What´s Parental Gender Double Standards?

In most cultures, boys and girls are treated very differently. Despite the differences of gender, upbringing creates gender behavior, including aggression and gentility; societal stereotypes of gender, and most importantly, gender-based discrimination.

As one looks through society, one starts to see many cracks and loopholes where one set of standards does not apply the same way for men as it does to women, and vice versa.

In the beginning of this article, Andrew Reiner described his experience with having a son. He stated, “I was faced with one of my biggest fears about parenthood: having a son” (Reiner, 2016, para. 6). Reiner elaborated on the growing trend of parents wanting female children instead of males. The article mentioned that adoptive parents are even willing to pay an average of $16,000 more in finalization cost for a girl instead of a boy (Reiner, 2016, para. 10). Reiner also noted that the boys-will-be-boys behavior does not originate with them (Reiner, 2016, para. 12). Instead, it is a product of their environment. He cited “... parents tend to touch infant boys less often and more roughly than infant daughters and that daughters are handled more gently and protectively… (Reiner, 2016, para. 12)” This displayed how societal norms shape behavior attributes that can be seen as non advantageous. Towards the end of the article, Reiner emphasized that we should empower our daughters and empower our sons with the same emotional literacy skill set and expansive worldview we teach our daughter (Reiner, 2016, para. 18). He finished the article with a short anecdote about how his son only wanted his attention and that is why he was acting out.

Those who agree that gender is a social construct would also argue that gendered behaviour is not innate, and that it is learnt throughout development. Gender identity is defined as “the way in which being feminine or masculine, woman or man, becomes an internalized part of the way we think about ourselves” (Ryle, 2014). The idea of masculinity and femininity and the strong distinction between the two are taught to us throughout our lives. An individual’s earliest exposure to the concept of gender comes from parental influence. Many studies show that parents socialize their children from birth by creating distinct environments for boys and girls and treating son’s and daughter’s differently. For instance, parents are more likely to assign domestic chores such as cooking, mending clothes and doing laundry to daughters, whereas sons are more likely to be assigned maintenance chores such as mowing lawn, small household repairs and carrying out garbage (Lackey, 1989). Parents may also use more emotive language when talking to their daughter’s and might encourage certain interests such as math and science in son’s, by purchasing more math and science toys and committing to other promotive activities (Jacobs & Bleeker, 2004; Leaper, 1998; Tenenbaum &

Once a child is born, he or she learns to view the world based on the behaviors of others. The child’s primary caregivers, usually the parents, and others present in the child’s environment, such as siblings, peers, teachers, and even the media, contribute to the development of the child’s perception of himself, those around him, and society overall. This concept is called socialization. “The way we are, behave and think is the final product of socialization” and it is through socialization that we “learn what is appropriate and improper for both genders” (Crespi, 2004). This concept of gender socialization leads to the inescapable

Mothers and fathers have different perspectives on how their children are raised. This causes parents to have different hopes and standards for their children. Parents believe they are being fair and equal but are unconsciously differentiating their standards by gender. Although many parents think they have similar standards for their sons and daughters, parents more often than not have different standards when it comes to their own.

The role of gender roles/stereotypes in our society has greatly diminished. Only those who cling to the past and who benefit from the oppression of one group believe it is still an important factor in our society. These stereotypes are harmful and create a rift between two groups of people from an early age. Children should grow up without the label a gender chosen for them and away from the toxicity of gender stereotypes and conformities in toys and activities. When kids are treated differently from a young age they grow up under the impression that they are drastically unalike and that one group shouldn’t be like the other.

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,

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.

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.

According to an analysis done by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, for every ten U.S. google search requests about males being overweight, there are seventeen searches about girls being overweight, but in reality, boys are nine percent more probable to being overweight than girls (Gonchar). There are countless kinds of gender double standards in society, including the standards parents hold their children to. It is no secret that parents dream for their daughters to be attractive and their sons to be athletic. How else do these standards become apparent in a child’s upbringing? In an investigative paper, The Gender Double Standards in Parenting Attitudes, Meeso Caponi Ro, William G. Axinn, and Linda Young-DeMarco state, “We differentiate dating, sex, and premarital cohabitation from marital and childbearing behavior to investigate differences within the courtship and family formation domain.” (Axinn). There are different standards for boys and girls when it comes down to relationships and sex as well. Parents tend to be more lenient when it comes to their boy’s romantic relationships and stricter with their daughters. “A new study from Netmums reveals that 88 per cent of mums admitted that they treated their sons and daughters differently despite thinking that this was wrong.” (The Gender). Parents don’t want to admit they treat their kids differently, because then issues of favoritism or unfair treatment can occur, but by human

Gender roles have been around since the beginning of time and have distinctly followed a specific pathway, naming women the nurturing figure, caretaker of the home, and having sensitive feelings, while men become the provider of a family with aggressive and demanding attitudes. This difference in roles create disunity that harms women in more ways than one. Gender roles can be implemented by both men and women ranging from all ages. From a very young age, girls are pressured to fix their hair neat, wear pretty dresses, and act bubbly, classy, and innocent. As girls grow into women, the same expectations still linger around them.

From the minute the child is born parents treat their daughter and sons differently. This can be seen in the colors that parents dress their kids, in the toys they buy them and even in the way parents speak to their children. Often girls are told what to play with, what chores are suitable for her and for a boy they’ll be in sports and doing “manly” work around the yard. Often kids go out the norm. For example a boy who wants to play with a princess and a dollhouse might be ridiculed by his parents just by how they hold on to gender stereotyping.

Gender should not be intertwined with the term sex, which refers to the physical differences in individuals. Instead, gender is the idea of being male or female, and it is well understood by the time children reach the preschool years. Differences in gender become more pronounced as children age, and societal expectations are reinforced by parents and peers. Behavioral differences may be evident since parents may treat their child differently according to gender. A big example of this is how parents may react to a child’s first

has begun to form. When we meet a new person, we are instantly judging whether they are male