Gender Identity Children

Society cements certain roles for children based on gender, and these roles, recognized during infancy with the assistance of consumerism, rarely allow for openness of definition. A study conducted by Witt (1997) observed that parents often expect certain behaviors based on gender as soon as twenty-four hours after the birth of a child. The gender socialization of infants appears most noticeably by the age of eighteen months, when children display sex-stereotyped toy preferences (Caldera, Huston, & O’Brian 1989). This socialization proves extremely influential on later notions and conceptions of gender. Children understand gender in very simple ways, one way being the notion of gender permanence—if one is born a girl or

From a young age, children are surrounded by influences that shape how they come to understand the world around them. With the formation of schemas during early childhood comes along the development of gender stereotypes and gender roles that have an impact on how children come to understand their own gender identity. Environmental factors such as peers, the media, and even parents perpetuate stereotypes through their own actions. Children come to understand gender during development through experiences that are shaped by their environment and perpetuated by their culture, which ultimately encourages gender stereotypes and conformity to gender roles.

There is insurmountable evidence that points to the idea that gender stereotypes is largely accomplished through social factors. Scholars in both sociological and psychological fields believe that gender is constructed through the modeling of appropriate behaviors and the use of systematic rewards and punishments. Evidence also shows that many aspects of gender are not innate, as evidenced by children who do not exhibit a gender specific preference in friends, clothing or toys when placed in gender neutral settings. Only after negative reactions from parents, teachers, or friends do many children begin to take on the gender roles society comes to see as appropriate for them.

At a very young age we are introduced to a gender identity based upon the sex we were born with. Girls are associated with the color pink, dolls, nurturing tendencies, and inclined to be more emotional. While boys are associated with the color blue, the nature of masculinity, sports, and said to be more outspoken. However, gender and sex are two different things. Sex is the biological differences between female and male, while gender is social construct attached with social roles

Gender and gender roles are a somewhat complicated idea to understand. Contrary to popular belief, gender and sex are two different things in that “gender is not inherently nor solely connected to one’s physical anatomy” (“Understanding Gender”). When parents automatically assign their child a gender based on their sex organs, it leaves very little room for change later in the child’s life, because children born with female sex organs are not necessarily girls, just as children born with male sex organs are not necessarily boys. Rather, gender is based on mindset, personal identity, outward presentations, and behavior of the individual. Binary genders, or the broadly

Fagot and Leinbach found that children who learn gender labels the earliest are those whose parents provide the most reinforcement for gender appropriate behaviour. This contradicts Kohlberg's idea of self socialisation by suggesting that reinforcement is relevant to gender development.

Gender identity is defined as the identification of a human being as being male or female. The knowledge that we have about gender acquisition is still not as accurate as we would like. Biological and environmental factors are at play and not one or the other seems to be completely wrong. Biological views relating to gender identity are supported by chromosomal and hormonal based differences. Environmental perspectives emphasize on modeling and experience (individual and cultural) affecting gender acquisition. However, the only unbiased way to assess gender identity is by taking into account both biological and environmental factors (McCabe, 2007). This paper focuses on gender identity in early childhood development.

Children learn as early as age two what it means to be a “boy” or a “girl” (Aina & Cameron). This is described as gender identity, a person’s sense of self as male or female. Gender stereotyping emerges hand in hand with the development of gender identity in Early Childhood (Halim). Gender roles are society’s expectations of the proper behavior, attitudes and activities of males and females. When babies are born they are either put in pink or blue, as they grow up they still maintain the same “gender” colors. As young children start to socialize, they are playing with either “girl” toys or “boy” toys. When they get older they

From the moment babies are born, they are already categories into which gender behavior they would soon perform. An example provide from the text book, ‘‘Social and Personality Development, the sixth edition’’, of how parents would start to call their baby boy ‘‘big guy’’ or ‘‘tiger’’ in terms of the child more masculine behavior that would later appear. Also how parents would also call their baby girl, such as ‘‘sweetie’’ or ‘‘sugar’’ because that’s who girls should be viewed as, all sweet and soft. As children get older, around the age of 2 to 3, the idea of sexes and gender hasn’t become very clear to them, but seem to be able to understand the gender labels which leads to gender stereotyping. So at that age, their fully aware if their labeled

