Sexism?

When reading a social studies book or any book for that matter, have you ever looked for sexism while reading? I think a lot of readers would be surprised in what they find, I know I was. The book I reviewed was Idaho Social Studies, which is used in most 4th/5th grade classes. Looking through the index, I found that referenced men versus women was approximately 70 to 13. The majority of the 13 women referenced gave a sentence or two that gave brief explanations and information. An example was talking about Native American women and their roles, the book quickly summarized women gathering nuts, roots, and cleaned animals while men were out hunting and exploring. At first I was surprised at the substantial difference of material covered between men and women, but then I realized the times in which the majority of the events took place. Way back when, men and women had very specific roles and there wasn't a whole lot of overlap. I think this a common format in most textbooks that talk about history. Men explored, hunted, and fought in wars and battles, and women were gatherers, care takers of the children, cleaners, cookers, and took care of the homes. So although sexism can be found in many books including school textbooks, it is important to keep in mind the times in which they are referring to. It is also important as teachers to maintain a more equal balance of men vs. women in the curriculum, if not, what message is being sent to students. Some great activities for the class can be to have students pick a famous woman or group of women and talk about who they were, what they did, and their significance. Students can present their findings to the class and allow the rest of the class to learn and broaden their perspectives of gender roles.