1

Running head: GENDER ROLES

Gender roles
Gabrielle Velasquez
University of Texas El Paso

GENDER ROLES
Abstract
Gender based roles place people in restrictions as to how they should behave based on the
gender they were born. Gender roles have been instilled in children from a young age

through parents, society, and peers. Children that have chosen to conform generally have a
higher self-esteem while children that choose not to conform are generally at risk for abuse
as well as having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by early adulthood. There are different
viewpoints as to the cause of the different gender roles. The three viewpoints are the
biological perspective, sociological perspective and ecological perspective; each
perspective with its own belief and information supporting its theory as to why people act
a certain way based on gender. Biological perspective being there is a biological reason for
the behavior of people due to hormones. Sociological perspective is based on interactions
between people as well as Kholbergs three levels of childhood development, and the
ecological perspective is the theory that the behavior of males and females is based on both
biology and interaction between people.

GENDER ROLES

Gender roles have become a very pronounced societal normality. Gender roles have
always been a part of society but until recently they have just been brushed off. Through
time gender roles have been a major role in everyday life between men and women, they
have impacted the way people act, but there are a few different viewpoints as to the cause
of these gender roles. Stereotypes have been created for these gender roles and people are
expected to adhere to these gender roles. Different viewpoints as to why males and females
are expected to act are the sociological viewpoint, the biological viewpoint, and the
ecological standpoint.
Creation of Gender Roles
The view of how a certain gender is supposed to be, is taught to children from a
young age. It is a learned viewpoint taught to these children by parents, teachers, family
members, or basically any authority figure the child has. Children learn from a very young
age what it means to be a boy or girl through the different opportunities they are given, the
encouragements and discouragements given to the children, as we all the different forms of
guidance they are given, through this the children experience the process of gender role
socialization. (Witt, n.d.) When these children are taught how to act a certain way according
to their gender they begin to develop gender-based beliefs that are built off of gender
stereotypes. These gender stereotypes range from how men belong in the work force and

GENDER ROLES

women in the kitchen to boys play with trucks and girls play with Barbies. It has been
established in society that males are expected to be independent, competitive, strong, and
assertive; while females are expected to be passive, soft, weak, and passive. Figure 1 shows
the stereotypes that males and females are expected to adhere to. Males are supposed to be
dominant, while women are supposed to be submissive. These are the traditional
stereotypes taught to children
from a young age. The other
influences that are outside of the
family include books, television,
peers, schools and teachers. As
Ross D. Parke and E. Mavis
Hetherington, professors of
psychology at the University of Virginia and University of California, explain, in television
and books, the male and female roles are portrayed in gender-stereotypical ways. Peers
are also important source these gender standards; children react negatively to other
children that violate what they believe are behaviors that are typical to a specific gender.
(Gender roles and gender differences.n.d.)
The Impact of Gender Roles

GENDER ROLES

There are both positive and negative impacts of gender roles. The positive impact
being self-esteem; although this is directed more towards children with more masculine
characteristics, it does also apply to children that are not. Ross D. Parke and E. Mavis
Hetherington, wrote for the McGraw-Hill psychology book and website, in the website they
stated that children who have masculine or androgynous characteristics are likely to have
higher self-esteem than those who have traditionally feminine characteristics. (Gender
roles and gender differences.n.d.) Although, children that do adhere to these gender roles
are more comfortable because other children are not giving them negative reactions that
they would have received if they went out of the normal behaviors of their gender. The
negative impacts gender-roles have are the implementation of stereotypical threats, which
widens the achievement gap. It has been examined how groups of stereotypes can threaten
how students evaluate themselves which can lead to changes in the way they see
themselves academically and intellectually. (American Psychological Association, 2006)
When people are told they are limited because of their race, gender, or just any other
stereotype, it becomes a believed thought in the mind of these people, which threatens how
they see themselves. This leads to mental barriers that gives the person an excuse to do
worse than possible, which widens the achievement gap between people. In addition the
research done by the American Psychological Association, it was also stated that even just