Gender- role stereotypes are well-ingrained cognitive schemes we use to interpret and categorize behaviors as either being masculine or feminine. As early as age two and three, children are able to recognize and label themselves as either male or female; around age four or five children have already started to prefer activities defined by the culture as appropriate for their sex and they also begin to prefer to engage in play activities with same-sex peers (Bem, 1981). In the past, researchers have come up with proposals and theories that attempt to explain this phenomenon. “The gender schema theory proposes that the phenomenon of sex typing derives, in part, from gender-based schematic processing, from a generalized readiness to process

From the minute we are born our gender identity begins even thou we are not conscious of it. We are allocated roles, like buying pink clothes, dolls, and teapots for girls, and blue clothes, monsters, and cars for boys.

There are many theories that discuss the meaning of gender in relation to children and here they will be discussed. Gender as a definition, is ‘the state of being male or female, and only often used with reference to social and cultural difference, rather than biological differences’ (Murray et al, 1961). It has been previously observed that it is early years’ settings that provide the first environment where children are ‘institutionally socialised’ (Gestwicki and Bertrand, 2011). Children begin to develop gender schemas predominantly in the first few years, and the way in which they perceive gender is influenced by those who have an active role in their development (Martin and Ruble, 2004).

Gender Identity refers to how we feel and express our gender. From the time we are born, we are identified as being a male or a female. We learn gender identity from others and interaction helps produce it. A baby by the age of 1 knows if they are a boy or girl and by the age of 2 to 3 they form an opinion about the way they feel about their gender. Children take cues from their environment and the people around them to form gender identity. Anthony Schullo states that parents use gender to construct their children’s reality. They decorate children’s rooms gender specific or place them in clothes that identify them with a specific gender. For example, girls are placed in a princesses dress and boys are placed in patterns that represent cars or trucks. This shows to the child the things they should like and play with. From parents and family members girls are taught to obey and boys are taught to be strong and to be leaders. This expresses to children how they should behave and feel about their own gender identity. By the age of 3 to 4 (pre school age), children test their theories on gender through observation and imitation. They see their parents or other family members on the phone and they to will pick up a block, place it to their ear and talk in it or they will see their mum putting make up on in front of a mirror and pretend with their finger to put makeup on their face. From this early age, children observe and pick up on gender

Gender roles and norms are defined as the “society’s evaluation of behavior as either masculine or feminine” (Basow, 1986 as cited by McKay, 2013). These gender roles are developed through two processes namely: cognitive approach and learning approach (Sinnott & Shiffren, 2001). The cognitive approach asserts that “gender roles develop because a child’s perception of identification precedes role-appropriate behavior”. In this approach, a child discovers his or her gender, and continuously repeats socially reinforced behavior in accordance with expected gender roles. Thereafter, the roles are kept consistent over the person’s lifespan. The learning approach on the other hand states that “the individual comes to understand, and to accept, behaviors that lead to survival and success in society”.

Through the socialization process, children learn gender roles at birth. In our society today, we buy boy infants blue and girls infants pink. We even apply these color-coded gender labels while a baby is still in the womb. Gender socialization occurs through four categories: family, education, peer groups, and mass media. Each category reinforces gender roles by creating and maintaining the norm expectations for gender-specific behavior. At an early age, children have an understanding that there are distinct expectations for them based off of their gender. Studies show that children are very much conscious of what gender roles are and how their role is supposedly portrayed by the age two or three; at four or five, most children are appropriately displaying their specific gender role (Kane, 1996). Most boys are given toy car, guns and action figures, all toys that promote aggression and introverted playtime. Girls are often given dolls and dress-up apparel that foster nurturing, social closeness, and role play. These gender roles will continue on throughout their life. Thus creating a barrier for women and men, predominantly women to have to try to break through. Always facing scrutiny if they step outside of the gender specific spectrums society has set for them.