how quickly they could think of positive responses.”
The workshop ended with the whole class suggesting ideas and statements that could become part of the school’s values, such as ‘Just be who you want to be’ and ‘Follow your dreams’.
Teacher Hannah Bours thanked the White Ribbon team, saying: “The children were so engaged. Their ideas and responses really showed a true determination to challenge the expectation and language of stereotyping - a great addition to our PSHE curriculum.”
Congleton Town Council is a White Ribbon Accredited organisation whose ambition is to eradicate men’s violence against women and all gender-based violence in Congleton. The White Ribbon Group consists of Town Councillors, Council Officers, and volunteers from the community who are all White Ribbon Ambassadors or Champions.
The team delivers talks and presentations for businesses, sports clubs and schools, many of whom have gone on to become White Ribbon organisations themselves.
If any schools or organisations would like a session with the White Ribbon team, please contact: info@congleton-tc.gov.uk and a member of the group will get in touch.
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