Gender Role Stereotypes in Children
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Gender Role Stereotypes in Children
Gender roles are decided at birth when the baby is either male or female and their life is expected to always fit which gender they are. Girls are always wrapped in pink blankets and boys in blue. This is when gender stereotyping begins. Girls are expected to act one way and boys another which is entirely different than girls. Girls are taught to be dainty, more feminine, have more emotion, be submissive, obedient, and cope with life in general in a different way than boys. Boys are expected to be more intelligent, stronger, more independent, and more successful than girls. What these expectations do not do is make any room for just how these individuals are in reality. If the children are African American the opposite is true for the female.
They are expected to be stronger and more independent than white females.
Gender stereotyping has the ability to limit how these individuals can live their lives. Pressure is exerted from both sides because of the beliefs which have been instilled since the beginning of time. This makes it difficult to know the difference between learned traits and those which are inborn. Once the individuals reach adolescence a new set of problems must be faced. Bodies are changing, sexual urges, peer pressure, and feelings about how this is happening are questioned, while the person is dealing with how they feel on the inside. They are forced to act in the way that is deemed right for the male and females regardless of the battle going on for these individuals. Adolescence must deal with powerful pressures to conform to gender stereotypes exerted by parents, peers, teachers, and the media (Hyde, 2007;...