Gender Stereotypes in Science and Technology
The experiences we have and the ideas we formulate as children can and do have a tremendous impact on what we do with our lives as adults. One thing that we studied during this course was the differences between toys that boys play with and those that girls play with. When little boys are given things to play with like chemistry sets and erector sets, they are given tools to develop skills like mechanical ability and spatial perception. More importantly, in my opinion, this sets up a stereotype about what activities are suitable for boys and which activities are suitable for girls. Just as boys who play with dolls are seen as being unusual, little girls who do "boy things" and play with boys toys are seen as being weird and are therefore discouraged from doing so.
When I first began researching this project I was looking for information on tomboys. I was hoping to answer the following question: How does having the label of a tomboy as a child effect what career choices a woman makes as an adult? It was my belief that if young girls think of tomboys in a negative light, girls who are labeled tomboys by their peers will be discouraged from engaging in activities that perpetuates that image of them. If these activities include playing with legos and building forts, then women who may otherwise have gone into technological fields like engineering and computer science will be deterred by the fact that these fields are sterotypically male.
An initial literature search yielded disappointing results. The articles which I found fell into basically two categories: first-person narratives about growing up as a tomboy in magazines like Redbook and Southern Living and a few scattered art...
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..., and a new generation of women with female role models began entering college. This idea about the gradual shift in beliefs that is currently going on probably explains why I was not able to find any current research on "tomboyism.' in academic journals. Ideas about gender, particularly for women, perhaps not as much for men, have become increasingly fluid in recent years. Women who play sports and enjoy 'male' activities are not only no longer seen as unusual, but are actually seen as having the preferred image. Many advertising firms have been specifically marketing the "tomboy look", because that image of women is now the 'in' image. Though women of my generation have grown up with the word "tomboy' in our vocabularies, perhaps the next generation of young girls will not even realize that playing sports and fixing cars represents gender deviancy on their part.
Title IX and the Education Amendments of 1972 were created to defend equal opportunities for women of all ages. Since its inception 44 years ago, women have seen impressive strides as well as disappointing failures. Social prejudice continues to exist limiting female participation opportunities, benefits for female athletes, coaching opportunities, and increased exposure to sexual assault and abuse. Few institutions treat female athletes equally due to the lack of enforcement by collegiate athletic departments. The enforcement of Title IX has not been a priority among far too many educational institutions leaving women open to discrimination and mistreatment.
Since the 1972 conception of Title IX of the Education Amendments, the number of women participating in intercollegiate athletics has increased five-fold, from fewer than 30,000, to more 150,000 in 2001. However, more than 400 men’s athletics teams have been dismantled since Title IX, the law forbidding sex discrimination at institutions receiving federal funds, became law. Some would say this is due, in part, to Title IX enforcement standards like proportionality. Proportionality requires that an institution’s athletic population must be of an equal ratio to its general student body. Among some of the 400-plus teams dismantled by Title IX are several former Colorado State University teams including wrestling, baseball, gymnastics, men’s swimming and diving, and men’s tennis. CSU student athletes no longer sport the opportunity of participating in these activities at the NCAA Division I level, and the days of the student body rooting for their ram teams are gone, possibly forever. Now the search is on to find a solution to the problems associated with Title IX if, indeed, a solution is ultimately necessary.
...as been made stronger. It is important to make Title IX more important because it will have more of an impact on sports and education for all people. In October of 1967, President Johnson signed Executive Order 11375, which prohibited sex discrimination in the workforce (Kwak). Keeping Title IX strong is important because, “Playing sports helps both men and women develop self-confidence and self-esteem” (Labinger 137).
