Gender roles and identity are guidelines which are grounded in culture that prescribe the way in which a person should behave in relation to others. Roles related to gender are taught to child in early childhood. Children quickly learn the behaviors that are associated to men and females as prescribed by their culture. This makes them to start identifying with these groups at an early age. In the process they develop their own identity either being a boy or a girl. All cultures in the world have gender stereotypes which are beliefs and images about females and males which can be true or just myths. It is believed by many that men are supposed to be competitive, rational, independent and all these qualities that are attributed to men. In the same breath, women are considered to be passive, emotional, gentle, sensitive, and all those. Based on these beliefs it is assumed that men and women are supposed to act and feel in a certain manner. Children start becoming gender sensitive at 4 years of age. This is the time they believe that girls should play with dolls and boys with toys.
When children outgrow the preschool years they stat top believe that the traits and occupations associated with men makes them more powerful; than women and also have more money. They start internalizing the views that jobs associated with men are more prestigious than those by women. As they develop further they come to the realization that some gender stereotypes do not actually apply. They see these stereo types as general guidelines that of behavior which are not binding to either boys or girls. The question to ask is what the bona fide differences between male and female are.
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It is obvious that men and females are different both anatomically and physically. It is also true that boys are more active than girls. It is also true that females have lower mortality rates are less susceptible to diseases and stress. The social roles for boys are more strenuous than those for girls and require a lot of cooperation with others. However, the gender difference in psychological and intellectual areas remains largely unknown. Nonetheless research indicates that there are major differences in verbal abilities, mathematics comprehension, spatial ability, memory, social influence, emotional sensitivity, and effort control.
Children look up to role models and their superiors to shape their behavior with regard to gender. Boys are usually rewarded for displaying boyish behavior and punished for girlish behavior. They shape their gender roles by imitating what the adults and their peers do. Parents usually treat their sons and daughters differently and encourage them to take up their gender related roles. Peers are also influential in shaping gender roles. These can be seen from as early as 3 years old when children of the same gender play gender-related games. Boys will be found playing with toys while girls will be found playing house or with dolls. It can also be observed that children start playing with others of the same gender and this means that they learn from each other based on gender. Girls will be found with other girls and the same applies to boys, this form of segregation help to cement the younger ones sense of membership in a particular gender which help sharpen the contrast between the different genders. Through different forms of rewards and punishments such as encouraging words or critical looks the gender roles are solidified.
A child’s understanding of gender goes through three different stages. Toddlers know they are either boys or girls and brand themselves accordingly. At the preschool stage children come to the realization that gender is something stable where boys will become men and girls will become women. However, they still believe that a boy who acts like a girl will become a girl and a girl who behaves like a boy will become a boy. It is at the age of 5 or 6 years that children begin to understand their maleness or femaleness and know that it is not bound to change no matter the situation. After knowing that gender is stable they begin to learn about typical behaviors associated with their respective gender. The gender schema theory by Carol Martin states that children will decide if an object activity or behavior is associated with a male or a few before deciding to learn more about it. They start to develop their tastes after understanding their gender. This is why most 5 year old girls like wearing gender related clothing such as pink dresses.
Most researchers agree that biology is also a contributing factor to gender roles and gender identity. The evolutionary developmental psychology indicates that men and their women counterparts performed different roles throughout history. Women roles included rearing of children while men performed the duty of providing for their families. The adaptation of these roles led to the development of different behaviors and traits in men and women alike. Men become more aggressive because it was a trait that helped them ward off predators. Behavior genetics research shows the impact of heredity in the learning of roles. The study of twins shows the biological basis for gender role learning. In this instance, if one twin prefers certain behaviors the other one usually does the same. However, these studies do not pinpoint the factors that are responsible. Some researchers believe that sex hormones play a major role. For example, an exposure to the hormone known as testosterone can result into greater interest in masculine-oriented activities especially during elementary school years.
However, gender roles are changing with time. In developed countries like America there is no great difference between the role played by men and those by women. It is not surprising to find fathers becoming children care givers and mothers becoming truck drivers. This shows that some gender roles and identities are more or less influenced by experience than others (Kail, 2015).
Reference
Kail, R. V., & Cavanaugh, J. C. (2015). Human development: A life-span view . Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
