Research Essay Final

Research Essay Final

                                                                 The Road To Change
Act like a lady or think like a man, an expectation that’s surprisingly common all over the world. In one way or another, this generational collective girl/boy advice that people give each other somehow always sticks around. At some point we have to ask ourselves, why does it continue? In actuality, society is to blame for perpetuating this cycle. When considering how culture plays a big role all over the world, it’s important to observe just how serious gender roles are being taken and how soon are these ideas introduced. The truth is, these positions are almost always present and taught to our children from a very young age. Although this may not seem like an issue to some, learning this can be very harmful to people and how they can comfortably exist in society through their individualism and the level of fairness that they’re treated with daily. In other words, living in a society in which gender norms are constantly being forced on people will lead to cycles of inequality. It should be understood that implementing norms on children that take away from their individuality and create environments of bias.
Being a child can be difficult when you carry the weight of generations on your back. More often than not, children are forced to deal with social roles that confine them to stereotypical environments. This cycle continues as it is part of human nature. In the prose poem,“Girl”, the author subtly posits the idea that what we learn at home, doesn’t necessarily shape us for the best. The relationship developed between the mother and girl displays the common issue that is found in parenting styles and children today. At a young age children are introduced to the roles they’re expected to play throughout life. In this case, Jamaica Kincaid, author of the poem, describes an intense way of how that is carried out, as the mother lists strict and sexist rules to​​ her daughter. The girl, expected to be submissive and using her mothers words as a guidebook, continues a cycle she should not have to. It can be assumed that Kincaid insinuates how gender stereotypes are first introduced at home.
Gender roles and identity have been present for as long as anyone can remember. The way humans assign an identity through gender and creating domestic roles exhibits how these norms are self imposed. Jamaica Kincaid, a well known Antiguan-American novelist and essayist discusses this issue in her poem because she had also experienced the expectation of carrying out gender roles. Given that Kincaid was raised by her mother in Antigua with old-fashioned ideals, mother shared her norms almost frequently as if urging her daughter to follow them or else be viewed as a slut. The issue is, for too long has society been comfortable with stereotyping children and perpetuating the cycle of gender inequality. Will we ever realize just how damaging doing so can be to the psyche of a child? Studies have been conducted for decades in the U.S. in order to justify the idea that the conceptualization of gender roles form at a young age, thus influencing a child’s identity. The results, with the exception of a few outliers, always came back to one conclusion; gender roles are easily picked up by young minds.
Are our parents really to blame for the way we view men, women, and their roles in society? When trying to consider where most thoughts originated from, we must acknowledge how a child’s most influential interactions happen with their parents. This question is one that’s been considered by many and even studied by psychologists and researchers. In one specific case, psychologists and researchers Alyssa Croft, Toni Schmader, Katharina Block, and Andrew Scott Baron studied the way boys and girls responded to the domestic roles their parents took at home and how this influenced how far they expected themselves to succeed in future goals, as well as their overall beliefs. Results showed that children ages 4-6 easily picked up on gender roles and mothers were more likely to force these ideas on their children, “ mothers exhibited stronger explicit gender-role beliefs than did fathers, which indicates that they assume that women do more of the domestic workload… however, implicit gender-role associations were not different by gender… parents’ tendency to explicitly self stereotype” [Croft, Schmader, Block, and Scott Baron. 2014] Picking up on gender roles occurs more through our parents because they’re our first example for everything when growing up. Studies revealed that it isn’t necessarily the existence of gender itself that creates these roles, but seeing parents carry them out creates a foundation for the lens we use when evaluating the world. It’s important to note that when a parent does this, they’re simply teaching what they know best in ways they were taught by generations before them. However, what we learn won’t always encourage us to be our most authentic selves. In the end, psychologists concluded that, “ the more mothers enacted and identified with traditional roles at home, the more their children (especially daughters) envisioned themselves fulfilling gender stereotypical roles in the future.” It’s important for parents to set an example for their children that promotes authenticity, rather than molding them into someone that society wants them to be. Since most things in society are separated by gender, whether it be culturally or socially, what a child is taught on gender will ultimately pave the way for how they view the world and how far they’ll limit themselves. We should be encouraging our children to be the best version of themselves, not the best version of what society wants them to be.

