HThere is a phase in children's lives when the dispute between boys and girls is visible. But, after all, in which spaces are these differences most pronounced? An ethnographic research carried out by Physical Education teacher Simone Cecília Fernandes brought to light the discussion about gender in the initial grades of elementary school.

In her master's thesis, presented at the Faculty of Physical Education and supervised by professor Jocimar Daolio, Simone found that away from the eyes of teachers, coordinators or inspectors, children do not reproduce the boundaries between male and female. She took a public school in Campinas as her object of study and, in Physical Education classes, evaluated the behavior of girls and boys in situations that were, in some way, exempt from disciplinary rules.

“When they were in guided activities, the children sketched out border meanings. However, when they were far from institutionalized situations, they interacted with each other, without expressing these boundaries”, concluded the research. On three different occasions, the Physical Education teacher observed the formation of heterogeneous groups and playing together that contradict the idea of ​​repulsion between genders.

According to Simone, in the school institution the aspect of social differences is present all the time and, at various times, there is a separation of groups of girls and boys. The selection of content for activities can be restrictive to both. “There is a gender standard that establishes an ideal of beauty for girls and a link to sports for boys. As a result, school work can often amplify the meaning of this separation. Therefore, I hope that the work contributes to overcoming gender asymmetries that may materialize in everyday school life”, declares Simone.

Another issue addressed in their discussion is related to the articulations between gender and racial relations, that is, the discrimination that occurs in school relations. “Children who deviate from the norm are discriminated against”, highlights Simone. She describes several situations of racial conflict present at school in which black girls are exposed, as well as cases of classmates who refuse to hold hands or situations in which the ethnic characteristics of these children are transformed into offensive nicknames.