Kiss and Tell: Gendered Narratives and Childhood Sexuality

Abstract

THIS PAPER IS BASED ON a small-scale qualitative study framed by poststructuralist and queer perspectives that explored how young children talk about gender and sexuality while engaging with activities commonly found in early years settings. Findings show that children are eager to talk about gender and sexuality and do have a considerable amount of sexual knowledge. Questions are raised regarding the role of the early years' teacher and the responsibility the field has for opening up spaces in the curriculum for children's gender and sexual knowledge to be heard, valued and considered.