Agency over gender describes the belief of a child’s freedom to determine their own person. And, that an educator’s choice to guide, not control, that determination can help create spaces of such freedom. The idea of agency over gender through art came from my first teaching job out of college as a counselor of an elementary after school center. In college, I had finished my thesis in using an intersectional lens in public school pedagogy. This illustrated ways in which teachers should frame their curriculum using an intersectional feminist lens that centers those that are most marginalized and erased. I was excited to practice these thoughts and writings into my work with students. Within two weeks of my previous job I was promoted to Art Director and was able to put into practice my ideas, and challenge myself in new ways.
In this position, I stripped away rules that every student needed to create the same exact project. I felt that these structures could limit a student’s imagination and the pursuit of their own creations. Instead, using themes that promote soft skills such as expression, friendship, responsibility, ect, I guided and encouraged students to seek and consider themselves as the agents of their own person through their art. Children are often not allotted the positionality to share their opinions or expressions as openly, as society has often made them victims of abuses of power.