Gender roles

Gender role stereotyping and gender bias permeate everyday life. Children learn about gender roles very early in their lives, probably before they are 18 months old, certainly long before they enter school. The behaviors that form these gender roles often go unnoticed but their effect is immeasurable. Simple behaviors like: the color coding of infants (blue & pink), the toys children are given, the adjectives used to describe infants (boys: handsome, big, strong and girls: sweet, pretty, precious), and the way we speak to and hold them are but a few of the ways the gender roles are introduced. These behaviors provide the basis for the gender roles and future encouragement from parents and teachers only reinforce the gender roles. 

Toys, literature, media, and films also encourage gender roles. Males are depicted as "doing", while females are always "receiving." When girls act too aggressively they lose acceptance from their peers. Also, her peers also hold a strong impact on her actions. Studies show that men and women excel in certain subject areas, causing them to perform differently on tests. Men are shown to have better math skills while women are better with communication skills and orally expressing themselves. Even though some believe gender roles are a direct result of the human brain, there is insufficient evidence to prove it. So, it is through our culture that we learn these gender roles. Our culture has drilled an image into the minds of people of how the role of each gender should be played out. These gender roles are detrimental to young girls and young boys and there are consequences for girls and boys who don’t fit these roles. So what do you think after hearing the harmful side of gender roles? Gender roles, good or bad?