#8: What I've Learned

The topic that I chose to write my blog on was gender development. Throughout my blog posts I looked into how our society deals with gender roles, especially with children. I always knew that gender roles were something that seemed to be engrained in people, but I never fully realized how stuck we are in them.  The one thing that seemed to be a trend throughout all of my research was how girls breaking gender norms was not a big deal, however there is a greater stigma on boys who break gender norms. It seems like society is completely fine with little girls dressing in boy clothes, or partaking in boys activities, however when little boys decide to wear princess costumes or want to play with Barbie dolls there is immediate backlash. The stigma placed on young boys especially is something that we would all like to hope we don’t buy into, but unfortunately it is something so drilled into our society

that it is hard to ignore.  This is exactly what needs to be changed. Once we start changing the way people view gender roles it will become easier for everyone to accept whatever a child wants to do.  This is something that will not be easy, and something that will not happen over night, however it is possible.  We need to create a culture where children can grow up and know that they can be whatever they want.  Girls need to be encouraged that they are strong enough to be firefighters, and boys need to be reminded that they are nurturing enough to become a nurse or a teacher.  We are living in a constantly evolving society, but for some reason gender stereotypes are stuck in the past. We need to change the way we view gender norms so we can make a more accepting environment for children to grow up in today

                                         

#7: What About the Boys?

The conversation about gender roles is so commonly focused on women, but now we are going to discuss how men handle gender roles.  This article by the LA Times points out how ‘men are stuck’ in gender roles.  Today, it is much more common to see a women pursuing a career that may have previously been viewed as a ‘mans job’ than it is for men to be pursuing what is perceived as a ‘woman’s job’. For instance job areas such as business or law were once seen as jobs primarily for men, however now women are breaking into it, but men have been slower to break into jobs such as nursing or teaching.  There are various statistics that point out the delay in growth for male gender roles such as the fact that a working mother these days is nothing out of the ordinary, however stay-at-home dads only exist in 1% of marriages with children under 15.  Another study held by the University of South Florida showed that the stigma of men staying home to take care of their children goes as far as people believing that it is less masculine for men to want a flexible schedule as employees.  By this day and age women have realized that there is nothing stopping them from pursuing whatever job field they want, but it seems that men have yet to make that realization.

The rut that men seem to be stuck in reflects a negative message to young boys today.  If grown men are too worried about what society will think about them if they take a ‘feminine’ job, how will young boys ever realize that it is okay to break the mold? There is no going against the fact that it is viewed as less acceptable today for men to partake in ‘womanly’ activities, than it is for women to partake in something that is viewed as manly.  A quote that really stuck out to me from this article is “If girls call themselves tomboys, it’s with a sense of pride…but boys make fun of other boys if they step just a little outside the rigid masculine stereotype.”  The negative connotation for boys stepping outside of their gender norms seems to be a never-ending cycle that follows boys throughout their entire lives.  Breaking gender norms for boys has to be something that happens across all generations.  Once there is a change in the way breaking gender norms is perceived in men later on in life, it will become much easier for younger boys to follow.  This is a change that will be just as hard as breaking female gender norms, and just as important. Men need to realize how much gender roles affect them, and they have to join the fight against them in order to make a more acceptable society for young boys.

#6: Lets Change the Story

This article gets its inspiration from a video created by the Representation Project, which is committed to advancing the discussion about how gender limits the freedom of both men and women. The article focuses on the effects of pushing gender roles from the moment a child is born. Stereotypes about how to dress, how to act, what to play with, and how to show emotions puts children in a box that gives them very little lee way to become their own person. This also discusses the very popular belief that the media enforces these stereotypes.  This also points out the effect media has on young boys which is a side of the argument that is often forgotten about. Things such as violent video games and advertisements featuring rugged and manly men give these young boys the message that masculinity and power is everything. Media is also portraying the idea to girls that they must be delicate and dainty and know their place in society. These are all things that the Representation Project it trying to combat so we can soon see a change in our world that children so desperately need. 

It seems as if the portrayal of gender roles in the media has completely overshadowed anyone’s individual fight against these stereotypes.  As much as parents may try to stay away from gender norms, their children are going to be exposed to them very early on in their lives through the media. Unfortunately, what kids see in the media may have a bigger impact on them then what is being told to them at home because what is seen on TV is often seen as being ‘cool’ or ‘in’.  This article stresses a very important fact, which is that everyone needs to raise their voice, whether they are man or women, young or old, against gender norms. This article shares a very similar message as the TED talk we watched a couple of weeks ago.  We need to not only focus on the impact that the media has on young girls, but also young boys.  It is just as hard for young boys to watch TV and feel like they must always be strong and masculine and powerful as it is for girls to be portrayed as objects.  As its stated in the article, we need to show men how the fight for equality effects them as well. There is a video attached to the article that is really worth taking a look at and further explains the need to “rewrite the story.”