Gender Equity
"Real strength is neither male nor female; but is, quite simply, one of the finest characteristics that any human being can possess."
- Fred Rogers (The World According to Mister Rogers)
- Fred Rogers (The World According to Mister Rogers)
Messages of gender equity emerged early. Lady Aberlin led the peace campaign against King Friday and later knitted a sweater for Henrietta Pussycat. Rogers wrapped yarn around nails he clumsily hammered to a board. Children saw that girls can lead causes and knit, while boys who don't hammer well can create yarn pictures.
"To say that he didn't know what he was doing or that he accidentally stumbled into integration or talking about racism or sexism, that's not Mr. Rogers." - Francois Clemmons 2016 (YouTube) |
An average 3.5 million viewers watched The Neighborhood each week, yet children thought Rogers spoke directly to them. They liked his familiar cardigan and gentle voice. Conversely, adults sometimes mocked him for being meek, confusing sensitivity with weakness. "Fred was basically shy. It took courage and a lot of support when he faced the cameras for the first Neighborhood programs." - Sara Joanne Rogers (The World According to Mister Rogers) |
"This was a man who had great iron in his backbone along with the gentleness... he had fortitude, staying power and the courage to say, 'I don't care what everyone else in children's programming is doing.' As near as I can tell, what made it work was his personal willpower."
- Scott Simon, NPR host 2003 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
- Scott Simon, NPR host 2003 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
In 1969, when Sara Saturday wed King Friday, she broke with tradition by dropping the promise
to obey him. |
Lady Aberlin sang new lyrics to the show's "Creation" song. God became "she" and some viewers accused Rogers of heresy; others claimed the ACLU and feminists influenced him. His defense was simple, "Since God is all, both fathering and mothering aspects must be included in God's being."
(qtd. in Peaceful Neighbor) |
Last Verse of revised "Creation" song
God made the rainbow the bird and the summer sun God made the mountains the stars each and every one God made the sea and She made the land God made the mighty and God made the very small God made the world made the people He made it all 1983 (Neighborhood Archive) |
Banner Image: Lady Aberlin and King Friday (Neighborhood Archive/David M. Smith)