A preschool in Sweden wants to eliminate gender bias by
referring to children as “friends,” instead of girls and boys,
and avoiding gender-specific pronouns such as “him” or “her.” At
the taxpayer-funded “Egalia” preschool in Stockholm, which
opened last year for children ages 1-6, boys and girls play
together with a toy kitchen, which is located next to the Lego
bricks, the Associated Press reports. They read books featuring
gay and lesbian couples, single parents and adopted children,
instead of fairy tales such as “Cinderella” or “Snow White,”
which are rife with gender stereotypes. School staff try to
avoid masculine and feminine references in their speech, for
example by not using the Swedish pronouns “han” or “hon” for him
or her, and instead using the genderless word “hen,” which
doesn’t formally exist in the Swedish language. "Society expects
girls to be girlie, nice and pretty and boys to be manly, rough
and outgoing," teacher Jenny Johnsson told the AP. "Egalia gives
them a fantastic opportunity to