Ch. 11 Working with Families around Gender Issues CD 11 Dr. Gallegos

Why Think about Teaching Gender Roles We live with many misconceptions concerning gender roles. It may seem as though gender roles come automatically when children are born-and to some extent that is true. Shaping the gender role may even start prenatally because parents usually know the sex of their baby before birth. Many don’t consider how unfair, to both men and women, traditional gender roles can be. Imagine having no say in your government just because you happened to be born female instead of male, dark-skinned instead of light-skinned, or poor and uneducated instead of comfortable and educated.

The Women of Today Women still earn less for equal work than men do. Barriers still exist for women who are exploring nontraditional jobs and who are struggling to reach higher. There was a time when nobody seemed to care what happened to a woman in her own home. Battered wives who tried to get help had problems making authorities listen. Believe it or not, animal abuse was illegal more than half a century before child and spousal abuse was.

The Women of Today Broader roles mean that some men feel freer to participate more fully in parenting their children; many men are now choosing to be full-time, stay at home parents. Men can also now enter more traditional women’s fields such as nursing. Gender roles are learned by every generation. A danger of complacency exists as the younger generations accept as normal what feminists have worked so hard. Disney in 2009 made $4 billion marketing princess items.

Think about this… Do clothes shape gender roles? Certainly baby girls dresses can’t crawl the way boys in pants can, Slippery-soled shoes won’t run very well Is that a gender socialization message about being more or less active?

Gender Equity and Parenting Toys and Gender Roles Toys play an important part in defining gender roles. Children learn roles and skills form playing; the toys they have to some extent determine which roles and skills they learn. Visit a child care program and examine the environment, specifically the block area and the dramatic play corner. Dramatic play gives boys a chance to be nurtures, to experience domestic relations, and to feel comfortable trying on a mathematical concept as they build things. Block play contributes a good deal to the concrete experience behind math knowledge and gives the payer experiences with principles of physics as well. Children tend to separate themselves by gender.

Gender Equity and Parenting The Power of Language Language has an influence on gender development. Language shapes perceptions Interruption as an Indicator of Power and Importance Studies of “conversational politics” have found that people use language to show their power, as one person exerts control over another. For example men tend to interrupt women more than the reverse. Children leaner these interruption patterns early from the people around them. Empowerment of girls is important in order to have gender equity. It’s also important to empower boys to be free to be gentle and caring.

Gender Equity and Parenting Using Language that us Direct and Informative Teachers can also help empower girls (and boys, too) by teaching them to use assertive language . To do this, teachers need to model such language themselves. The whole subject becomes much more complicated when working across language groups.

Using Modeling to Teach Children imitate the important people in their lives, so when girls see their mother or father act helpless, they pick up silent messages about women’s capabilities. A good deal of modeling comes from television. Powerful elderly females as evil is a stereotype that has been with us for centuries. Another problem created by the media is the sexualization of girls. Seeing constant sexy images of women and now even girls is harmful, according to the American Psychological Association 2007 report on the Sexualization of girls. Sexualization equates attractiveness with sex appeal and leads to a range of physical and mental health problems in girls and women, including low-self esteem, depression, and high-risk sexual behavior. Books can leave strong stereotypical images as well.

Differential Socialization Adults socialize girls and boys differently, which results in females ending up in subservient roles. Differential Treatment from Parents Differential treatment starts at birth, when parents perceive their daughters to be more fragile than their sons. Fathers play rough and tumble more with their sons and talk to them in ways tat indicate toughness. From early on, many parents encourage their sons to be active, assertive and strong ant hey protect their girls. Differential Treatment in Preschool Differential Treatment in Elementary School

Differential Socialization Differential Treatment in Preschool Observe for yourself how adults in group care spend a lot of time looking over the heads of the girls hang around them to notice the boys who are throwing blocks, hitting each other, or climbing the fence of the play yard. While you are observing, notice how adults make conversation with young children. Differential Treatment in Elementary School Thorne (1993) reported that boys controlled much more space on the playground than girls did-up to 10 times more. The girls played closer to the building and remained near adult aides who watched over them and protect them. Adults must mix the children in order to legitimizes the togetherness and removes the risk of teasing.

The Role of Biology in Creating Differences between Boys and Girls No matter what is discovered about gender roles and sexual orienatiton, teachers still have equity issues to consider. We know that the adults in young children’s lives have a great influence over their gender role socialization and their attitudes about same-sex families.

Guidelines for Parents and Early Childhood Educators Here are some guidelines for teaching young children about gender equity. Help children develop awareness of sexist stereotypes. Create a nonsexist environment. Watch your own behavior Teach an anti-bias attitude to young children and give them the skills they need to challenge sexism and all the “isms” Help all children develop empathy Help all children become problem-solvers, in both the physical and the social worlds. Broaden children’s views of themselves and their capabilities. Notice how clothes challenge a child’s ability to participate in play. Check out your own attitudes.