Bodies under surveillance in early childhood education: between regulation and violation of rights

Abstract

In this article, we analyze and discuss how Early Childhood Education, from the perspective of the surveillance of children's bodies, has reproduced a dichotomous model of binary opposition, especially in terms of gender and sexuality. We start from a post-structuralist approach and use Gender Studies as a theoretical foundation to research and question the mechanisms of regulation and the practices that violate children's bodies. We understand that these practices, often implicit or naturalized, operate at the first stage of Basic Education, molding children's bodies and behaviors within a normative framework. In this regard, we note that knowledge production is guided by a pedagogy of control which seeks to discipline children's bodies according to hegemonic gender values.   Nonetheless, we stress that this process is neither linear nor unilateral: children also develop creative strategies to resist such standardization and subvert the controls imposed on their bodies. This tension between regulation and resistance reveals a dynamic and complex field in which children are not just passive recipients, but active agents in the construction of their subjectivities. Hence, our study contributes to a critical debate on how pedagogical practices may perpetuate inequalities and points to pathways towards a more equitable and inclusive education.