Research Journey

 From the time you are born, you are set an expectation of what you should wear, what you should think, and how you should act, and all of these are based on your assigned gender at birth. These are called stereotypes. Stereotypes are a fixed image of a particular person or thing. Lessons about gender start very early in life and can have long-term consequences. I have first researched gender roles in boys and girls from birth since that is what my topic is. I came across an article talking about all sorts of things relating to this. The article pointed out that someone's sex and gender are two different things. Sex is what you are assigned at birth based on your body's biology. Gender is who you identify and has nothing to do with your biology. Most children start to become aware of their gender identity at the age of two or three, this is shown usually in preferences of what toys children like to play with and often the clothes they show appeal to. The stereotype old as time is girls play with things such as dolls and boys play with trucks and cars. The article states children don't start to think of their gender as something fixed till about seven or eight years old because up until then they aren't able to fully understand what gender means. The article also talks about influences in children's environment that influence them. If they witness their father doing things considered more masculine, such as fixing things and using tools, and a mother using makeup and cooking the child subconsciously may label these "boy jobs" vs. "girl jobs." Gender roles are not just physical aspects like clothing and toys but are instilled in the way you carry yourself and act and can become damaging to children later in life. Boys are stereotypically looked at as the stronger, more dominant gender. This idea is reinforced by everything from parents to the media to schools. These attitudes are pushed upon the two and girls feel pressure to act meek and modest and boys are pressured to act tough and to not show emotion. This leads to issues in teenage years and puts girls in very vulnerable positions sexually because boys are looked at as "dominant" and the only way to prevent this is to cover up, or once again, be modest. I read that when children are younger it may be okay for them to cross boundaries in gender but as soon as they start to get older and it becomes clear specific behavior is geared to one sex it becomes shameful. Things such as being a "tomboy" can be acceptable but a boy being a "sissy" is not tolerated because it isn't associated with a sort of power that acting like a boy may elude. Research has shown that gender stereotypes are instilled in children before the age of ten and can have a negative impact on their identity carried into adulthood. Negative consequences can include depression, violence, child marriage, substance abuse, and suicide. It is very important to challenge these stereotypes as a parent and be inclusive with each way you parent your children. From the time a baby is delivered it already has a list of expectations. Boys wear blue girls wear pink. Boys are adventurous and girls are sensitive. Assumptions and stereotypes can be very damaging to gender identity and sexuality. When children grow up in households regimented for them to do all these specific things they can feel immense pressure and may not be able to be their true selves. Parents should work to be understanding with their children rather than fit them into strict categories. 

Sources:

https://www.pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/gender-roles-and-identity-in-children : This article explains the difference between sex and gender and also shows how environment influences gender roles.

https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/20/health/geas-gender-stereotypes-study : It is shown in this article the harmful effects of gender roles and what they can lead to in teenage years. It also focuses on the differences gender roles can have on boys and girls.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/09/21/gender-stereotypes-destroying-girls-and-theyre-killing-boys/688317001/ : This article talks about the vulnerability of females as they grow older and the harmful psychological effects gender roles create.

https://www.healthyway.com/content/kids-and-gender-stereotypes-when-are-they-set-in-stone/ : This mainly focuses on the stereotypes set from birth differing between boys and girls and how people are influenced from the time they are infants.

https://www.parents.com/parenting/should-you-raise-a-gender-neutral-baby/ : This source includes a video and mainly focuses on how parents can raise their children gender neutral and shows ways to be inclusive when raising children.