The Influence of Gender on Children

(Source: American Sociological Association. July 2003. Content Analysis and Gender Stereotypes in Children's Books. Teaching Sociology. Retrieved June 26, 2008, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3211327)

The article above deals with the stereotypes that can be found in children's books. Although its primary focus concerns methods in regard to teaching introductory students the role that gender plays in North American society, there is some valuable information beyond teaching method. For example, the article states that "as children learn how to read, they are exposed to the cultural symbols in books. [...] Given the assumption that language shapes and conditions reality, then it might be useful to ask what children might be learning about gender when they learn how to read" (301). A parent may find this information interesting and helpful. Culture, in all forms, is shared, and it is learned. Younger children are in an extremely impressionable state in their formative years. From my own study of psychology - and brain mechanics - I have discovered that young children are in the process of creating a mental map. This mental map, in turn, literally provides a cognitive/behavioral path in which children will guide and associate their life experiences in both early life and well into adulthood. We are truly social animals, and what we are conditioned to know and understand has a direct impact on how we relate to the world. If a child is taught to be a "boy" or a "girl" in early life, it is highly unlikely they will be able to change this way of thinking in adulthood. Change is always possible, but it is not so easy once a particular way of thinking has been instilled. It is much easier, perhaps, to identify with what you already know than to change a way of thinking that has been reinforced time and time again by a society that continues to view gender as a biological fact, as opposed to a cultural construct that is only as real as we allow it to be.

The article mentions a few words that people - in this case, college students - associate with feminine and masculine traits. Students were asked to examine a children's book (often put out by a large publisher, such as Disney) and to record their observations. Many students noticed that females are almost always portrayed as submissive, dependent, weak, and passive. Males, on the other hand, are often portrayed as dominant, independent, strong, and active. It is here that we can easily observe what children are being taught:

What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails,
That's what little boys are made of.

What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice, and everything nice,
That's what little girls are made of. (1)

It does not appear to have changed much over the years either:

"A 1972 study of award winning children books discovered [...] boys were portrayed as active and outdoor oriented, while girls stayed indoors and behaved more passively" (301).

"More recent research found that women are stilled portrayed in traditional gender roles usually associated with housework, whereas males were non-domestic and associated with production-oriented tools and artifacts" (302).

From these studies, we can clearly see that boys are taught to think for themselves, whereas girls are conditioned into believing that they are the weaker sex and, in many cases, dependent on males. The article does not seem to present a concrete solution for correcting this way of thinking. I think the assumption is that if parents can be more aware of negative stereotypes, they will be less prone to instill these stereotypes into the minds of their children. Nevertheless, when we consider the fact that the adult, entertainment industry (film, literature, music, etc.) is heavily laden with these same stereotypical outlooks, I find it doubtful that enough of the parenting populous are aware of the problem. It will be interesting to see if there are changes in how both children and adults alike view their own roles in society in the future.

(1) Robert Southey, 1774-1843