Before Title IX had become a rule, gender used to matter more than your performance in the sport. This means that even if you were an all-star athlete but you were a female then you would most likely be sitting in the bleachers watching. Why would ASU have more women’s athletics competing in Division 1 than men’s if Title IX is supposed to make equality for all? This is because the men’s football team and basketball team have so many participant’s that they have to take away other men’s athletics or add more women’s athletics to have the same number of total athletic participant’s. Both of these options work, but ASU decides to not have a men’s Division 1 soccer team because they don’t want to spend the extra money in adding another women’s sport as well. Wulf included a quote from Bunny Sandler when she says Title IX was "the most important step for gender equality since the 19th Amendment." In1972 Title IX became a law with President Richard Nixon signing (Bryjak). George J. Bryjak explains how the NCAA fought for the Tower Amendment which would have excluded men’s football and basketball from the Title IX coverage. Bryjak said they would do this because basketball and football both have a lot of participants; especially football because there is no women’s football team and the men’s team has over 125 players on average which causes Title IX to eliminate other men’s sports. This happens because none of the women’s sports incorporate that many participants in one par...
I noticed the girls’ toys engaged fine motor skills more than the boys’ toys did. The girls have several different types and sizes of dolls to choose from – however, this also makes dolls or items used with dolls (Barbie clothes, doll clothes, doll houses, Barbie cars, and doll furniture) over half of all the products in the girls’ section. This shows the stereotypical attitude that all girls like to nurture and will someday be expected to be mothers and the primary care giver for their children. Other toys I noticed that were very stereotypical were the child size vacuum, broom, and kitchen set. Even at this young age we teach girls it is part of their role to cook and clean.
From the day they are born, parents play a huge role in socializing gender by giving their children toys to play with based on their gender. Boys are expected to like and play with toys such as trucks, cars, trains, and gross things like bugs and mud. Girls are expected to like anything pink, dolls, kitchen sets, and playing tea party with their dolls and stuffed animals. It is acceptable for girls to occasionally play with toys meant for boys but not vise versa. As they grow into their teenage years they are taught to like more things based on one’s gender. Kevin Macdonald writes, “boys like guns, boxing, wrestling and karate, team sports, and fixing things. Girls prefer dolls, sewing, cooking, dancing, and looking after younger children.” In their teenage years girls are not really suppose to like boy things and if they do they are seen as a tomboy. Through time though it has become more acceptable for girls to like a few guy things such as sports. As they become adults their expectations on what they like stays pretty much the same as teenage years. Men like things such as sports, cars, outdoor activities like hunting and fishing, and work. Women are expected to like things such as fashion (makeup, nails, clothes, shoes, etc.), cooking or baking, and doing
Sex. That one little word has led to a mini-revolution in all aspects of a girl's education, from Kindergarten to Graduate School, all across the nation. In 1972, Title IX was adopted as the landmark legislation for prohibition of gender discrimination in schools, and was signed into law, by President Richard Nixon, on June 23. This legislation encompasses both academics and athletics. Title IX reads: "No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid." Since 1972, many attempts have been made to alter the appearance and effect of Title IX.
...th sexes.” (Goodale). Title IX makes sure that schools and universities have sports that everyone is interested in and can play equally. "Men’s participation has gone up in college athletic since Title IX has started. They have more men and women student athletes than before.” (Switzer). On the contrary Title IX is doing its job.
In Judith Halberstam’s piece “Female Masculinity,” she offers the audience a few potential definitions of the term ‘masculinity’ and how the term applies to “feminine masculinity.” She states that “although we seem to have a difficult time defining masculinity, as a society, we have little trouble recognizing it” (935). Halberstam suggests that female masculinity is often blatantly ignored in culture and studies due to the indifferent feeling often associated with the topic. Halberstam uses her essay to explain a variety of aspects associated with female femininity like tomboys, queer methodologies, and the bathroom problem. Halberstam’s description of the term ‘Tomboys’ is reminiscent of the character Emily Fields from the Pretty Little Liars book series by Sara Shepard. Progressing through middle school with a group of ‘girly’ friends, Emily is easily labeled with the term ‘tomboy’ due to her sporty exterior. Her overly conservative Christian family and classmates see no ‘threat’ or meaning behind Emily’s tomboy appearance because they believe it is just a stage in her life. As soon as Emily enter tenth grade and starts hanging out with a homosexual female, her family and classmates grow concerned about Emily’s masculine looks and behaviors. In the book titled Prettty Little Liars, one of the liars, Emily’s evident masculine ways raises concern to her thesis-go back and fix it .
