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Factors that contribute to gender stereotyping that children observe
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Gender bias in childhood examples
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As a young woman growing up in a misogynistic environment, it has shaped me to be a determined to show that I may be a woman, yet I have the ability to do things that a man can do. I grew up with four male cousins, who were around my age, so whenever family get-togethers would happen, I would often wrestle with them or play Mario Kart with them, although I was brought up to play with Barbies and play ‘dress up’ but those things really didn’t click with me. I was never forced to play with Barbies, I usually felt obligated to do so, because I was a girl. Soon as I started school, I was very different to the normal standard of a physical girl body. I had developed rather quickly, which did bother me a lot. I would often be sexually harassed
Misogynistic Confinement Yellow Wallpaper depicts the nervous breakdown of a young woman and is an example as well as a protest of the patriarchal gender based treatments of mental illness women of the nineteenth century were subjected to. The narrator begins the story by recounting how she speculates there may be something wrong with the mansion they will be living in for three months. According to her, the price of rent was way too cheap and she even goes on to describe it as “queer”. However, she is quickly laughed at and dismissed by her husband, who as she puts it “is practical in the extreme.” As the story continues, the reader learns that the narrator is thought to be sick by her husband John, yet she is not as convinced as him.
Girls are told to stay indoors and play with their dolls or bake, while boys are encouraged to go outdoors, get dirty, and be adventurous. Wade and Ferree also state “sports are squarely on the masculine side of the gender binary” (Wade and Ferree, 174). Hence, we are brought up with the understanding that playing and talking about sports is a boy’s thing, which further promotes the notion that sports are a very masculine thing. Furthermore, as playing sports is competitive and is a way to show excellence, young boys are considered as “real boys” and “real men” later on. However, when boys do not talk about or play sports, they are considered feminine or “not real men.” The same rule applies for young girls. If young girls are too into sports, they are considered to be “too masculine.” This is true for me too. When I was younger, I was told to not play too much outdoors and to behave “like a girl.” The stigma that only boys should be allowed to play sports and it is not a feminine thing needs to be erased for us to welcome a more gender-equal
When I was looking at the first sexual autobiography, Initially, I thought I had very little input in regards to sexuality. However, as a result of learning about sexuality through Sexing Shakespeare, I have learned that this is not the case. By learnings about Butler, Foucault, Bataile, and Freud, I have learned that my expression of sexuality is present in my being. An example of my sexuality being portrayed would be through the teachings of Judith Butler. Judith Butler states that an individual performs certain actions, then that person takes on a certain identity. Therefore, even though I have performed zero physical activity, as a result of not performing such an activity, I constitute the category of either a romantic or an asexual. Which category I belong to I am not sure of yet, and Judith Butler fails to clarify as to which category
... drives. There are boys in the mountain villages of the Dominican Republic that lack testosterone and “are usually raised as ‘conditional’ girls” (681). Once these boys reach puberty, “the family shifts the child over from daughter to son. The dresses are thrown out. He begins to wear male clothes and starts dating girls” (681). These boys, also known as “guevedoces,” show biological features that produce in later stages of life rather than birth which determines gender role. My female cousin, who was raised by a single father, grew up acting and playing like a boy. She was very aggressive when she was younger but as she grew older, society and human nature has changed her. She is not only influenced by our culture to act in a feminine, lady-like way, but she is now an adult that wants to have a family and become a mother in order to produce off-springs and survive.
Even though our country supports equality in gender, differences still exist. This issue of gender and sexuality of our society has had one of the biggest impacts in my life since I was raised with five brothers. Since birth, I was immediately perceived by my parents as my gender role of girl and daughter. My brothers were given action figures, cars, and guns to play with. I was given the traditional girl toys Barbies, baby dolls and kitchen sets. Of course, I enjoyed my traditional girl toys but it might have been nice to have a choice and be able to have the same toys as my brothers to play with. I eventually concluded that I should be satisfied with whatever toys were given to me by my parents.
