Before the second tutorial I sent over what I had written so far for Chapter 1. It is still rough and needs fleshing out but it is a good place to get some feedback.
Chapter One
Gender is a key aspect to our identity and it influences heavily on how we perceive others. Before we notice anything else about a person, their gender is something we always want to be aware of (Golombock, Fivush 1990). When we are unsure of a persons gender, or a person strays from the social norms associated with gender, this can make us uncomfortable. ‘The rules of social order are in our heads and we find it difficult to stray from them, and people can be shocked when seemingly minor social expectations are not adhered to. In the case of gender - a schoolboy goes to school wearing eyeliner and a dash of lipstick, the shockwaves - communicated through the conventions of punishment and teasing - can be powerful.’ (Gauntlett 2008).
Stereotypes of gender are ingrained into children from very early development. At around the age of 2-years-old, children can identify themselves and others as male or female, and begin to associate particular behaviours and traits with either gender. Between the ages of 3 and 6, the stereotypes that surround children and gender are extremely rigid, even more-so than the stereotypes surrounding adults. These children not only know their assigned-gender stereotypes, but believe them to be true. (Golombock, Fuvish 1990). Children apply much more strict stereotypes to those of a similar age range than to adults. From this experiment, it is clear that children have a more uncompromising attitude towards gender; ‘‘When pictures of adults were used, children at all ages were more likely to say that both males and females could engage in that behaviour when pictures of children were used.’ (Golombock, Fivush 1990). Woodward points out that this is because children have a more naïve attitude towards gender which is very inflexible. ‘Children develop such rigid gender categories in their search for certainty about gender. These categories are essentialist, having a simple in-group and out-group distinction that children use for understanding masculinity and femininity, and for defining their own gender identity.’ (Woodward, 2004).
It is difficult to know whether parents stereotype their children due to pre-existing stereotypes of gender, or whether they are reacting to actual differences between boys and girls. The ‘Baby X’ study, first conducted by Seavey, Katz and Zalk (1975). The experiment took place to see how adults react to a young infant in neutral coloured clothing when being told information about their gender. One third were told the infant was male, one third was told the infant was female and one third was given no information regarding the gender of the infant. A selection of toys were available in this particular experiment: a small rubber football (male gender-type toy), a Raggedy Ann doll (female gender-type toy) and a plastic ring (gender-neutral toy). The groups were asked to comment on the behaviour of the infant and the results were particularly interesting. When the baby was labelled female, the adults were more likely to give the infant the doll to play with. When the baby was labelled male, the subjects tended to use the gender-neutral toy more than the football or the doll. The subjects in the no-gender group were asked whether the child was male or female and made quite spontaneous assumptions based upon physical attributes. E.g. The child is a boy because of his strong grip and lack of hair, or the infant is a girl because of her softness and fragility. (Golombock, Fivush 1990). This was the same child, hence no difference between very young infants is noticeable. The results from this experiment show how the ingrained stereotypes between boys and girls cause an assumption on types behaviour even when that behaviour isn’t any different.
Through social learning theory, we believe that behaviour is obtained through modelling and reinforcement. Reinforcement is based on the idea that behaviour can be altered through consequence. If a child believes what they are doing will grant them a positive response, it is more likely to be repeated. This is the same for no or negative responses as the behaviour is less likely to be repeated. ‘The consequences for children of various behaviours depend on their sex; girls for example will generally receive a much more favourable response than boys for playing with dolls, and boys more often than girls play with cars and trucks.’ (Golomock, Fivush 1990).
Modelling is where children gain an understanding of the male and female sex role behaviour through observational learning. Children are more likely to imitate models of the same sex as themselves, as this is expected to yield more favourable consequences. Children realise that specific behaviour is considered appropriate for their gender. This can be found within something as simple as choosing a favourite colour; girls are more likely to pick traditionally feminine colours such as pink or purple where as boys are more likely to pick a more masculine, dark colour such as blue or green. ‘For example, Fagot (1978) studied children aged 20-24 months in American homes. She found that girls were encouraged by their parents to dance, dress up, follow them around and play with dolls, but were discouraged from jumping and climbing; boys, however, were encouraged to play with blocks and trucks but discouraged from playing with dolls or seeking help.’ (Smith, Cowie, Blades 2011).
Feedback
The feedback was largely positive with just minor tweaks to the referencing to attend to. The content is heading in the right direction and laying suitable foundations of knowledge for later chapters. It was also advised to look into the idea of gender as a construct to be explored within further chapters. For the next tutorial I need to mostly finish Chapter 1 and start looking into my primary research and what I'm going to ask the children.
