Negative Reinforcement Of Gender Roles In Children

Sociologist Dalton Conley wrote his book, You May Ask Yourself, addressing how “gender is a social construction” that is so normal for society to think how a man or woman should act towards the public. Society often categorizes roles that females and males are suppose to play in, but not only are they categorized they are also being taught what their gender role is suppose to do. The beginning of gender socialization can start with a child who is not born yet by simply having the parents purchase items that are all pink if its expected to be a girl, but if its expected to be a boy then everything they purchase will be blue. Conley states that gender roles are “sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany ones’ status as male or female” (Conley [2008] 2013:134). So even when a child is growing into their infant years, toys are made specifically for their gender. By examining how social construction places gender in categories it becomes apparent that males and females get differentiated a lot which emphasizes inequality between them.

The article traces the origins of this phenomenon to childhood, where young boys and young girls tend to play exclusively within their own gender. Children's development is most influenced by the social structure of peer interactions. The differences in childhood socialization result in a lack of understanding of the communication styles of the sexes. Boys and girls bond differently.

247). Thus, since females and males have different expectations of them and are treated differently from one another, females and males have different situations within their family life and their mental and physical health. Plus, a woman’s educational level will not benefit her since “men out-earn women at every level of education” (Ferris & Stein, 2014, p. 253). Similarly, certain jobs are still classified for men or women. Although, the jobs for women are underpaid compared to jobs classified for men (Ferris & Stein, 2014, p. 253). Also, the military is largely male-dominated with very few females since the military is expected for men, not women because of certain cultural beliefs (Ferris & Stein, 2014, p. 255). Furthermore, the criminal justice system targets men more than women, because men are viewed as aggressive when women are not (Ferris & Stein, 2014, p. 256). Lastly, gender is associated to certain words which influences society’s views on women and men which also affect the expectations of them and how both are treated in society (Ferris & Stein, 2014, p.

Those who agree that gender is a social construct would also argue that gendered behaviour is not innate, and that it is learnt throughout development. Gender identity is defined as “the way in which being feminine or masculine, woman or man, becomes an internalized part of the way we think about ourselves” (Ryle, 2014). The idea of masculinity and femininity and the strong distinction between the two are taught to us throughout our lives. An individual’s earliest exposure to the concept of gender comes from parental influence. Many studies show that parents socialize their children from birth by creating distinct environments for boys and girls and treating son’s and daughter’s differently. For instance, parents are more likely to assign domestic chores such as cooking, mending clothes and doing laundry to daughters, whereas sons are more likely to be assigned maintenance chores such as mowing lawn, small household repairs and carrying out garbage (Lackey, 1989). Parents may also use more emotive language when talking to their daughter’s and might encourage certain interests such as math and science in son’s, by purchasing more math and science toys and committing to other promotive activities (Jacobs & Bleeker, 2004; Leaper, 1998; Tenenbaum &

Home life is a core area that can be the biggest influence on ones opinions of gender roles. The content of the article “Parental Influence on Children’s Socialization to Gender Roles” written by Susan Witt introduces where stereotypical gender association derives. Gender roles can easily be adopted through the household and when children are placed in an environment where it is easily transmitted through the parents’ then that child will follow their parents’ influences (Witt, par. 1). Schooling, media, and society are also large influences on children at a young age to behave a certain way. Self-concept is also a large chunk of the way children see themselves when they begin to grow and criticism from parents can be a large influence on shaping that child’s perspective (Witt, par. 3).

gender role and how/why some behaviors are stereotyped towards a certain gender. A concept of

Gender role expectations are inescapable in our society as we naturally tend to sort humans into categories, the easiest one being gender. Upon first meeting a person, most people automatically classify the other’s gender. With this classification come the inevitable gender role expectations. Even for those who consciously try their hardest not to cloud their perceptions of others based on “traditional” gender role expectations, it is almost impossible not to subconsciously succumb to these expectations that are ingrained in our minds virtually since the day we are born. These expectations often influence how one interacts with another. This is especially important when taking into consideration the effects that gender socialization of children through gendered toys, media, and parental affects child development.

"Gender Socialization is the process through which children learn about the social expectations, attitudes and behaviors typically associated with boys and girls (Hanish & Fabes, 2014)". Children learn from their parents about how the world works. Children first teacher are there mother and father. If they had learned children who play with the opposite sex toy grow up into a gay man or a lesbian female, then they would believe the same acts could happen to them if they were to play with the opposite sex toy. Children not only learn about gender roles from their parents but they also learn from their peer groups. According to Doctor Laura and Richard also stated: In regard to gender development children’s gendered behavior becomes more similar to those they spend time with (Hanish & Fabes, 2014). Children learn either bad habits or good habits from their peer circle, they would change their self’s in order to be well liked by the others in their groups. Our society should not care about socialization and what's an appropriate toy for children to play