I was born on March 08, 1995 at roughly seven pounds. When I was extracted from my mother, I was given the gender of a male with the appearance of my male body parts. My mother used to say to me, growing up as a toddler that I had so much hair like former American Football player, Troy Polamalu. People had always assumed that I was a girl, therefore my mother had to correct them and say, “No, he is a boy”. Growing up a toddler, I was always wearing some type of jeans with a sports shirt and shoes that were mostly colored black or blue. As I grew older, I gained interest in baseball, wrestling, and the military. I always wanted to play with action figures such as GI Joe and wrestling celebrities in addition to imaginary flying in an apache helicopter or taking command in a battle tank. Advancing to my pre-teen years, I wanted to play baseball, which is considered to be mostly a boy sport. It was at this moment, that my gender was a boy. Progressing to my teen years, I started to observe my father and learn my gender on his roles as the man in our family. I noticed that my father was already taking charge in the house and giving me orders that I needed to complete. Going through middle school, most boys had some type of sports backpack while the girls
Stephen Morton in his Gayatri Spivak promotes Simone de Beauvoir’s saying, therefore he point outs,
As a child develops, their surroundings have a major influence on the rest of their lives; if boys are taught to “man up” or never to do something “like a girl”, they will become men in constant fear of not being masculine enough. Through elementary and middle school ages, boys are taught that a tough, violent, strong, in-control man is the ideal in society and they beat themselves up until they reach that ideal. They have to fit into the “man box” (Men and Masculinity) and if they do not fulfill the expectations, they could experience physical and verbal bullying from others. Not only are friends and family influencing the definition of masculine, but marketing and toys stretch the difference between a “boy’s toy” and a “girl’s toy”. Even as early as 2 years old, children learn to play and prefer their gender’s toys over the other gender’s (Putnam). When children grow up hearing gender stereotypes from everyone around them, especially those they love and trust like their parents, they begin to submit themselves and experience a loss of individuality trying to become society’s ideal. If everyone is becoming the same ideal, no one has a sense of self or uniqueness anymore and the culture suffers from
"Women should stay at home taking care of children." "Women should never disrespect a man." "Women who dress in skimpy outfits are asking to be harassed and cat called." These previous statements demonstrate misogyny. Misogyny is the hatred of women who do not conform to certain beliefs or practices on how woman should behave. These beliefs are centered on the idea that women are inferior to men. Now, not all misogynists hate all women. Misogyny is the hatred of specific women who do not conform to misogynist beliefs. For example, a misogynist can have the upmost respect for housewives, while one the other hand hating women who have a desire to better their career rather than have a family. Misogyny can have detrimental effects on anyone acting
Can love be so cruel that it causes death? In the short story, “The Story of An Hour”, by Kate Chopin, we are able to get an idea of how restricted women felt in their marriages during the 1800’s. In this story Louise Mallard is at home with her sister Josephine when they are informed of the terrible train accident. A friend comes to tell them that Louise's husband, Brently Mallard, has been killed in the wreck. Louise cries hysterically with grief before asking to be alone and leaving for her room, where she tries to process the news.
I was criticized for minor things like getting my clothes dirty or refusing to stay still to get my hair done. These comments grew more and more frustrating as I got older and eventually became far more critical with references to how I played, the clothes I chose to wear, and even being told I was too loud and that my interests weren’t normal. When me and my grandmother went to visit other family member’s I would always be asked questions that seemed entirely inappropriate to me as a small child like whether or not I had a crush or a boyfriend but I noticed no one ever asked my male cousins these questions as though their value wasn’t based solely on their ability to attract the opposite sex. My disinterest in things like hair and make-up led to me falling behind my peers when it came to matters of appearance. While other girls were discussing their extensive morning routines I was showering and shoving my unruly hair up into a ponytail. This also meant that I was falling behind when it came to personal relationships as my female friends were discovering boys, boys were treating me like an anomaly. I was consistently asked if I was a lesbian
It isn’t hard for me to think back to my gendered socialization, strictly because me being a man was drilled into my head since the day that I was born. I was born on January 6th 1985 in a suburb of Olathe Kansas, and In Olathe high school sports are everything. I have pictures of me when I was five months old with cowboy outfits, and football uniforms. As I became old enough to walk I was thrown into every sport possible. I played football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. I had practice year round sometimes everyday, and no matter how much complaining I did I was at every practice everyday. My father wanted me to be the best at everything I did; therefore I spent many nights after practice practicing with him. When I was that young I enjoyed every second of practice with my father. Being the best was so deeply instilled in me that anytime I failed it was a catastrophe to me. For example in baseball I would probably only strike out three to four times a season, which is great looking back now, but when I did strike out I became irate. I would be kicked out of those three or fo...
In this era, males and females both uphold household duties. Children watch and learn from their environment. A boy watching his father care for an infant is going to want to imitate his father. Playing with a doll is simply following what he has seen his father do. Taking away the doll is taking away that child’s future as a nurturing father (Gioia, 2010). Many men feel that their male child playing with a doll is not teaching him to be tough and will negatively impact their future, when in fact the boy will learn how to care and use their imagination by playing with dolls (Epand). Females are often praised when they are gentle and nurturing, while boys are not- causing boys to r...
Many thoughts ran through my head as I sat in my room crying wondering why I couldn’t go out and play boxing with the boys that day. I called out to my mom hoping she would give me a clear answer, but the only thing I got was “stay in and play with your dolls honey”. I believe that was the moment when Gender socialization affected me. Gender Socialization is the process of learning the social expectations and attitudes with one’s sex. Gender socialization is how we learn to act like girls and act like boys.
In elementary school one of the most common phrase used was, “You can’t do that you're a girl.” Society puts gender stereotypes and expectations on children at a very young age. I never really understood these stereotypes and expectations until later in my life. I couldn’t figure out why it was that boys were not allowed to like the color pink, and if the girls wanted to play “boy” sports it was seen as unusual. My family consists of my parents, my sister and I; so I never had sibling of the opposite gender in my life. I didn’t have someone to compare gender differences with. I was given toys no matter what gender they were geared towards. I remember receiving hot wheels cars and baby dolls the same year for Christmas and never thought anything thing of it. I think that these experiences has really shaped who I am today.