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The View from the Classroom – Gender – What is gender? Is it something people are born with, or something they choose? How does someone’s gender affect their lives and choices? Students from Key Stages 4 and 5 in schools all around the country give us the view from the classroom.

Advice for young people who are thinking about gender identity can be found at the following sites:

Childline

Brook

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:
AQA
Component 2: Thematic studies: Theme A: Relationships and families:Sex, marriage and divorce Families and gender equality - Gender roles, Gender equality, Gender prejudice and discrimination including examples.
Edexcel
Area of Study 1 - Beliefs in action – Religion and Ethics: Marriage & Family - Varying religious and personal attitudes towards gender and gender rights.
OCR
Component Group 2–Religion,philosophy and ethics in the modern world from a religious perspective - relationships and families - religious teachings about the nature and purpose of families in the 21st century, sex, marriage, cohabitation and divorce. Issues related to the nature and purpose of families; roles of men and women; equality; gender prejudice and discrimination.
WJEC
PART B- Theme 1: Issues of Relationships - Issues of equality: gender prejudice and discrimination
Eduqas
Component 1 (Route A):Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World : Theme 1: Issues of Relationships:Issues of equality: gender prejudice and discrimination

The View from the Classroom – Gender

I am female and I do like being a female.

I'm male.

Male.

I identify as a female.

I'd say my gender is a male.

I am a woman, and I like being a woman because I don't know, I just like it and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm a male.

It's my own gender is female.

Yeah, I like being female. I think that's the way I'll stay.

Gender. Ah, there's different genders like male, female and transgender. Is it a type of gender?

Someone's gender is the way they identify themselves.

Maybe a boy that feels they're more of a girl, or the girl feels more they're a boy.

They could identify as something else, like non-binary, where they don't identify as either gender. They're just themselves.

I think someone's biological sex is like what they were born as, but then someone's gender identity is what they choose to be.

There is a difference in what you're born with and regard yourself as. But the question is, should we accept that? And is what you think more important than your physical body?

In my opinion, there's only two types, right? If you're born a man, you're born a man. If you're born a woman, you're born a woman.

We have things in our bodies that determine what we are.

It's easier to go the male or female based on their, like, sexual organs, really.

My personal belief is that there are only two genders. There's nothing else other than that.

I'm not exactly the most masculine guy, but I'm still a male in with my gender. I don't need to identify as anything other just because I'm not the stereotype.

I think some people do view it as not good and going against God's wishes, I guess, but it's kind of none of their business. It's if that person doesn't feel comfortable and doesn't feel as if they know themselves in that skin and they don't want to be themselves, it's their choice.

They're not harming anyone else, so why discriminate against them for it?

I think people should be able to change their gender because if they don't feel comfortable in their body, then if it makes them happy to change gender, that's better for them.

I think men are better at some jobs, like the hard labour jobs like building, because they have like more muscle and strength, while women, they're pretty good at doing like makeup and like nail salons and stuff like that. I know I'd be judged if I went into like the nail business and stuff.

You do get men where they are involved in makeup, hairdressing, stuff like that, and it is frowned upon by some people, but by others, they see it as them embracing their own what they are doing, what they love. And you can't stop that, because if they love what they're doing, then they should carry on doing it.

People do get bullied for like not doing things that are stereotypical for their gender. I think that's because most girls and boys are brought up like the same way, so they think they can only do certain things. But as you get older, you become more independent and you realise that, um, you can do anything you want to do.

Well, I know a few boys that do want to go into like hair and beauty and stuff like that, and they're doing quite well, to be quite honest with you. But you do get the stereotype that you are, um, gay and stuff like that because you're doing something a girl would normally do, which isn't the case. And I think that's kind of wrong that people do stereotype.

I believe gender is a social construct due to representation in the media. So for example, as simple as adverts for toys with children, we are presented with the ideas that boys like construction and girls like makeup.

I think your upbringing, like the toys you get, can affect it because a lot of girls clothes or toys have things on, like be pretty and stuff like this, where on boys it's always be strong and all of this. So it kind of teaches girls from a really early age that girls can't be strong and girls can't do this and can't do that, and boys can't.. That boys can't cry, for example, and boys can't be emotional.

I think if you're a girl and in society they mostly like girly stuff like unicorns and makeup, so bringing them up like that shouldn't really make that much of a difference. I think boys should also be brought up, as in having toy cars and stuff, because that's what you're going to do in the future, most likely.

I was brought up in like Guiding and Brownies and stuff like that, and then I went into Scouting and enjoyed that a lot more, but because I was a girl, my mum put me into brownies first. And I think a lot of people do that with children.

I think kids should be free to choose what they want to play with or what they want to wear, as it depends on how they feel really. They may not want to be in the girly stuff if they're a girl.