Parent socialization is imperative to young and growing minds. When considering how previous studies that the example parents set will create the foundation for how children view the world and themselves, it’s important that we reevaluate what has been society’s “normal” for some time. Psychologists and professor Paul D. Hastings, in his research article “Links Among Gender, Inhibition, and Parental Socialization in the Development of Prosocial Behavior studied the effect that mothers and fathers have on a child’s social behavior towards others. Hastings did so by evaluating the difference in a child’s response to women and men they had never met before and parents taking their partners roles. The results showed that, “The sex differences in the links between children’s prosocial behavior and their experiences of maternal child rearing were consistent with the prediction that socialization effects would be stronger for girls than for boys… stronger relations for girls than for boys between maternal socialization and empathy, sympathy, and pro social behavior… mothers may have been more invested in promoting the stereotypically feminine attributes of caring and other-oriented behaviors…”  Could the expectation of girls being maternal and feminine follow them forever? Basic human emotions such as empathy should not be expected for only one gender. Studies revealing this as a possibility is a perfect example of the issue in itself. Gender roles encourage inequality because it puts unreasonable expectations on genders that creates separation of man and woman. For example, if a woman is expected to be sympathetic and patient, are these traits just a bonus for men? If women don’t naturally fit this stigma for society, are we deemed as less of a woman? Instead of pushing such ideas, parents should teach children that everyone is equal.

Habits and customs such as gender norms are easily picked up throughout the early stages of a child’s development. They can shape the way a child will treat the people around them as well as view the world. Exposure to this can be very subtle as it may appear in day to day life, making it much easier for children to adapt to this. Carol Lynn Martin and Diane Ruble’s, authors, psychologists, and professors in their research essay, “Children’s Search for Gender Cues: Cognitive Perspectives on Gender Development” considered and observed several studies that tested how soon a child/toddler adapted to gender roles and how it affects their behavior and development. One study consisted of providing children with toys with direct or indirect gender labels in order to measure the future difference in behavior when choosing a toy. Results showed that, “once a toy or activity is stereotyped, with either overt or covert eyes, children respond, according to whether the toy or activity is appropriate for their own sex… knowledge of gender stereotypes is linked to behavior, especially in carefully designed experimental and correlational studies… children show developmental changes and stereotyping that parallel other cognitive development changes”. Enforcing roles at a young age forces a child into fitting into one group. Children should have the opportunity of simply existing without gender norms. Implementing them only perpetuates stigmas that revolve around gender such as, boys are more athletic than girls. Ideas like this can be harmful to a child as they may revert back to their “assigned” gender norm when in reality, they should freely exist without any expectations other than being a child. When they are not able to be their most authentic selves, we end up with a child that never had a fair chance at true individualism.

In another study, psychiatrists and professor Alexa A. Albert, Judith R. Porter, in their research essay, “Children’s Gender-Role Stereotypes: A Sociological Investigation of Psychological Models.” observed the psychological effect that gender roles will have when enforced on children. They did so by evaluating the outcome when placing stereotypes on several variables with a sample population of children ages four to six. After further investigation they had realized that, “gender-role stereotypes initially develop in children as a result of their observation and imitation of relevant social models in their environment. The subsequent strengthening of gender-role stereotypes, as well as the performance of gender-typed behavior patterns, is viewed as resulting from the child’s experience with social reinforcement for conformity to gender-role stereotypes…” [Albert & Porter, 1988]. Since gender roles are so easily adapted by children, it’s a big part of their personality. That’s why it’s important for people around children to not make things about gender and instead encourage children to engage in activities that are typically only meant for one gender. When we expose children to gender roles, they immediately begin to create an identity that revolves around it. Now, this is not to be confused with denying the sex that you are assigned at birth, but more so challenge the stigmas that revolve around gender. A girl and/or boy should not be expected to be one way simply because of their sex. When this occurs we continue a cycle of difference between man and woman. Humans are far too emotional and complex to try and define someone’s normal. In a society that’s always changing, normal simply doesn’t exist. The sooner we accept and teach this, the closer we are to liberation.

