Lauren Searchfield

Professor Green

SYD4800

May 4th, 2022

Research Question: “How adults should be working to avoid gender stereotyping with children

and what ways have been proven successful in avoiding this?”

Gender is a topic of debate more so recently than ever before. Due to the fluidity that the

world is taking on gender wise, some parts of society are actively leaning into this change, while

the other half of society is running away from it. Our country is heavily divided in topics of

gender and sexuality, but with time seem to be opening up to the idea of a different way of

thinking regarding gender. While the concept isn’t so hard to grasp, it’s the making a change and

actively accepting it seems to be the issue that is causing a fuss. The people that have been taught

gender and those who are trying to understand how society wants gender constructed are the

adults in our world. Adults are obviously older, can grasp concepts, make decisions, and

understand topics. These are the people who are teaching children gender, gender roles, and

gender stereotypes. As a child the world is their oyster, they come into life knowing nothing, and

they absorb information every day. They learn from their parents, they learn from their family,

they learn from their teachers. The adults in their lives are their biggest tools in learning the ways

of life. Rarely do children stray away from the foundation that is set for them from the adults in

their lives. Going from learning nothing, to knowing everything takes time, children also learn

things that their parents may not want them to know. They are sponges in this society, and adults

need to be careful in how they build their foundation. At this point adults should be working on
how to avoid pushing gender norms onto themselves and then continue it onto their children.

“The role of direct socialization appears to be crucial, then, not only in its own right but also in

establishing the foundation upon which later self-socialization is based" (Maccoby, 101).

Because gender is so prominent in our society and lives, it’s now about actively using tools to

avoid gender stereotypes. Loosening up on what society fronts as womanly or manly is a way to

change the views on the topic entirely. You cannot accurately help children’s perception of

gender, without rebuilding your own view on the matter. The world’s newest generation should

be growing up in a less judgmental society and surrounded by less judgmental adults and elders.

This brings me to my research question “How adults should be working to avoid gender

stereotyping with children and what ways have been proven successful in avoiding this?”. It is a

work in progress, but we cannot expect the child in our society to be any better than us if we do

not teach the correct ways.

Parents are children’s first instructors for everything new in the world, they teach all the

firsts and are present for all the firsts. “Parents (i.e., legal guardians or closest caregivers,

whether related by blood or not) are very important agents in children’s gender socialization,

especially before children start attending school” (Bussey, 687). A child is usually deemed a

reflection of their parents at least through the first 10 years of life. “Developmental psychologists

agree that children’s core gender identity develops by the age of three and continues to develop

through young adulthood” (Martin, 370). Parents must look gender right in the eye, to avoid the

gender facts within our society is intentional and a sad sight to see. “A central theme that runs

through is the adult tendency to fear children’s gender” (Renold, 472). This point shows the fact

that situations such as change in gender, or the fluidity of gender is not addressed because of the

un-comfortability or in-education of the topic. As a parent, you usually teach what you know and
how you feel but doing this with outdated views can be detrimental to the gender learning and

situation of your child. “Women’s gender-role attitudes prior to the transition to parenthood may

already reflect that women benefit more than men from a gender-egalitarian society. Hence, the

arrival of a firstborn daughter may be associated with a stronger shift toward egalitarianism in

gender-role attitudes among men, for whom their presence would constitute a more significant

addition to their interest structures” (Davis, 209). Having your first baby is one of the biggest

moments of your life, deciding on a name, how you would like to raise your child, and how you

would differ your child’s hood from your childhood. This can be difficult to navigate gender

wise because of the large societal norms placed on a baby’s gender – gender reveals, pink and

blue baby clothes, pink and blue nursery’s, gendered baby books etc. “Additionally, social

pressures operate to make parents conform to these normative expectations, with new parents

being ‘bombarded’ with advice about parenthood and parenting by family members, friends,

acquaintances, health professionals, and even strangers, as well as media channels” (Moseley,

55). There is also the stigma on how to approach raising your children based on their gender.

Girls should play with barbies, go to ballet classes and play house. While on the flip side, boys

should play with cars, try sports, and rough house with their friends. These societal norms start

from such a young age that such inequality is just expected, even the children expect the gender

dynamic differences moving through their youth. It is a parents responsibility to teach their

children how they should be treated in the world and growing up, because of the inequality that

genders face, especially women and non-binary. Parents need to teach their kids to not just

accept their fate, and parents need to not accept their own fate. “Men and women who become

parents of a girl should benefit more from a gender-egalitarian society in which their daughters

are treated fairly and permitted to enjoy the full range of opportunities” (Perales, 254). Allowing
your daughter to go through life without the same opportunities your son has is a sad world that

we live in. Actively doing something to prevent this by teaching your daughter and son about

gender inequality is moving our next generations a step ahead of us now.

School and teachers are a child’s next educator after their parents. Children are pushed

into an environment that is an educational stimulus that prepares them for the rest of their life

from a young age. Children having a strong foundation is the catalyst for the rest of their lives

and whether they take advantage of this knowledge young depends on the child. School has

many different factors that can mold children - teachers, peers, insight, and environment.

