Gender role has been defined in various ways; for example, it behavioral characteristics or endorsement of personality traits that are linked to cultural notions of masculinity and femininity. Depending on which parent a child identifies this can provide i own identifier towards which gender role a child will attach themselves to. In childhood, gender roles have been commonly indexed and operationalized with regard to several constraints: peer preferences, toy interests, roles in fantasy play, etcetera.
When children are asked “what identifies them as a boy or a girl” children often respond that it is there clothing and not their abilities. (Kerr, Multon, 2015) The stereotypes that adults hold pertaining to gender roles has a significant influence on children. Adults may inadvertently reward or punish children on the basis of these stereotypes. Children may also form their own stereotypes based on the stereotypes they observe in the adults within their environment. Often these stereotypes are taken from media, just like gender identities.
Parents watch movies and children watch cartoons. The fact that male cartoon characters display more aggression than females is a cue for young male viewers of expected behavior. The same is time for female viewers in regards to the traits commonly exhibited by female cartoon characters. Children model the behaviors they see displayed on television and internalize the messages of gender role expectations (Johnson, 2002). Gender roles affect children when they consider job possibilities, personality characteristics, and gender “types” (Allin, Bradley, Cantor, Mitchell, Tkachuk, 2006).
Boys struggle with gender role issues when they prefer creative activities to activities prescribed for males, such as sports and an interest in video games. They often fear that loving art, music, and drama may mean that they are not masculine enough. This causes problems when boys look towards the job force. Many boys find that being a teacher of any subjects other than math, science, or physical education has them labeled as effeminate. Girls who desire to pursue engineering degrees are often looked at as “rare species.
Engineering tends to be a male dominate degree because it is labeled as a masculine occupation. Many tests are presented that attempt to identify why each gender appears to have increased abilities in certain areas. Girls are often considered chatty, emotional, and better students while boys are considered taciturn, physical, and better athletes. Girls reported stronger writing self-efficacy, writing self-concept, self-efficacy for self-regulation, value of writing, and task goals, and they received higher grades in language arts. Boys reported stronger performance-approach goals.
All gender differences favoring girls in writing motivation and achievement were rendered nonsignificant when feminine orientation beliefs were controlled. Findings suggest that a feminine orientation is adaptive in the area of writing, whereas a masculine orientation is beneficial when escorted by a feminine orientation. (Pajares, Valiante, 2000) This research shows that when both “feminine” and “masculine” strengths are added together the two groups balance each other. Children in the preschool years tend to base gender on behavior and physical appearance.
For example, clothing and hair length are usually indicators to children of the other person’s gender. As children vocalize these differences, they are forming their own views on gender role differences. Little boys and girls are careful to make sure their clothing and toy choice are gender specific. A young girl may only wear a certain color associated with femininity, while a boy may insist on wearing his sports hat to indicate his masculinity. This behavior is usually encouraged by peers as well as teachers. Many teachers reward gender stereotypes within the classroom.
For example, a teacher may expect boys to be noisier than girls and will therefore be quicker to punish a noisy girl than she will a noisy boy. Through this interaction, the children are learning that girls are to be compliant and quiet, while boys are expected to be aggressive and forceful. The question is that are these two categories like this because of gender roles, a type of selffulfilling prophecy. Gender role attitudes are shaped not only by structural changes due to industrialisation but also by socio-cultural factors, such as the religious heritages of different countries.
These factors play into students school settings. Students can feel out of place or awkward in situations where they do not fit the identified gender norms. Often this is seen when students identify as homosexual. Gender roles are often misconstrued when it comes to students who identify as gay or lesbian. Society has deemed that there must always be a female and male counterpart in any relationship, including homosexual relationships. Two men or two women will be asked which person fulfills which rule. However, this is preposterous question since it is possible for both individuals to fulfill both male and feminine traits.
