So, we have had a discussion on the historical source ofgender identity (particularly in how it relates to inequality in the householdand the workplace). But where dowe get this information.
If gender is a social construct, a part of our cultureÉit istransmitted in the same ways that other aspects of our culture are passedonÉthrough socialization.
Just as we can look to numerous sources of information aboutvalues, careers, norms and expectations in other aspects of our lives, so wecan look to these same sources to see what they teach us about gender.
Parents play a major role in teaching gender identitythrough their interactions with children. They purchase particular colored clothing, refer to their children withdifferent tones of voice and encourage "gender appropriate" playbehavior.
Consider a study (I can't find the reference) that was donewhere parents of newborns were recruited to dress their babies in either blueor pink. Babies were assigned thecolor of their clothing randomly so some girls were dressed in blue, some inpink, and some boys were dressed in pink and some in blue.
The researchers then recorded the interactions that thebabies had with strangers who met them. Fairly consistently people would refer to the "blue babies" asbeing "strong, healthy, outgoing" and other similarcharacteristics. Peopleencountering the "pink babies" would refer to them as"beautiful, delicate, pretty".
Do you think this could play a role in the formulation ofgender roles in our society?
If one takes a functional perspective on peer groups, interms of socialization, we find that they serve two major purposesÉpeersinfluence the amount of deviance that a person will engage in and will have atremendous effect on career choice.
Looking at these two issues, deviance and career, and onemay see that these are very important concepts in terms of gender identitydevelopment. Peers may encourageor discourage gender-appropriate behavior and they may encourage or discouragetraditional gender-stereotyped career choices.
Children playgroups will generally be single genderedÉit isonly later in life that groups of both sexes begin hanging around with each other.
Toys are an interesting study in and of themselves.
Throughout all levels of schools we see gender messagesbeing transmitted. Teachersprovide important feedback about gender through their contact with students,classroom interactions and assignments.
There have been many studies about the relationship betweengender and "math and science" curriculum. There is a long history of girls fare worse in math andscience subjects than their male peers, while the boys fare worse in languagearts. At first there wasspeculation that this was a result of differences in the male and female brainstructures, but more recent work is indicating that hit is much more a functionof the interaction between teachers, students and their peers.
Consider that the difference between girl's and boy's mathand science abilities are minimal all through grade school.
Just some food for thought!
Competitive sports continue to be dominated by men thoughwomen are starting to make a very significant stand in this area.
During the developing years there is an emphasis onparticipation in sports that is much stronger for boys than for girls.
Consider the sport of football and the gender related issuesthat come up if the "non-traditional" person wants to play the sportor become a cheerleader.
Now, I know what you are saying,É"This ishappeningÉgirls are joining the football team and boys are joining thecheerleading squad"ÉI knowÉthis is true. However consider how these individuals' gender identitiesare viewed by the rest of the school. Do we see the girl as having attained some "masculine" traitswhile the boy has attained some "feminine" traits?
This is an interesting subject too.
When one looks to the models of the genders that areportrayed in TV and the movies we see that there are more male characters, moretraditional roles for men and women, men are portrayed as more aggressive, andwomen are shown to be divisive and manipulative to get their way.
Magazines also play a role in encouraging stereotypes ofbody type, weight, beauty, youth and sexuality for women.
Men and women are taught about appropriate gender relatedbehavior in school and in the work place. This continues into adulthood as these values and expectations areengrained in the society around us.
In human development we talk about individuals undergoing achange at midlife. A midlife event(sometimes a crisis) happens and some perspectives change.
Middle-aged men often become more sensitive and caring andin tune with family needs and issues while middle-aged women may become moreassertive and active outside the home.
KVCC is a great place to observe these trends!