KIDS ON GENDER

Directed by
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A group of children take on the slippery concept of gender.

Kids on Gender is a child-led look at how we define gender. Director Jas Pitt and her team listened to 13 children reveal their ideas of what gender is, what they think about it, and whether they believe in it. The kids were involved in techniques founded by child therapists to create a safe space for discussion, games and expression.

Pitt explains a little about the process of working with kids, "The film was made during a 4 day creative project and is an interesting example of what happens when you listen to children as oppose to instructing them. We had a team of 22 adults, split between film crew, childcare, production, and press. The film crew worked separately to the childcare staff, more as a revolving eye on the project. The interaction between the film crew and the children was therefore minimal, leaving much of their interactions in front of the camera natural. We found that as the children bonded with each other, they determined the direction the film would take; often with eye opening results. "

Kids on Gender makes us tune into how aware children are from a young age of the disparity between genders. It opens our eyes to see where the beginning of the disparity starts. Pitt comments that it became quite a symbolic experience for her own anguish with gender roles, "Kids on Gender was the first 'proper film' I made. I was 21, annoyed, and struggling my way into a male dominated industry. During this time I overheard a discussion between a group of kids who were talking about feeling trapped by their gender 'rules'. It was waay more refreshing, honest, and interesting than most of the things about gender I was reading/listening to at the time. It was also less depressing. The film was a way to tap into the process in which gender rules are fed to children, and ask them how it all feels. I think us 'adults' involved in making the film learned much, much, more than the kids. "


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