Chapter 10. Sex and Gender "We're Having a Baby!"

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Vocabulary plays a large role in culturally establishing gender roles. For example, what comes to mind when you think of the color “blue”? How about “pink”? Did you think of male babies for blue and female babies for pink? Do words like tender, aggressive, skirt, and tough make you think of one gender or another? All of these words tend to be associated with gender schemas, psychological or mental guidelines that dictate how to be masculine or feminine, and they correspond to our ideas of gender stereotypes. Why pink for a baby girl? Why is “aggressive” behavior “masculine”? Why is “tender” associated with feminine?

These ideas are deeply ingrained into our psychological mind-frame from a very early age. Think of gender stereotypes that you may have been exposed to as a child. As much as parents or guardians attempt to be “gender neutral,” society sends strong messages about how boys and girls should behave.

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You may not have been raised this way, but what societal pressures, starting in preschool, might play a role in how children think about gender and gender roles?

Did you have to think twice before categorizing these photos? These pictures represent contrasts to typical notions of masculinity and femininity. The individuals in the photos you sorted did not meet our society’s and culture’s expectations of gender roles. We have specific gender schemas for careers. For example, most individuals think “male” when someone says “construction worker.” When someone says “nurse,” many people think “female.”

Sadly, most people who do not follow stereotypical gender roles (usually called “nontraditional gender roles”) report more stress, lower levels of social support, sexual harassment, and questions about their sexuality (Sifferlin, 2015). Why? In part, it is because these roles go against our societal norms and gender schemas.

Sifferlin, A. (2015). Women earn 24% less than men on average, UN Report Finds. Time.com, N,pg Witt, S. D. (1997). Parental influence on children’s socialization to gender roles. Adolescence, 32,(126), 253–259.

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In certain careers, there are tremendous shortages of men or women. In science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers, men far outnumber women. For example, only 22% of environmental scientists and 17% of chemical engineers are women (Huhman, 2012).Huhman, H. (2012) STEM Field and the Gender Gap: Where are the Women? Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/06/20/stem-fields-and-the-gender-gap-where-are-the-women/#2e4e83a033a9 Where are the male nurses? 91% of registered nurses are women. Men make up less than 3% of preschool and kindergarten teachers and less than 20% of elementary and middle-school teachers (Data About Male Teachers, 2007). Data About Male Teachers (2007). Retrieved from http://www.menteach.org/resources/data_about_men_teachers

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While watching the video, what names and characteristics popped into your head as the children were asked to draw the surgeon, fighter pilot, and firefighter? Did any gender-stereotyped characteristics inform your impressions? Describe your initial impressions of those individuals. If you used words such as brave or strong, why do you believe these characteristics apply more to males than females?

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Discuss the expressions on the children’s faces when the female firefighter, pilot and surgeon walked into the room. Why do you believe, at such a young age, their faces looked that way? Did you see any differences in the faces of the boys versus the girls? Reflect on what you believe to be the meaning behind their facial expressions.

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