GENDER ROLES

the mention of a stereotype in a harmless context can sensitize people to the stereotype
presented. (2006) There is more than just one negative factor contributed to kids that don't
conform to what is seen and normality for that gender. As it was previously stated, kids
who conform to their gender generally have a higher self -esteem. In turn, kids that do not
conform are at higher risk of abuse. Alexandra Sifferlin, a journalist for TIME magazine,
says these children are more likely to suffer physical, psychological and sexual abuse and
even experience post-traumatic stress disorder. The abuse is often inflicted by parents or
other adults in the household, although it is unclear why the abuse happens to these
children that choose not to conform, it is entirely possible that it is because of the parents
discomfort with the childs behavior. (2012)
Different Viewpoints on Cause of Gender Roles
The different perspectives as to why there are gender roles among people can be
explained through the biological perspective, the sociological perspective or the ecological
perspective. The biological perspective is built on the theory that people are born a certain
way with characteristics of a certain gender already instilled in them. Biological factors in
gender differences include hormones and social behavior. Women have small amounts of
testosterone compared to men, while men have small amounts of estrogen and
progesterone compared to women. There are two surges of hormones, the first surge takes

GENDER ROLES

place prenatally and it affects behavior in childhood, and the sure during adolescence
activates and enhances the earlier predispositions by the first hormone surge. (MacDonald,
n.d) The cognitive or better known as the sociological perspective has its own theory as to
the development of gender roles. Kohlbergs three-stage cognitive development theory
suggests that children begin by categorizing themselves as male or females, and then feel
rewarded by behaving in their gender-consistent ways. (Parke& Ross, n.d) The
sociological perspective also includes the interactions between people and the way they
interact. An example would be when a child notices physical and behavioral clues, and
classifies herself as a girl, as goes the same with a boy. (MacDonald, .n.d) The ecological
perspective, is where it is not only biology or sociology as a factor, it is both jointly
together. As explained by Siri Carpenter, a writer for the American Psychological
Association, direct socialization into gender roles by parents does not have a singular effect
on a childs behavior. Experiments that have been done on non-humans show that the
administration of testosterone in female fetus shows a more typical masculine behavior.
(2000)
Gender roles have been established since early on, they have evolved into
stereotypes that are instilled in children. There are three possible reasons why a certain
gender is a certain way, it could be due to biology, sociology, or both. There are both

GENDER ROLES

positive and negative impacts that are consequence to the use of gender roles. Children can
be positively or negatively affected depending on if the children choose to conform or not.
The children that choose to conform have higher self-esteem while those that choose not to
conform are more likely to be abused. Stereotypes also cause a gap in the achievement of
people of different genders, races and cultures.

GENDER ROLES

References
American Psychological Association. Stereotype threat widens achievement gap. (2006, July 15).
Retrieved October 13, 2014, from http://www.apa.org/research/action/stereotype.aspx
Carpenter, S. (2000, October 1). Biology and social environments jointly influence gender
development. Retrieved October 8, 2014, from
http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct00/maccoby.aspx
Hetherington, M. E., & Parke, R. D. (n.d.). Gender roles and gender differences. Gender Roles
and gender differences. Retrieved October 5, 2014, from
http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072820144/student_view0/chapter15/index.html
MacDonald, K. (n.d.). Gender roles and gender differences. Retrieved October 8, 2014, from
http://www.csulb.edu/~kmacd/361SEX.html
Sifferlin, A. (2012, February 20). Kids who dont gender conform are at higher risk of abuse.
Time. Retrieved October 5, 2014, from http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/20/kids-whodont-gender-conform-are-at-higher-risk-of-abuse
Witt, S. D. (n.d.). Parental influence on children's socialization to gender roles. Witt. Retrieved
October 5, 2014, from http://cla.calpoly.edu/~bmori/syll/311syll/ Witt.html