Summary Of Children's Gender Identity Development

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In the article, Children’s Gender Identity Development: The Dynamic Negotiation Process Between Conformity and Authenticity, the researchers argue that children are active in the development of their gender identity and that there is a great influence on whether they wish to conform or not to gender stereotypes. There are three known theories about development of gender identity, the three theories are (1) developmental, (2) socialization, and (3) essentialist. Developmental theories say that gender identity develops over time and as children get older, they incorporate gender expectations and gender rules that they have learned from media, and environmental sources. The socialization theory states that gender identity occurs over time and …show more content…

They fear that if they do not conform they will be harassed and punished. Brinkman, Rabenstein, Rosen, and Zimmerman (2012) state that most research shows that children express their gender identity based on the presence of others. When children are playing by themselves, they tend to show less interest in playing gender specific activities. However, if there are other children around, especially a child that is of the opposite sex, they will play with the gender appropriate toy. This shows that children understand the potential risks of being “outside the box” of their gender. In the study presented in this article, children were asked what they thought to be stereotypes of boys and girls. The participants were part of a study looking at the impact of Fairness for All Individuals Through Respect (FAIR) program. There was a total of 45 girls, and 41 boys who participated in the focus groups that followed the program. The age range of the children were ages 10 to 13 years old. Participants were recruited from the Northern Colorado school district by sending emails to teachers. The number of family members for each participant were ranged from 2 to …show more content…

Some limitations to the focus group is that participants could have been influenced by the other students which is why the researchers focused on the groups as a case instead. The transcripts of each groups were then analyzed. When analyzing the transcripts, children discussed their desire to have their own choices about how they express their gender. The findings showed that children understood when and how others and themselves did not conform to gender role stereotypes. Some students indicated the understanding of being limited when they were known for challenging the gender stereotype. One example was a girl who was known as a tomboy, wanting to go shopping and when her friends mentioned that was weird for her because it was not a normal for a tomboy, she decided not to go and is now limited for challenging the

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