“Boys will be boys” and “girls just wanna have fun”: age-old phrases that roll off the tongue without much thought... but what happens when you take a step back and really consider their impact on young and impressionable minds?
Our charity partner Fawcett Society, armed with damning new data, is fighting the life long impact of gender stereotyping in childhood, aiming to readdress the harmful stereotypes which are proven to constrain future career choices and negatively affect personal relationships.
“Gender stereotypes hold us all back. We have boys who cannot express their emotions, become aggressive, under-achieve at school and go on to be part of a culture of toxic masculinity which normalises violence. We have girls who have low self-esteem and issues with their body image, with one in five 14-year-old girls self-harming. We have a heavily segregated labour market where just 8% of STEM apprentices are women. Gender stereotyping is at the root of all of this. We have to grasp the challenge to change it.” - Sam Smethers, Fawcett Society CEO
Here at Tatty Devine, we’re right behind them: designing four NEW pieces of laser-cut acrylic jewellery with £3 per piece sold donated to Fawcett Society to support their efforts. From transforming metaphors into the literal: our witty mirror silver acrylic Smashing Stereotypes Necklace, to the sparkling etched and inked Engineer Your Future Necklace and Brooch, a rallying cry to opportunities in STEM, we’ve got every base covered. Oh, and give us a cheer if you champion equal opportunities in your sector! We’ve got just the piece for you: meet the layered and hand-inked F for Feminist Brooch.
Click here to find out more about Fawcett Society’s findings and here to snap up your wearable piece of protest jewellery and spread the word about gender stereotyping.