Toys also influenced children with gender roles. In our society, the typical expectations of men is to financial support the family, and for females it’s to cook, clean, and take care of the children. “Both wives and husbands tend to perceive this as a “fair” arrangement” (Zimmerman 30). To instill this idea in young minds, there are toys that influence these gender roles. Boys have toy tool sets, promoting hands on work. Girls on the other hand have cooking and cleaning toys such as the Easy Bake Oven or toy vacuums. Also “parents tend to encourage more gender-typed activities. One study found that household tasks differ along gender lines. American boys are more likely to mow the lawn, shovel snow, take our the garbage, and do the yard work, whereas girls tended to clean the house, wash dishes, cook, and baby-sit the younger children” (Newman 133). Girls also like to play “house” fostering wife and motherly qualities such as taking care of the family. These toys help with socialization making children believe and understand that these are the norms of our society. So in conclusion to toys, “Sex-specific toys foster different traits and skills in children and thereby serve to further segregate the two sexes into different patterns of social development. “Boys’ toys” encourage invention, exploration,

Gender stereotypes affect children substantially. From the baby boy in blue with trucks and action figures to the baby girl in pink with dolls and princesses, these roles and generalizations affect children’s personalities while they are still developing. Those guiltiest of stereotyping in children’s media are Disney, Nintendo and other video-game companies, and reality television. These influences are expansive, and they reach past elementary-age kids to teenagers. Stereotypes negatively impact children of all ages through these forms of media, and parents need to be aware of this.

In today’s society gender roles are very prevalent. Many people rely on gender on roles to tell them what they are supposed to do. From how they dress, what they eat, who they date, and how they interact with the world. Parents and other family members play a huge role in the gender roles of children. Many young boys are learning to be aggressive at an early age. Their parents are teaching them the basic gender roles of men, and aggression is one of them. “Boys and girls are dressed differently, receive different toys to play with, and sleep in bedrooms that are furnished differently. The world says that males should be strong, aggressive, and dominant. Then the world says that females should be nurturing, submissive, and supportive. Many people learn gender roles at an early age. For most people, the gender roles follow them into adulthood. Especially in men. Men tend to have more pressure forced upon them to live up to their gender roles. There is way more pressure on boys to be masculine. Most of the pressure comes from their parents. For females people tend to be more lenient if they do not follow the typical role as a woman. Many women began to mimic the male role because it presents power and respect. As stated previously males are typically labeled to be more aggressive than females. Aggression is any behavior intended to harm another individual. It is even presented in all kind of ways. Boys are taught to be like their fathers and be very masculine, unlike girls.

I observed three different children’s television programs through watching and listening at times to see how gender roles were portrayed, specifically towards children. The first observation that I made that was consistent throughout each of the different programs where that the females were either: bossy, deceitful, or very gentle. Males that were portrayed within the programs were either: aggressive, confident, or passive. I noticed that when the girls were being bossy (or sassy) they were viewed as “just being girls” rather than mean or acting inappropriately. However, if the boys within the programs were acting assertive (or bossy) they were being portrayed as mean, and acting in an inappropriate way.

I would like to preform a psychological experiment on the effect of gender roles on young children around the age of five-years-old. This experiment would include handing either a young girl a toy car, or giving a young boy a doll to play with and seeing their reaction to what they are given. I would like to do this to be able to tell if a boy or a girl would reject a toy at such a young age just because of the fact that society tells them their not supposed to play with cars or dolls because their either a girl or a boy who is meant to be feminine or masculine. I would like to study the effect of peer groups and well as gender roles because I find both of them very interesting topics. While doing this experiment I would most likely begin with

Males and Females no matter the age face gender stereotypes everyday of their lives. As we are brought up we are taught to be our own individuals with our own ideas, but society tends to break that down. When we think about school, Gender Stereotyping doesn’t really come to mind, but if you think about it that’s where is all begins. In school, they have “dress code”, wear everyone falls under, meaning you can’t just wear whatever you want. Also, in schools when it comes to activities boys are pushed more to do outside activates compared to girls that do inside activities. Overall kids themselves start to separate themselves into two categories, boy with boys and girls with girls. Even though males and females are different, we should still take the time to teach kids that they aren’t put into two separate categories, but that they should be the person they want to be.

This is called gender socialization, which exaggerates sexual differences physically, experimentally, academically, and psychologically. Most parents are unaware that they play such a large role in creating a male or female child. But they are the first and one of the largest influences on their child. When parents have a female child she is viewed as sweet and gentle. The parents will even hold their daughter closer than they would a son. As they grow older boys are encouraged to explore while girls are kept closer to their parents. They are taught different approaches to many different problems in life. They may not realize it but through their interactions with their children they are encouraging their children to grow into a certain type of person based on their gender. The toys they are introduced to are even gender-based. Toys for males encourage them to develop such abilities of spatial perception, creativity, competition, aggression, and constructiveness. Toys for girls encouraged creativity, nurturance, and attractiveness. Children’s rooms and clothing are specific color: girls are pink and boys are blue. Girls often wear dresses and skirts that limit their physical activity. These types of influences at such an early age lay a foundation for the child’s personality. By the time they reach school age they already have a sense of being male or female. In school peers and teachers enforce these differences even further. (Lips, 1979,