Girls And Girls Were Treated Differently

Imagine a world in which men could act feminine and women could act masculine without being judged. Now try and identify why this may never happen. Men and women are both taught at an early age what they can and cannot do because of what gender they were born as; they are markedly similar in this aspect. There is a known gender stereotype for girls and boys, and the parents of these children enable these stereotypes from the day that they are born. girls are given pink clothes, and boys are given blue clothes. These colors set the rules of how they must behave for the rest of their lives, this idea is known as The Girl and Guy code. It is all black and white thinking, or in the case pink and blue. There is no in-between because once you stray from the code it is immediately recognized and looked down upon. Although the girl and guy code are almost polar opposites, they go hand in hand with one another because they are both used among society as a way to create a better image in front of others. The Woman looks better in the eyes of other women if she is more lady-like, and a man looks better in front of men if he is more manly; both genders deal with a heavy set of homosocial ideals.

We are taught from a young age that boys wear blue and girls wear pink, we learn that boys play with trucks and tools and girls play with baby dolls, throughout or lives, we are reminded of the many differences between males and females. Later, we learn that men are doctors, lawyers, and bosses, and women are mothers, secretaries, and nurses. Men are in positions of power and women are incapable of leading and making decisions and it’s a man’s place to decide when and how a family

Gender coding is not a natural or biological characteristic. People are born with different physical and biological characteristics, but make sense of their gender roles through cultural influences. “Stereotypes are amazingly powerful, and we may not realize the degree to which our thoughts, beliefs, and actions are shaped by them” (Silverman, Rader, 2010). Boys and girls are labeled as masculine or feminine, which is considered the “norm” for society. Children are not born masculine or feminine, they learn these roles from parents, peers, media, and even religion. Concepts of gender identity are sometimes placed on children even before their birth, such as with the selection of paint colors for the nursery.” Children begin to form concepts of gender beginning around the age of 2, and most children know if they are a boy or girl by age of 3” (Martin & Ruble, 2004). From an early age, children are encouraged to identify with gender coding. Gender is formed at birth, but self-identification as being male or female is imbedded into their minds by parents and society. A child learns to understand their gender role and their identity by what is taught and expressed to them by others. Yet as a child grows, gender coding can cause cultural confusion, and insecurity issues throughout the course of their life.

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

This is called gender socialization, which exaggerates sexual differences physically, experimentally, academically, and psychologically. Most parents are unaware that they play such a large role in creating a male or female child. But they are the first and one of the largest influences on their child. When parents have a female child she is viewed as sweet and gentle. The parents will even hold their daughter closer than they would a son. As they grow older boys are encouraged to explore while girls are kept closer to their parents. They are taught different approaches to many different problems in life. They may not realize it but through their interactions with their children they are encouraging their children to grow into a certain type of person based on their gender. The toys they are introduced to are even gender-based. Toys for males encourage them to develop such abilities of spatial perception, creativity, competition, aggression, and constructiveness. Toys for girls encouraged creativity, nurturance, and attractiveness. Children’s rooms and clothing are specific color: girls are pink and boys are blue. Girls often wear dresses and skirts that limit their physical activity. These types of influences at such an early age lay a foundation for the child’s personality. By the time they reach school age they already have a sense of being male or female. In school peers and teachers enforce these differences even further. (Lips, 1979,

The gender based expectations are taught and the sometimes subtle, often overt lessons begin at a very young age. It starts with the color of the blanket a baby is wrapped up in, the toys bought for them to play with, and extends to the pretend play they engage in. So from the earliest ages of social awareness, society reinforces the ideals of masculine and feminine throughout life. Consequently, it is perfectly acceptable for a girl to put on a purple tutu and twirl about granting wishes to her stuffed animals, while it would be discouraged for a boy. He should be outside in the sandbox setting up his toy soldiers in a mock battle. In spite of the entrenched idea of gender, some mothers and fathers aspire to a more gender-neutral parenting style, that doesn’t restrict their child to specific societal ideals. However, the pressure to conform to the gender binary is ever-present and difficult to deconstruct. The boy that cries when he gets hit by a baseball is called a “sissy” and told to “man up” by his coach. The girl who tells her high school counselor, she wants to take auto

Sally and her mom were walking in a toy store when Sally asked her mom if she could have a truck. Unfortunately, her mom said, “It’s not ladylike to be playing with that, but you can have a doll instead.” Although Sally’s mother was not completely aware of what she did, her daughter would now start to grow up believing that the world of boys and girls is segregated. This may seem like a farfetch 'd tale, but it happens to many children every day. Parents and America’s society have divided themselves on whether or not children should be raised in a binary or gender neutral setting. Although both parents and society play a sizable role in determining what gender a child will identify as, we believe both parties should support gender neutrality, and raise children in a supportive environment.

People receive thousands of cultural messages everyday about gender roles from advertisements, movies, TV, music, magazines, family, school… etc. People perceive these messages and realize expectations for their gender and for their children as well, and how they should operate within society. While many individuals and organizations challenge these traditional gender roles, the evident impact of mainstream culture persists.

Ever since the beginning of history, women have been discriminated because of their gender. They were not allowed to attend school much of the time, couldn 't vote, couldn 't possess anything and couldn’t even work for themselves. Such denial of freedom has made females seem weak and unequipped for making their own decisions. Kids start to take in their sex roles at an extremely young age. Boys must identify what men do, what they like, and even how they think and feel. The girls do the same as they take in the parts for the women.

These gendered actions are taught in an early age as children actively participate in performing masculinity and femininity. There is gender policing that is expressed by others when an individual does not perform accordingly. Males and females must consistently “do gender” by interacting with

The behaviors and societal norms we associate with male and female are socially constructed. As Dr. Thompson states in the film “boys and girls are far more human and far more the same than they are different.” However,

The gender equality issue within our society stems from what children are being taught from the day they are born. Whether it is conscious or sub-conscious children are being taught at an early age the stereotypes of what it is to be a girl or a boy. “Choices about what they will play with or wear are made for younger children and, by the time they come to make their own, they have already learnt what is expected of them and will often behave accordingly.” (National Union of Teachers, 2013, p.3). Educators calling on girls to do chores around the classroom or not allowing boys to play in the family corner they are only help in print these stereotypes into the minds of the children. It has been said that children soak up their social environment like sponges, so by sending out new social messages educators are able to create a

From a young age, boys and girls are told to act a certain way based on their gender. The norms they are told often contradict each other, with boys being told to be confident and girls compliant. As a UNICEF report from 2008 describes, “Children start facing norms that define ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ from an early age. Boys are told not to cry, not to fear, not to be forgiving and instead to be assertive, and strong. Girls on the other hand are asked not to be demanding, to be forgiving and accommodating and ‘ladylike’.

     Femininity and masculinity are topics that have been debated over in our society extensively, through psychological research and day to day interaction with people. Children learn from their parents as well as society the concept of “feminine” and “masculine.” The majority of people tend to believe that these conceptions are biological but I believe it is more cultural. From birth, female children are shaped by society as being sweet, caring, loving, and delicate and usually associated with the color pink. While male children are shaped by being tough, aggressive, and competitive and associated with the color blue. As these children grow, the boy is given a football to play with and the girl a

We are taught Gender by our family members from a very young age. For example, girls receive pink gifts and boys receive blue gifts. Shaw & Lee said, “Gender is embedded in culture and the various forms of knowledge associated with a given community.” (Shaw&Lee, p.116.) For example, in one community it might be acceptable for a girl to play football, and in another community the members believe, girl