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Gender roles are influenced by family, peers, culture and the media. Even fifty years ago, gender roles were much more rigidly defined and people were strongly influenced by their families and the communities in which they lived. The women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s eroded many long-held stereotypical views of what was once known as "the fairer sex." An important piece of legislation that resulted from the women's movement was Title IX, which created sports programs for girls that enabled them to have facilities, equipment and opportunities more comparable to those that had long been enjoyed only by boys. The gay pride movement, a more mobile society, and the proliferation of various media outlets also contributed greatly to the changing nature of gender roles. For the individual, gender identity is shaped from birth to adulthood by a combination of forces. The strength of various influences depends on a person's age and personal circumstances.
The first influence on gender roles is the parents, then siblings and extended family. Antill, Cunningham and Cotton (2003, p. 148) cited numerous studies demonstrating that adolescents and young adults resemble their parents in their own gender role attitudes....
Children first learn about gender roles from their own parents' behavior. Pappas (2010) points out that husbands and wives in today's young households are more apt to share chores than were their parents and grandparents -- although it is estimated that, with some exceptions, women do two-thirds more housework, even when they work outside the home the same number of hours as their male partners. That was true in my own home, where both of my parents were teachers. It was my mother, more often than not, who came home and cooked dinner, usually running the vacuum or putting a load of clothes in the wash in between stirring the pot. My father would sometimes cook, but that was a special occasion, such as when he saw a recipe in a magazine and wanted to give it a try. My father routinely helped out around the house, but that was exactly how it was described -- "helping out" -- as though the primary responsibilities were my mother's. My two older brothers, both married, seem to follow this traditional path in their own households.
Gender roles established in the home in the early years tend to be reinforced at school. In kindergarten, it is not unusual for boys to play with the dollhouse…
References
Antill, J.K., Cunningham, J.D., Cotton, S. (2003). Gender-role attitudes in middle childhood: In what ways do parents influence their children? Australian Journal of Psychology 55(3), pp. 148-153).
Pappas, S. (2010). Women still out-clean men at home. LiveScience. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/10318-women-clean-men-home.html
IV. Critical Assessment The nature-nurture debate is an intriguing one but is also one that has no clear result. The issue has been debated by the leading experts in all the various fields of study and, yet, the debate continues. The debate transcends the determination of what color eyes one has and who and what determines this issue. Matters of this sort can be resolved through a simple genetics study but
Childhood Development Were I advising my friend about the age-specific eating habits of her four-year-old son, I would begin by telling her that her son is at the age in which children simply want to eat the food that tastes good. They do not necessarily want to eat the food that their bodies truly need to grow and thrive, because they want to eat the food that is pleasing to
Previously we have reported that although the anthropometric status of women themselves is not associated with the number of cowives or their marital rank, the growth of children is strongly associated with the number of cowives present and the order of the mother's marriage to the husband. These analyses controlled for variation between seasons and a significant independent effect of household, but did not directly test for associations between
Gender The challenges families face include lack of social support, lack of guidance, lack of information, prejudice, and hostility. Gender roles and norms are entrenched in the society, making it difficult for children and their parents to resist or subvert conformity. The media and all social institutions perpetuate gender roles and norms. Yet when parents are willing to encourage gender fluidity or gender nonconformity, children and their parents are liberated from
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