The gender pay gap is where on average, females tend to earn a certain percentage less than males for doing the same role in a job.

I think being a male gives me many advantages in life.

If it's a male and female who have the exact same ability, which is really top calibre, then they deserve the same pay despite the gender, because they do, they fulfil that same role.

At the end of the day, if we're both doing the same job, why is someone else getting paid more than I am? I just don't think that's right. And if you're putting it down to my gender, that's even worse. Because what's different?

Females aren't inferior to men, so they shouldn't be earning less.

People are starting to widen their horizons and people are just making new rules for themselves.

We are all just humans. So if a girl wants to be strong and pretty and all of this at the same time, she can do that, like a boy shouldn't have to sit there and hold all his emotions in and keep it all inside of him.

We should all just accept who someone is, like, we're here to be loving. We're not here to judge people and decide that this is wrong and this is right.

I just say let people be what they want to be. You shouldn't have to live by a set of rules that have been in place for hundreds of years and haven't been updated.

The View from the Classroom – Gender

Video length - 06.37
Published date - Oct 2019
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

First Love – Girl meets boy for their first date. That’s it. Oh, apart from the fact that they both have disabilities. But will it make any difference?

First Love

Video length - 07.46
Published date - Jun 2018
Keystage(s) - 3

Living With ADHD – Matteo has ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – which means that he’s very active and very excitable (which can be good), but it also means that he finds it hard to concentrate, forgets things easily and has little sense of danger (which can be bad). Matteo’s Mum wants him to take medication which will help him at school, but his Dad is worried that it will affect his chances of becoming a professional rugby player.

Directed by Lucia Clements and made during the BFI Film Academy’s documentary filmmaking residential course run by our friends at VividEcho.

Living With ADHD

Video length - 06.42
Published date - Jun 2018
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

You Can’t Play With Us – Anna plays centre back for Hampstead Women’s Football Club. She’s proved all the boys who said girls can’t play football wrong by winning an international cap, and so – at 18 years old – it’s time to decide whether to pursue a career in professional football.

Directed by Cray Smith and made during the BFI Film Academy’s documentary filmmaking residential course run by our friends at VividEcho.

You Can’t Play With Us

Video length - 06.56
Published date - Jun 2018
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

What Do You Mean I Can’t Change the World? – Jemmar tells the story of how she went from hating how she looked, to a realisation of the injustices that made her feel that way, to proud acceptance of herself as a beautiful, working class, black young woman. She is now an activist, working for social justice and inspiring other young people to campaign for the issues that affect their lives.

Told by Jemmar Samuels

Directed by Adam Tyler

Created in collaboration with the Advocacy Academy

CREDITS

Winner of the Content for Change category at the BAFTA Children’s Awards 2018.

…and Adam Tyler was also nominated in the Director category.

What Do You Mean I Can’t Change the World?

Video length - 10.54
Published date - Jan 2018
Keystage(s) - 4

Screwball! – A comedy drama for SRE (or RSE) lessons about Ryan and Natalie – two young people struggling through their first sexual encounter, and having to deal with each other’s expectations, a shiny trumpet and way too many cats. It’s ideal for opening up discussion about consent, peer pressure and the internet’s influence on relationships.

A film by Adam Tyler.

CREDITS

Adam Tyler (who wrote and directed the film) won the Writer category of the BAFTA Children’s Awards 2017.

Alhaji Fofana (Ryan) won the Performer category at the BAFTA Children’s Awards 2017

Savannah Baker (Natalie) was also nominated in the Performer category.

Winner of the Educational Film Award at the Learning on Screen Awards 2018

Winner of the Children’s Award at the Sandford St Martin Trust Awards 2018

Screwball!

Video length - 12.22
Published date - Jun 2017
Keystage(s) - 4 and 5
Downloadable resources

The Perfect Body – Sam’s life is turned upside down when he falls for the new girl at school. Convinced that she’ll never notice him unless he has the perfect body, he hires a personal trainer. A short comedy drama about love, muscles and a lot of eating.

The Perfect Body

Video length - 06.38
Published date - Apr 2017
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

Gains and Losses – What does it feel like to suffer from anorexia? Written and narrated by young people who have suffered with the eating disorder, this animation describes how it takes hold, how it feels, and how to fight back.

Courtesy of Biomation.

Gains and Losses

Video length - 06.57
Published date - Feb 2014
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

Jennifer’s Story

Jennifer was born a boy and knew from a young age that she was in the wrong body. She explains how her childhood was influenced by her gender-confusion and how she feels now she has begun surgery.

Jennifer’s Story

Video length - 03.21
Published date - Jul 2009
Keystage(s) - 4
Downloadable resources