FREE ESSAY ON CROSSING GENDER LINES

CROSSING GENDER LINES

Corrie Molenaar
11.16.01
Engl. 1210 Sec. 001
Joy Ellen Parker
Essay #2
Crossing Gender Lines
Author and feminist Alix Kates Shulman said once: "Sexism goes so deep that at first it's
hard to see, you think it's just reality" (McEneany). That quote sums up perfectly the
way our society runs. There is no class teaching children how to act according the their
gender. Yet little boys and little girls learn at a very young age what is expected of
them. They get ideas about their gender roles from their parents, their school teachers
and subconsciously from the toys they play with and the television shows they watch. 
Even before the children are born, parents begin choosing clothing and decorations by
color based on the sex of the baby. The stereotype of pink, pastels, yellow and white for
girls and bright or dark colors like green, blue and red for boys has long been a part of
out culture. How many times have you heard kids argue over toys because the girls don't
want the icky boy color or the boys don't want the gross girl color? The issue of color
may go deeper than just fighting for toys. Studies have been done showing that school
classrooms, especially for younger grades, are typically decorated in "boy" colors and
reflect an environment that is most comfortable for boys (Bruning 23). Parents and
teachers may be able to help reverse this thinking by buying toys in gender neutral
colors and by using the same colors for boys and girls. 
Children start to define their gender identity in early preschool (Zhumkhawala 47). This
means that the toys children are given go a long way to further (or help change) gender
stereotypes and inequality. In general, boys are given trucks, blocks and doctor's kits,
encouraging them to build, explore how things work and be active. Girls on the other hand
are given dolls, kitchen sets, and play make-up. This is essentially saying that all that
is expected of girls is that they become good mothers and wives and they look pretty.
Basically, girls toys teach them to accept things as they are, and be ladylike and
passive while boys toys encourage them to create and explore, never giving them the idea
that there are limits to what they can do. 
Parents usually encourage these ideas without even realizing it. For example, girls are
praised for playing with dolls but boys are often ignored for displaying nurturing
behavior. Likewise, boys get attention for being good at sports while girls don't often
receive encouragement for being active. As Bruning points out in his article "Separating
the Sexes in Toyland", these kinds of stereotypes are destructive because they limit our
potential (22). It is not difficult to notice that in general little boys are more
spatially and mathematically inclined and little girls are more verbal (Arbetter 16).
However, a study done in 1992 called "How Schools Shortchange Girls" found that young
boys who play with dolls develop better motor skills and girls who play with blocks
develop better math and science skills (Zhumkhawala, 48)
Besides the toys they buy, parents affect their children's concept of gender roles in the
way they interact with them and by example. For one, parents tend to play rougher with
boys than with girls, enforcing the idea that boys should be tough and girls should not
act out. Also, Girls usually spend more time with their mothers and boys with their
fathers. Therefore, girls end up doing "girlie" things like playing with make-up and
helping Mommy make dinner. Boys do "manly" things like playing catch or helping Daddy in
the garage. It wouldn't take much for parents to change this. A father and son could
include the daughter while practicing sports. A son could help his mother in the kitchen
or even take care of a younger sibling. Parents should try to avoid telling boys to "stop
crying and act like a big boy" because hearing that enough over time could make them
think that it's not okay for boys to show emotion. They should also steer clear of
telling girls repeatedly to "mind their manners and act like a lady" or a girl may not
feel that it is ever all right for her to speak her mind or stand up for herself. 
Teachers too, can be biased, usually favoring boys. Research has shown that teachers
typically wait longer for boys than for girls to answer a question. This subtly
reinforces the idea that less is expected of female students. In addition, Zhumkhawala
says "most teachers - even in preschools - pay more attention to boys than girls. Boys
get more chances to speak, more praise and suggestions, more hugs" (48). When confronted
teachers explained that this is because girls seem to be doing well without so much
attention. Trudy Hamner, author of The Gender Gap in Schools: Girls Loosing Out suggests
that we separate education to make it more equal (86). Of course, very few families can
afford to send their children to private boys and girls schools. But recently several
public schools have been test-driving separate classrooms for girls in math and science.
Some critics believe that separate classrooms give the impression that girls aren't as
smart as boys and therefore need special attention. The girls who participate in these
programs, however, love it. They say that not having guys around makes it easier to
concentrate on learning rather than worrying about competing or being made fun of for a
wrong answer (Hamner, 88-90).
Parents and teachers are not the only ones who influence a child's view of gender roles.
Television programs further stereotypes, again by showing children how they are
"supposed" to act. For starters, there are more men than women in children's programs and
the women are portrayed most often in family roles. Males on TV are shown as
knowledgeable, independent and aggressive. Females are shown as romantic, submissive,
emotional and timid (Morgan, 951). According to Nancy Signorielli "studies have found
that viewing is related to giving more sexist responses to questions about the nature of
men and women, how they are treated and their roles in society (104). In addition,
commercials geared toward boys tend to be fast paced and action filled; for girls, quiet
and feminine with soft background music. To combat this, parents simply need to pay
attention to what their children watch and limit the programs that contain blatant gender
biases or stereotypes. 
As we've seen, there are a variety of things that influence children as they develop
concepts of how their gender should act. At first, it's difficult to see the problem. Our
society runs smoothly as it is, with most of it's need being met by one gender or the
other. But imagine if some of the barriers between men and women were erased. What would
be possible if more women were doctors and politicians and more men were primary
child-care providers? The answer could be a simple as changing the way our children play
with their toys. 
Bibliography
Works Cited
Arbetter, Sandra R. "Boys and Girls: Equal but not the Same." Current Health 2. Dec.
1991: 16.
Bruning, F. "Separating the Sexes in Toyland." Newsday. 27 Nov. 1973: 21-24.
Hanmer, Trudy J. The Gender Gap in Schools: Girls Loosing Out. Springfield, N.J.
Enslow Publishing Inc, 1996.
McEneany, Colleen. Feminist Utopia. 10 Oct. 2001. 
www.amazoncastle.com/feminist.html.
Morgan, M. "TV and Adolescent Sex Role Stereotypes: A Longitudinal Study." Journal 
of Personality and Social Psychology. 43.5 (1982): 947-955.
Signorielli, Nancy. "Television and the Perpetuation of Gender Role Stereotypes." AAP 
News. Feb. 1998: 103-104.
Zuhmkhawala, Sehba. "Dolls, Trucks and Identity." Children's Advocate. Nov.-Dec.
1997: 47-49.