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Welcome to The Male Montessorian Blog!

‘Everything I care about makes me more worldly, not less. Worldly in the sense of connected to the ripples…’ – Donna Haraway

This blog was formed out of a desire to explore ideas related to gender in early childhood education and care (ECEC), with a specific focus on gender in Montessori early childhood spaces.

Gender diversification efforts in the United Kingdom (where this project originates) have narrowly focused on the recruitment and retainment of men in ECEC. While men’s involvement has the potential to unsettle narrow framings of gender, ‘The Male Montessorian’ was created in 2015 in response to problematic discourses seen in public debates, discussions and policy interventions, where men were positioned as ‘rescuers’ of a ‘failing’, ‘feminised’ system of education. This has come to be known as ‘recuperative masculinity politics’.  A politics that shifts the blame onto working-class women, single mothers, communities of colour and non-heteronormative families. The platform is thus interested in problematising ‘recuperative masculinity politics’, instead offering narratives and practices shaped by a feminist ethic of care.

The title ‘The Male Montessorian’ was partly chosen in humour, poking fun at the idea that there ever can be a singular ‘Male Montessorian’, but also as a way to interrogate what constitutes ‘The Male Montessorian’. The aim is thus to engage with alternative conceptualisations of gender that foreground a staying with and embracing of difference, moving towards practices of justice and care.


Contribute to TMM?

We are always looking for people to contribute to TMM. If you are interested, please get in touch via the contact form.