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Gender Roles Research Paper

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Gender Roles Research Paper
Is it a Boy or a Girl? When a child is born, it does not know anything about the world. As it gets older, the child learns morals and values from the people around it. One concept children learn is the role of gender in their lives. Young boys and girls are given different messages about what they are and are not supposed do in social situations, causing them to act and dress differently from one another. Gender is not something tangible that happens; it is something perceived by American society. Only by teaching children that there is no difference between men and women can the world have true gender neutrality. As soon as a child is old enough to understand what is going on around it, it has already been subjected to the sexist culture of America. People treat boys and girls differently from the time they are born. Professor and Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion for the University of Colorado Denver, Brenda J. Allen, has written that “if the [child] is a girl, relatives and friends may buy her pink, frilly clothes and toys designed for girls” (Allen). The typical male child is taught catch by his father and would never step in a ballet class unless he was going with his mother to pick up his sister, even if he really wanted to. Children do not know why the world is this way; they just do what they have learned from their parents and the media. No seven-year-old realizes that their life has been dictated by society. The only thing keeping children from truly being themselves is the fear of not being “normal”. Not only does sexism harm individuals, it hurts society as a whole. Men and women have become segregated. There are certain ideals held for women that differ from men. For example, women are expected to be able to cook and raise children. Men, on the other hand, must know how to fix a car or anything else that might break. Women are expected to have “motherly” jobs like elementary school teacher or nurse while men take


Cited: Allen, Brenda J. Difference Matters: Communicating Social Identity. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, 2004. Print. Alleyne, Richard. "Couple Raise Child as "Gender Neutral" to Avoid Stereotyping." Telegraph. 20 Jan 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9028479/Couple-raise-child-as-gender-neutral-to-avoid-stereotyping.html>. Anderson, Julie Maria. "Male Versus Female Teachers." eHow Mom. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://www.ehow.com/about_5623553_male-versus-female-teachers.html>. CTV.ca News Staff, . "Baby Raised Without "Gender" Sets Off Debate." CTV News. 26 May 201. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. <http://www.ctvnews.ca/baby-raised-without-gender-sets-off-debate-1.649286>. Drexler, Peggy. Raising Boys without Men. Rodale, 2005. Print. Graham, David. "Group Aims to Replace Pronouns “He” and "She” With Genderless Pronoun “Hu”." Star. 06 Jan 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. <http://www.thestar.com/life/2012/01/06/group_aims_to_replace_pronouns_he_and_she_with_genderless_pronoun_hu.html>. Hassibi, Mahin. "Ending the Male Patina in Biology and Busting Bogus Biology and Beliefs from Our Genders, Our Rights." On The Issues. 2009. Print. Pollitt, Katha. "Why Boys Don 't Play With Dolls." New York Times 08 Oct 1995. Web. 24 Jan. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/08/magazine/hers-why-boys-don-t-play-with-dolls.html>. "Dual Gender Baby Names in 2011." Baby Names 1000. Babynames1000.com, Oct. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. <http://www.babynames1000.com/gender.php?y=2011> “The Path of the Women 's Rights Movement." Progressive Newspaper, Inc "Where We Are: A 2010 Election Update." WCF Foundation. 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://www.wcffoundation.org/pages/research/women-in-politics-statistics.html>.
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