‘Is it necessary to be male?’: A qualitative study of female kindergarten teachers’ views on physical activity for young children in China

Men are traditionally portrayed as being successful in sports, and male teachers in physical activities are portrayed as successful teachers. How do female teachers perceive the gender role of kindergarten teachers in early childhood physical activities? Using hegemonic masculinity theory as an analytical tool, semi-structured interviews with female public kindergarten teachers from four cities in Zhejiang Province, China were conducted. The study found that although most Chinese female teachers had traditional gender stereotypes about the role of physical activity teachers in kindergartens, these gender stereotypes were not firmly established. As the questions were contextualized and deepened, thinking about the deeper elements of early childhood physical activity was activated. They did not seem to believe that women were incapable of leading young children in physical activities, nor did they believe that women were not important in ideal early childhood physical activities. By deconstructing the male-only nature of ‘hegemonic masculinity’, they reconstructed the masculinity that children need in early childhood physical activities and constructed a more equal concept of teachers’ gender in early childhood physical activities.