“Schools should be inclusive spaces where all students feel they belong, including transgender

and gender-expansive children. Too frequently, schools promote gendered practices that cause

distress for children, often unintentionally. While habits can be challenging to change, there is

both a legal and educational imperative to make school programs and practices gender inclusive”

(Mangin, 21). Children learn more from school than just the curriculum, their teachers are a new

adult relationship that is not within their family, which is a new influence on them. Children

thrive with safe adult interaction that are not within their family (teachers & coaches), and it is

great socialization for a child to be able to take instruction from authoritative figures. “Pre-

conceived beliefs about a child’s abilities or enjoyment based on a child’s gender may have other

important educational implications. For example, it has been postulated that adults such as

parents and teachers are significant sources of feedback for children that can shape their sense of

self-efficacy across different domains” (Newall, 35). These relationships need to be positive

influences on children and their gender to secure to positive socialization that is needed in young

people’s lives. Ways that have been proven successful to promote heathy gender thoughts is to

allow children and young people to navigate their gender without judgement. Schools push
gender ideals heavily onto their students without much reason or thought behind it. Moving away

from gendered situations that children are forced into can allow for the children of this country to

develop some thoughts and feelings on their own while still interacting and living with gender

norms. “Some children enter school as their affirmed gender identity, while others may undergo

a social transition while enrolled. Social transition is reversible and can include a change in

hairstyle and clothing or the use of a new name and pronouns. Health professionals recommend

social transition as a way to affirm children’s gender and reduce their distress or dysphoria”

(Olson, 137). Children use school as a tool to learn and grow, and it is unfair to allow schools to

stunt their growth and ability to learn. Uniforms and dress codes also allow for gender

oppression to show heavily, even in the young ages of children. Policing what a child wears to a

school promotes an unsettling undertone of the way adults need to ensure children are covered.

Schools need to enact better systems that allow for gender expression, gender differentiation and

gender decision-making. These are key to a child becoming themselves sooner rather than later.

Why force them to wait until they are out of school and out of the rule of their authoritative

figures to find their true character and self?

A child usually comes into the world with an abundance of belongings – clothes, toys, a

bed, diapers, food, and an abundance of love. Even before the child is born there are celebrations

of this new life that is coming into the world. One being a gender reveal party, which is a staple

in pregnancy and is more anticipated than any other event except for the birth of the child. These

gender reveal parties are themed heavily on gender stereotypes especially the pink and blue

theme. It is even taken a step further with instead of using the actual words ‘boy’ and ‘girl’, its

themed as ‘tutus or touchdowns’, ‘heels or wheels’, ‘princess or prince’, ‘bow or bow tie’, and

the standard ‘blue or pink’. While each of those phrases do not name an actual gender, it is
heavily implied which is which. The overkill in which people are excited or upset depending on

the gender is a topic is off-putting with the way a man wishes for a boy and a woman hopes for a

girl. The way gender is pushed onto children before even being born sets a precedent for how

their upbringing may be conducted. This includes the gifts that are given to literal babies

depicting their gender. The present study shows that parents judge gender-typed as more

desirable for their children than cross-gender-typed toys regardless of the parents’ gender, age,

and educational level (Kollmayer, 338). The pink and blue clothes and the gender specific toys

especially. Caldera discovered that “18-month-old boys and girls already showed greater

involvement when playing with toys conventionally associated with their sex, although parents

did not overtly promote play with same-sex typed toys” (Caldera, 73). It is also found that

“Block further suggested that boys' toys provide more opportunity for manipulation and

inventiveness, and that girls' preferred play activities contribute to a more structured world that

elicits less creativity and more compliance” (Block, 1336). Promoting gender differences at a

young age sets the scene for the rest of a child’s adolescence. Not until much older are they able

to fully unlearn gender norms and the societal standards that go along with it. Ways that have

been proven successful to not push gender as heavily onto children can be several things. Gender

neutral toys, gender neutral clothing, allowing your children to give ideas on what toys they want

to play with and what colors they want to wear. “Fathers in particular were found to be

stereotypical in their responses to their child’s selection of gender-typed toys and were more

likely to play with their child when interacting with gender-typed than with cross-gender toys

(Langlois, 1246). It is very important to not discourage children from playing with a toy

marketed towards the other gender or wanting to play a sport that may be the opposite of their

gender norm. Allowing for children to make their own small decisions within reason can allow
for independence and more knowledge of their own gender, instead of having these decisions

made for them.

To conclude this piece, I want to reiterate how important children are to our society and

the health of our world. With proper guidance and knowledge, the next generation of children

can be far better than what’s in the world currently. Parents are the biggest influences on their

children and others and proper teachings early allow for easier gender understanding earlier on.

“Parents contribute to the development of the child’s social skills as well as provides a child with

opportunities for acquiring interactional skills that may generalize to other contexts such as play

with peers” (Marjanovič-Umek, 498). Schools being another large influence continue the

teaching in larger scenarios. The introduction of large amounts of peers, a structured

environment and other authoritative figures allows for gender education to either sink or swim

depending on the situations presented. It is a hard environment to reteach basic information on

gender, but it could be an environment that doesn’t fall into societal gender norms and push them

heavily on the student body. Our school systems teach an education that involves math, science,

English, reading, foreign language etc. There is no reason that gender which is a characteristic

everyone has to a degree could not be discussed in the same educational way. Uniforms, rules

and old ways of thinking allow for the gendered oppression to kick in within the school

environment. Allowing for a less constrictive education will let children have an open mind

surrounding their gender while growing up. The last topic discussed was gender within objects

and activities. These objects are filled with societal norms, gender bias and overall, a

misunderstanding of fluidity. While we are not looking for the elimination of these objects and

activities, a less harsh and pushed approach needs to be implemented when using and having

access to them. Allowing children to play with the toys their interested in and do the activities
that interest them will be key for the new generations decision making when it comes to their

own gender. Children may want to follow the gender norm route unknowingly but at least that is

the route they want to take. Children must learn what interests them and what is good for them,

and they have an abundance of time to do it. My research question “How adults should be

working to avoid gender stereotyping with children and what ways have been proven successful

in avoiding this?”, was explored through three open avenues that have room for improvement in

our society. The way society views gender is bound to change, and the children we are teaching

will be the ones to change it.

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