Gender roles are social norms and behaviors which are acceptable within a social context for people of specific genders. Gender roles are heavily reliant on external stimuli than the parental cue. Parenting plays a vital role in influencing specific gender roles in children. As growth continues from childhood, children stay with their parents, spending a reasonable time with them. On the course of their stay, children learn gender roles as directed by the parents. They also learn gender roles by observing different roles the parents play. This has a significant influence on their perception of gender roles ( Endendijk et al., 2016). Though the parenting influence cannot be ignored, the gender roles’ perception in children as they grow to adult is shaped by external stimuli.
As development continues, people tend to see themselves through others. For example, friends and peers play a vital role in shaping gender roles’ perception in children. During their growth and development, boys tend to spend more time together with boys and girls with girls. Through such interactions, gender roles are shaped by activities which such relationship majors on. Further, there are other factors such as schooling which also plays a vital role in shaping up gender roles’ perceptions. According to the study by Rozek et al. (2015) , schooling is the most significant determinant factor of gender role’s perception during growth. These authors claim that gender roles’ perceptions acquired from the parents usually undergo radical changes when a child is introduced in school. During their learning, they interact with different children, assimilating different culture and perceptions concerning gender roles which make them befit in various institutions. During this time, they also get role models such as teachers, television characters, their colleagues, and pastors. As a result, they change their views on gender roles with regards to the characteristics displayed by their role models and the pressures from the school and other institution they join.
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References
Endendijk, J. J., Groeneveld, M. G., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & Mesman, J. (2016). Gender-differentiated parenting revisited: Meta-analysis reveals very few differences in parental control of boys and girls. PLoS One , 11 (7), e0159193.
Rozek, C. S., Hyde, J. S., Svoboda, R. C., Hulleman, C. S., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2015). Gender differences in the effects of a utility-value intervention to help parents motivate adolescents in mathematics and science. Journal of Educational Psychology , 107 (1), 195.
