Gender Identity Should Not Be Taught At Public School

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.

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.

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

This article will immensely add to my paragraph on childhood gender roles. "Children 's Gender Identity Development: The Dynamic Negotiation Process Between Conformity and Authenticity” provides evidence that child are indeed aware of the stereotypes that come with gender, and allow that knowledge to effect their everyday lives.

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.

If we start discussing the various gender identities at an early age in schools, perhaps it will help to resolve the isolation that these individuals feel. It will not change everyone’s views, but we can start the discussion early on in hopes that we can have a better understanding and become more compassionate. After all, we don’t choose to be who we are, that is decided while we are still in our mother’s womb. We should all be free to live our lives the way that we want

Growing up as a boy and growing up as a girl are two different things. Society has a set of expectations on people depending on their gender. I believe that it is a parent’s job to inform, not enforce, their kids about these standards. If a child wants to break their traditional gender role to find out who they are, then that’s perfectly fine. The parent should be completely accepting of their child no matter the clothes, sexuality, or the general appearance choices they make. Nevertheless, a parent should also be responsible for warning their child about society and those who will make an attempt to make them feel less about themselves. No matter the gender, people will try to bring them down, and kids need to be aware of that at one point in their lives. Sending a child out into the world without warning them is as dangerous as tossing them into the sea without a life vest; they’ll either learn to swim and defeat their problem, or they’ll drown in their struggles without a resolution. Both genders should be taught the basic lessons, such as treating people with respect and having an open mind. Personally, I’ve felt that my sister and I have different expectations from my brother. Typically, my brother is expected to be a strong and assertive figure, while my sister and I are expected to be proper and

The sex binary is a fundamental value in American society. Even before birth, people are to be either male or female. The article Doing Gender by West and Zimmerman explains how from an early age, children are taught to identify a person’s sex with that

Children first begin to learn their gender identities between the ages of two and six. With this, they also begin to recognize activites, traits, skills, and other stereotypes associated with each gender. During this period of time, children are vulnerable and impressionable, imitating the actions they see happening around them. Children begin to act according to how their gender is portrayed in society, and the media is playing a larger role in daily life now than ever before. Binary gender stereotypes are continually advertised in the media through movies, television shows, advertisements, music, etc. Unfortunately, a message seen far too often within

High school is a challenging thing to deal with especially if sexuality and gender identity are in the process. Students who are male or female are exploring in a smart and insightful ways. During C.J. Pascoe’s eighteen months of observation in a racially assorted high school, “Dude, You 're a Fag” shows new light on masculinity both as a field of meaning and as a set of social practices. C. J. Pascoe 's unusual approach questions masculinity as not only a gender process but also a sexual one. She proves how the word fag becomes a disciplinary tool for regulating heterosexual and how the word fag is tied to the gender also but as it is to sexuality. Masculinity as a theory, some sociologists and psychologist often viewed the gender differences as vital to personal development of a society. Looking beyond hegemonic masculinity; it is difficult to put it in a category. The focus used on the body in the study “Dude, You’re a Fag” masculinity is embedded in the biology as the study of gender is not reliable. In this case study we are going to be talking about: how was the use of the word Fag a tool in policing masculinity at the high school River High? How was masculinity defined differently for boys who were non-white? Finally, how did administrators at River High both encourage and control normative heterosexuality?

Experimentation with or realization/recognition of homosexual tendencies seems to surface during the early teen or Middle School ages. I have questioned whether these students actually have gender identity issues, or homosexual tendencies, or if they are using this behavior for sensationalism in an attempt to gain attention. At times, this behavior results in discipline issues, and creates a distraction for these students and others around them. Teachers often find themselves in a quandary due to social standards, which sometimes cause the subject of sexual orientation and sexuality to be off limits. I want to be equipped to help, while being mindful of student privacy, school rules, community standards, and my own personal beliefs. I

Most people do not differentiate nor realize that there is a difference between sex and gender. Teenage years are tough enough for, so-called, normal kids, much less kids who are struggling with gender or even sexuality issues. Stigma is very often encountered and can cause a whole lot of emotional trauma, and not just for the child. I feel that it is so very important to create a supportive and nonjudgmental atmosphere for these kids, at home and school alike. Communities need to be educated about the ramifications that happen emotionally on people who are living with an incongruent

The traits perceived to be possessed by certain gender identities are instilled to the children while they are growing as the society have strong influence over the preferences and the behaviors of the young ones in that by influencing the interest of children they bring them up in a manner that the children start stereotyping before even they know what the stereotypes actually are since they have been brought up in an environment that they have known that certain traits or activities are appropriate or inappropriate for them. They then tend to internalize and that becomes the way to go or do things in their whole life.

The construction of a self-identity can be a very complex process that every individual is identity is developed through the lenses of cultural influences and how it is expected to given at birth. Through this given identity we are expected to think, speak, and behave in a certain way that fits the mold of societal norms. This paper aims to explain how gender perform gender roles according these cultural values. I intend to analyze the process in which individuals learned and internalized their respective gender identities, through their cultural background. I will be conducting a set of interviews with the intention to compare my experience as a self-identified male of Mexican descent, to the experience of another male character of Japanese heritage in order to understand how we come to self-identify as masculine in diverged cultures. In this paper, I argue that the construction of gender identities is a direct consequence of societal influential factors such as family values; values that reflect the individual’s culture. This analysis will not only utilize evidence from these identity formations, but also in explaining why and how these self-identities were constructed using both theoretical sources and empirical studies as a framework.

I firmly believe that it is the parent’s responsibility to be the primary educator and caregiver to a child. As such, parents ought to know what is taught in school regarding gender identity, and be able to opt their children out of classes with which they disagree with based on their views; whether they be scientific, religious, or based on personal experience.