Discrimination of women has been going on throughout the world since almost the beginning of time. Since the year of 1972, the United States of America has passed a law called title IX, which has improved women’s rights drastically. Title IX states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”(Office) Within a college/university or any federal financially assisted program title IX is applied. Women are to be treated equally and are given the opportunity to be involved in all activities that men are offered. Title IX has changed a women’s life in a positive way with the changes that have affected many women attending a college or university. Schools have to allow women in any classes that are offered but for sports it is a bit different. The school has to offer the same number of opportunities for women sports as men sports. Some have said that this will cause schools to cut some of the men’s sports to allow for equal numbers. “Overall, men's athletic opportunities since Title IX's passage have increased,” said the Women’s Sports Foundation.(Women’s) Many say that this is unfair to remove some of the men’s athletics, but is it fair that the women do not have to same opportunities that the men do? Title IX is not all about athletic equality; it also is involved in the classrooms and on the campuses of the college or university. Several main issues that title IX has improved are sexual harassment, equality in the classroom, equality in extracurricular activities and self-confidence in women.
In our current culture, there is a huge difference between what is considered to be for girls or boys. From birth, children are told what colors and styles of clothing they wear, what toys they should play with, and how they should act. Often, girls are told they cannot play with toys considered to be for boys and boys are told they are not allowed to play with toys considered to be for girls. Children who do decide they want to play with the toys not traditionally for their gender are often scolded by family members, pushing the children back to their gender-specific toys. Gender socialization starts at birth and continues from adolescence, to adulthood, causing specific and detrimental differences
Title IX is attributed to have an important effect on the number of women in higher education. Richard W. Riley, former U.S. Secretary of Education, asserted that, "The great untold story of success that resulted from the passage of Title IX is surely the progress that has been achieved in education. In 1971, only 18 percent of all women, compared to 26 percent of all men, had completed four or more years of college. This education gap no longer exists. Women now make up the majority of students in America's colleges and universities in addition to making up the majority of recipients of master's degrees. Indeed, the United States has become a world leader in giving women the opportunity to receive a higher education." (25 Years of Progress, The U.S. Department of Education, p.online). Many universities and colleges did not allow women entrance before the legislation (The Legislative Road to Title IX, The U.S. Department of Education, p. online). Title IX has had a huge positive outcome on the availability of higher educational opportunities for women by making sure that women are given equal opportunities to men that help them graduate from and achieve academic success past secondary levels of schooling. This has logically resulted in an increased number of women in more specialized and higher paid jobs. Title IX is effectually changing the face of the American workplace by giving women the opportunity to learn, compete, and surpass men.
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“Healthy Children”, an online website source by The American Academy of Pediatrics, comments that “As your child develops her own identity during these early years, she’s bound to experiment with attitudes and behaviors of both sexes, there’s rarely any reason to discourage such impulses” (“The American Academy”). The new myth will allow a boy to wear dresses every day or a girl to only wear sport shorts, without being judged or discriminated. Americans and kids will not be judged on gender rather by who they are and how they define themselves. In the future, children will not grow up thinking that there are qualities certain genders need to follow you can have any qualities, a boy will not be judged if he cries and being passionate will not be considered feminine. Americans will be able to establish their gender identity
There is no doubt that European colonialism has left a grave impact on Africa. Many of Africa’s current and recent issues can trace their roots back to the poor decisions made during the European colonial era. Some good has resulted however, like modern medicine, education, and infrastructure. Africa’s history and culture have also been transformed. It will take many years for the scars left by colonization to fade, but some things may never truly disappear. The fate of the continent may be unclear, but its past provides us with information on why the present is the way it is.