Although society has come a long way in terms of creating collaborative social structures, we also create social stigmas that interfere with true equality in which biases manifest. Psychologists Melanie Killen, Laura Elenbaas, Michael T. Rizzo in their journal, “Young Children’s Ability to Recognize and Challenge Unfair Treatment of Others in Group Contexts” argue that morality, a basis for humans, in some ways can shape the way individuals treat one another. In order to support their implications, they conducted a study in which they observed children’s response to visible unfair treatment. They concluded that, “The judgments and behaviors that we have discussed in this paper are familiar to young children’s everyday lives. As children get older, their social environments expand dramatically. This expansion requires social-cognitive work to consider multiple variables, such as group knowledge and psychological knowledge, when making complex moral decisions.”  [Killen, Elenbaas & Rizzo, 2018]. Since gender norms appear frequently, it makes it easier for children to pick up on them. Considering how young minds are impressionable, it’s important to create an environment for kids in which there are no groups that divide them. Approaching them in this open minded way will most likely lead to a more understanding future generation because they will not view a man or woman superior or inferior simply because of their gender.

It should be understood that social norms are created and carried out by humans. If we dislike something about our society, it is in our control to change it. In addition to this, it is our responsibility to curate the young minds that’ll continue humanity and mold the future. In a world where most things are separated by gender, it is imperative that we promote equality rather than gender difference. Although the concept of gender roles is intricately intertwined with how humans view certain situations as well as their beliefs, the common denominator is the cycle continues. It is up to a parent to encourage their kids to be their most authentic self and follow and hopes or aspirations without enforcing gender roles. If a girl wants to play sports rather than play with dolls, she should do so freely and be accepted as if that is the norm. Now, it is true that society has become more socially aware and therefore progressive, but we still play a role in perpetuating this cycle whenever we encourage gender norms. Ultimately doing so will always leave someone unsatisfied, creating the environment of inequality. It is important that every adult and child are met with no expectations other than existing freely and kindly.

Work Cited:

Albert, Alexa A., and Judith R. Porter. “Children’s Gender-Role Stereotypes: A SociologicalInvestigation of Psychological Models.” Sociological Forum, vol. 3, no. 2, 1988, pp. 184–210.JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/684364. Accessed 8 May 2023
Croft, Alyssa, et al. “The Second Shift Reflected in the Second Generation: Do Parents’ GenderRoles at Home Predict Children’s Aspirations?” Psychological Science, vol. 25, no. 7, 2014, pp.1418–28. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24543567. Accessed 8 May 2023.
Hastings, Paul D., et al. “Links Among Gender, Inhibition, and Parental Socialization in theDevelopment of Prosocial Behavior.” Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, vol. 51, no. 4, 2005, pp. 467–93. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23096098. Accessed 9 May 2023.
Killen, Melanie, et al. “Young Children’s Ability to Recognize and Challenge Unfair Treatmentof Others in Group Contexts.” Human Development, vol. 61, no. 4/5, 2018, pp. 281–296,https://www-jstor-org.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/stable/26765218.
Kincaid, Jamaica. “Girl.” The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories, edited byTobias Wolff,
Vintage, 1994, pp.306-07.
Martin, Carol Lynn, and Diane Ruble. “Children’s Search for Gender Cues: CognitivePerspectives on Gender Development.” Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. 13, no.2, 2004, pp. 67–70. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20182912. Accessed 7 May 2023