Tool "Stand in Line"

Language: English

Project Featuring This Tool: Rainbow Resources

Themes:Gender and Sexuality Inclusion and Equality

Groups create characters based on particular characteristics, and then place them on a gender line.

Time 60-90
Approximate number of participants 10-20
Age under 10, 10-15
Date published 9 Dec 2011, 12:12

Objectives

To understand different expressions of gender

To expand the binary gender system

To emphasise the importance of respecting self-identification

Materials

Cards (photocopy and cut out the cards from the appendix)
Masking tape
Six envelopes
Paper and pens or magazines and scissors for creating characters

Setting

Place the cards in different envelopes according to their category. Write on each envelope the category and how many cards need to be taken from it. Categories are:

Personal life and family Work life Personality Likes Dislikes and hobbies Looks and the body (two envelopes)

Hide the envelopes in different places in the the room

Step-by-step instructions

1. Ask if anyone knows the difference between sex and gender (this step is not necessary if you have previously done exercises about gender/sex).

SEX: The biological organs and genes that someone has that usually make someone male or female. About 1% of people are ’intersex,’ which means that they may have organs or genes of both male and female.

GENDER: The social roles and norms that are often attributed to someone’s bio­logical sex, but are socially created. Gender is often divided into ‘men’ and ‘women’ but, just like sex, gender does include other categories. Gender is both about how you feel, how you see yourself and how others see you.

2. Ask the children to form six groups of roughly equal size. Tell the groups that you have hidden six envelopes around the room, which they have to find. Each envelope will tell them how many pieces of paper they should take from it.

3. Once the treasure hunt is over and every group has seven pieces of paper tell them that the characteristics on their cards all belong to one person.

4. Give the groups 20 minutes to create a life-sized person by drawing them or making a collage from magazines using the characteristics on their pieces of paper. They should imagine what that person might be like, what their name might be and what they do in their life. Put all the characteristics on the drawing/ collage of the person.

5. Make a line in the centre of the room using masking tape; mark one end as ‘masculine’ and the other one as ‘feminine’. Ask the groups to think about where they would place their person on the gender line. Once groups have made their decision, they should place their drawing on the line.

6. Ask the groups to introduce their characters, telling everyone their name, reading the characteristics aloud and explaining how they decided where their person should be on the gender line.

7. Other groups have the opportunity to offer opinions and, if they want, suggest that the person should move nearer to one end or another.

Debriefing

How did you decide where to put your character?

How did you feel when/if other people asked you to move your character on the line?

Who do you think should decide about a person’s place on the line?

Why are some characteristics considered masculine by society and some feminine?

Do you think you could imagine gender in another way than this line?

Tips

It is important to make it clear that not all people define themselves as male or female or define themselves at all. Emphasise that people only have the right to identify themselves, not other people, and that everyone has the right to express themselves as they feel. You should be aware that children might start creating over-stereotypical characters and/or making fun of them. In this case try to make a personal connection, saying this could be an actual person, your classmate, any of your relatives or you yourself bullied because of one or another characteristic.

You can find the appendix in the attach file

Attached files