Gender Roles And Stereotypes
...beliefs about gender roles and stereotypes. This paper, which is an
elaboration of a group project** created by the Gender Boundaries Group* conducted in
Eugene Matusov's Fall 1996 class, Psychology 100G, studies the research surrounding
gender roles and stereotypes perpetuated by parents onto their children via modeling,
clothing, toys, and television exposure, and its effects have been considered in an
attempt to encourage a gender neutral environment.
*The Gender Boundaries Group consists of: Barbara Burns, Dave Fellner, Elizabeth
Hom, Deborah Ingram, Edward Rivera, Lorraine Villoria, and Mary Zinsmeyer.
**My specific contribution to the group project centered on societal influences on
children and is included in the text of this report as the second paragraph. My extension
of the group project, this final paper, includes research conducted via the World Wide
Web as well as a section on androgynous gender role orientation.
Paper
Do parents inadvertently expose their children to their preconceived notions of
gender-stereotypical expectations and roles? Gender roles and boundaries can be
comforting and provide guidelines for people; however, these roles are both limiting and
constraining in today's rapidly changing society. Infants begin with many similarities; they
are born incompetent-- needing comfort, food, and warmth from a capable adult.
(Barbara Rogoff lecture, 11/19/96, UCSC) While some studies and theories have found
that gender differences are based in biology and evolution,
(http://fnord.dur.ac.uk/teaching/1childdev/h7ac_details.html) socialization, both parental
and societal, creates gender differences that become thoroughly entrenched in our
children. This paper will focus specifically on how steretypes prevalent in socialization,
modeling, clothing, room decor, toys, and televion influence children as...
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