Last year, a large number of Amsterdam primary and secondary schools celebrated Purple Friday, with extra attention to sexual and gender diversity. Not everyone is happy about this: there were reports of an unknown number of children being kept at home by their parents. How compelling is the character of this day? “You notice that there are more questions than before.”
Annoying reactions? Cordula Rooijendijk, director at a Montessori school in East for three years now, cannot remember. “Parents are very happy with the way we celebrate it. At this school there is really a lot of support for the way we do it.”
The Montessori School on the quay, located at the Entrepothaven, is a special school according to Rooijendijk. “There are children from all backgrounds. A truly mixed school, of which there are not that many in Amsterdam anymore.” With parents who are expats, practically educated, have an immigration background – you name it. “And they are all happy about Purple Friday.”
Polarization
However, she has recently heard different voices among colleagues. “You notice that there are more questions than before. In recent years there has been more polarization in this area. You really notice that.”
What is Purple Friday?
Purple Friday is a day of action on which schools pay attention to diversity in the areas of sexuality and gender. How this is done is different at each participating school. In secondary schools, the organization is in the hands of the Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA), a club of students and sometimes also teachers. At primary schools, teachers are in charge. Many children and teachers wear purple, but that is not necessary.
Purple Friday is not mandatory, but paying attention to sexual and gender diversity is. More and more schools are holding Purple Friday. In 2022, this involved 124 primary schools and 59 secondary schools and MBO locations in Amsterdam.
The unrest arose among parents who were concerned about whether Purple Friday was more than just information. They feared that children would be imposed on views that contradicted their own beliefs.
Think faction leader Sheher Kahn can well imagine those concerns. “There are parents who say: why don’t we focus on preventing bullying? I think that is also a better approach, which will get all parents on board.” As far as Kahn is concerned, Purple Friday is not the only way to achieve that goal. “Purple Friday, there are certain assumptions behind it, there is a certain ideology behind it,” he says. And that scares some parents.
Conservative
It is not clear who those parents are. Rooijendijk sees that resistance comes from very different corners of society. “They are conservative parents, that is the common denominator.” The resistance also comes from expats from America. “And during the week of Lentekriebels, an information week in the spring, celebrities such as Monique Smit also spoke out against it.” The image that only the Muslim community has reservations is incorrect, according to Rooijendijk. “It’s wider.”
Although Rooijendijk celebrates Purple Friday with full conviction – she calls it a holiday – as far as she is concerned, the day is not an end in itself. Each school must choose its own path that suits the students. “A fellow director of a school with many Muslim children said: we are not ready for this yet. They called it ‘diversity week’. They also paid attention to sexual diversity.” By not mentioning Purple Friday, there was no resistance.
Assignment
According to education councilor Marjolein Moorman (PvdA), there is no coercive nature surrounding Purple Friday. “At the same time, schools are instructed by the government to do something about sexual diversity.” This obligation falls under the heading of ‘citizenship’. “And every school implements this in its own way.”
With Purple Friday approaching, Rooijendijk is preparing for a day like usual. Her rainbow suit has already been taken out of the mothballs and she has children’s books, with titles such as ‘Princess Kevin’, ready to be displayed in the library. Rooijendijk calls on parents who are concerned to talk to the teachers. When asked, Moorman has not yet ordered a rainbow onesie, but: “I think I’ll wear something purple.”
Kahn, himself a father of two, suspects that there is not sufficient support for a Purple Friday at his children’s primary school. “I think it is up to schools to look for the best way to talk about all the different people who live in society. Purple Friday is not the only way to do that. I would advise schools how to get the most out of organizes support.”