Original article (in Serbian) was published on 8/11/2024; Author: Marija Vučić
The English textbook for the fourth grade of high school has caused a moral panic in the conservative Vecernje novosti due to a lesson on gender stereotypes. The lesson discusses male and female gender roles and questions traditional ways of raising boys and girls. However, Vecernje novosti saw this as a huge danger to “Serbian children”, writing that this is actually a story about raising “non-binary babies” and a path to total destruction. The article also mentions the “NATO empire” allegedly behind such ideas, as well as “transhumanism” as the ultimate goal – replacing human beings with artificial intelligence. The connection between these concepts is unclear in the text.
“Serbian children are being taught to raise non-binary babies”, writes Vecernje novosti on the front page, and the article refers to a lesson on gender roles in an English textbook for the final year of high school.
The textbook in question is the fifth edition of Headway – Advanced, published by Oxford University Press, part of the University of Oxford in the UK. The lesson is titled “Gender Matters”.
Like all other lessons in foreign language textbooks, this one aims to help students practice conversation and comprehension through discussion on specific topics.
The lesson addresses the traditional ways of raising boys and girls. It shows how parents, through their choice of toys, clothing, activities, and the messages they send, pre-determine what their children will be interested in, what they will do in life, and how they will behave, based on the gender roles assigned to them.
Vecernje novosti sees all of this as a sinister “gender ideology”, created by the “NATO empire”, according to their interviewee, Vladimir Dimitrijevic, a frequent guest of conservative and right-wing media and the president of the political council of the Dveri Movement.
The article paraphrases his views, stating that “behind genderism stands the NATO empire, and this is an ideology whose goal is to break families and states in order to achieve a globally subordinated planet”.
The text goes on to claim that humanity has reached the point where, in the most advanced Western countries, a person can identify as and behave like an animal, and that the ultimate goal is transhumanism – the “disappearance of humanity, which should be replaced by artificial intelligence”.
There is no explanation in the article of how all these concepts are related or how NATO, artificial intelligence, and gender roles are connected.
The textbook, workbook, and audio files related to this lesson can be found online. After reading and listening to the material, we concluded that there is no mention of any “aggressive imposition” of anything on Serbian children – quite the opposite.
What does this textbook say?
At the beginning of the lesson, students are asked to evaluate how “typically” male or female their upbringing was, based on factors such as whether they prefer verbal or written communication, how developed their empathy and spatial orientation are, how quickly they calculate, how inclined they are to share their problems with others, and so on.
The lesson then discusses typically male and typically female jobs, and presents stories about “atypical” roles – such as a man who takes care of the home and children, or a woman who is a pilot. Students are expected to discuss these topics, answering questions like how they would feel knowing that a woman is piloting an aeroplane, whether there are jobs that men or women do better and why, and in what ways their own lifestyles are typical for their gender.
This leads to the chapter that Vecernje novosti found controversial, titled “Bringing Up Max”.
The chapter includes a photo of a boy named Max, dressed in a shirt and pants, with a pink skirt over them. In a second photo, his parents offer him not only a toy truck to play with, but also a doll. The headline mentions that their son is being raised according to a technique known as “gender-neutral parenting”. This method allows the child to choose things like toys or clothing on their own, rather than imposing those traditionally associated with “boys” or “girls”.
On this page, students are asked to listen to a conversation between two speakers, Ali and Luka. Ali is strongly against this type of parenting, while Luka takes a more moderate stance.
The students then discuss the arguments they have heard. They are asked whose views they agree with and why, and they are expected to explain their reasoning and discuss what they perceive as the advantages and disadvantages of this type of parenting.
In other words, there is not a single sentence in these lessons that suggests anything is being “imposed” on the students, much less “aggressively”. On the contrary, it can be said that through language learning, they are developing critical awareness and the ability to think independently about various phenomena and discuss them with others in an argumentative way.
It should be added that this is just one of many lessons in the textbook. In other lessons, topics such as what makes a person human, whether we can trust our memory, the impacts and consequences of wars, how to be happier, and how the placebo effect works, are also discussed.
What is gender-neutral parenting?
This type of parenting is referred to by UNICEF as “gender-responsive”, and they advise parents to encourage children to play with toys that are traditionally intended for the opposite gender. Both boys and girls can play with dolls, they remind, just as fathers can cook and clean. Mothers can also participate in sports activities with their children, and both parents should, according to UNICEF, generally share childcare responsibilities equally.
Parents are also advised to avoid jokes or phrases that reinforce gender stereotypes, such as telling a boy he “cries like a girl”.
“The most important thing is to refrain from imposing a rigid gender identity on your child. Instead, encourage your child to develop their own sense of identity and independence in a supportive and accepting environment”, UNICEF writes.
This type of parenting does not necessarily aim to result in “raising non-binary babies”, or individuals who will not feel exclusively attached to either male or female gender. The goal is to allow children to explore and express their identities and interests freely, without imposing traditional gender roles or expectations related to sex.
It should also be noted that, in its extreme manifestations, as reported by the BBC, this parenting approach may mean not imposing the pronouns “he” or “she” on the child, so they can explore their gender identity on their own. It is precisely in this aspect, according to the British public service, that the most controversy lies – therapists with whom they spoke agree that this approach can be confusing for a child in an environment where other children identify as boys or girls, and this could lead to feelings of alienation and disconnection.
