School drops carnival over gender stereotypes

A preschool in egalitarian Norway has canceled its traditional carnival celebration saying it encourages gender stereotypes, with boys dressing up in macho superhero costumes and girls in frilly princess dresses.

Renate Kvivesen, the principal of the Vikaasen preschool near Trondheim, said on Wednesday that "we don't think it fits our values to host an event where children feel it's important to fit into specific gender roles."

The preschool has children that range from toddler up to 6 years old.

Parents were informed by e-mail that the annual dress-up for carnival, held just ahead of Lent in the Christian calendar, would not be taking place as usual this year after a split decision by the parent-teacher board.

Kvivesen said some parents were disappointed but added "the nature of the celebration has changed in recent years so we felt we needed to look again at the arrangements."

Norwegians are proud of their record in promoting women's rights. Some 40 percent of Norwegian lawmakers are women, including the prime minister and finance minister, while company boardrooms are required to have a female quota of four in every 10.