Unravelling the woven mat: Queering the whariki

Abstract

This paper explores issues related to sexualities following the author's 'reading' of Te Whariki: Early Childhood Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1996). Te Whariki: Early Childhood Curriculum is the national early childhood curriculum of Aotearoa New Zealand and is applicable to all licensed and chartered early childhood services. The readings described are multiple; lacking acknowledgment of sexualities, it is suggested that heteronormativity is central to the document yet, at the same time, the ways in which the underlying metaphor of Te Whariki allows for alternatives to the 'norm' are highlighted. Queer theory is applied to the document and an attempt to queer the metaphor suggests that new options for children's learning about and development of sexuality and for the celebration of sexualities are possible.