The article investigates the discursive constructions of preschool girls and points to how girls are positioned, assessed and constructed by adults in parent-teacher conferences in Swedish preschools. Using transcripts of audio-taped episodes from parent-teacher conferences, the analysis reveals that gender is an important aspect of the adults' talk and indicates that a practice like parent-teacher conferences contributes to and distributes conventional and traditional gender roles in the existing preschool context. The girls are positioned as ordinary preschool girls who do what preschool girls should normally do and as disputed "girlish girls" associated with behaviour and characterisations embedded in a historically feminine discourse. Additionally, there are also counter discourses that both challenge and encourage different femininities, including one that draws on masculinity and is regarded as empowering. These contradictions not only show the complexity of the pedagogical practice but also of gender issues in the early years.