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  • PARENTAL INFLUENCE ON CHILDREN'S SOCIALIZATION TO GENDER ROLES - Susan D. Witt

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    Zovem Se Hristina
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    In a society rife with gender stereotypes and biases, children regularly learn to adopt gender roles which are not always fair to both sexes. As children move through childhood and into adolescence, they are exposed to many factors which influence their attitudes and behaviors regarding gender roles. These attitudes and behaviors are generally learned first in the home and are then reinforced by the child‘s peers, school experience, and television viewing. However, the strongest influence on gender role development seems to occur within the family setting, with parents passing on, both overtly and covertly, their own beliefs about gender. This overview of the impact of parental influence on gender role development leads to the suggestion that an androgynous gender role orientation may be more beneficial to children than strict adherence to traditional gender roles.

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    PARENTAL INFLUENCE ON CHILDREN’S SOCIALIZATION TO GENDER ROLES - Susan D. Witt

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    In a society rife with gender stereotypes and biases, children regularly learn to adopt gender roles which are not always fair to both sexes. As children move through childhood and into adolescence, they are exposed to many factors which influence their attitudes and behaviors regarding gender roles. These attitudes and behaviors are generally learned first in the home and are then reinforced by the child‘s peers, school experience, and television viewing. However, the strongest influence on gender role development seems to occur within the family setting, with parents passing on, both overtly and covertly, their own beliefs about gender. This overview of the impact of parental influence on gender role development leads to the suggestion that an androgynous gender role orientation may be more beneficial to children than strict adherence to traditional gender roles.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    445 tayangan4 halaman

    PARENTAL INFLUENCE ON CHILDREN'S SOCIALIZATION TO GENDER ROLES - Susan D. Witt

    Diunggah oleh

    Zovem Se Hristina
    In a society rife with gender stereotypes and biases, children regularly learn to adopt gender roles which are not always fair to both sexes. As children move through childhood and into adolescence, they are exposed to many factors which influence their attitudes and behaviors regarding gender roles. These attitudes and behaviors are generally learned first in the home and are then reinforced by the child‘s peers, school experience, and television viewing. However, the strongest influence on gender role development seems to occur within the family setting, with parents passing on, both overtly and covertly, their own beliefs about gender. This overview of the impact of parental influence on gender role development leads to the suggestion that an androgynous gender role orientation may be more beneficial to children than strict adherence to traditional gender roles.

    Hak Cipta:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Unduh sebagai PDF, TXT atau baca online dari Scribd
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    dari 4

    14.7.2015.

    Witt

    PARENTALINFLUENCEONCHILDRENSSOCIALIZATIONTOGENDERROLES
    SusanD.Witt
    ABSTRACT
    Inasocietyrifewithgenderstereotypesandbiases,childrenregularlylearntoadoptgenderroles
    whicharenotalwaysfairtobothsexes.Aschildrenmovethroughchildhoodandintoadolescence,
    theyareexposedtomanyfactorswhichinfluencetheirattitudesandbehaviorsregardinggenderroles.
    Theseattitudesandbehaviorsaregenerallylearnedfirstinthehomeandarethenreinforcedbythe
    childspeers,schoolexperience,andtelevisionviewing.However,thestrongestinfluenceongender
    roledevelopmentseemstooccurwithinthefamilysetting,withparentspassingon,bothovertlyand
    covertly,theirownbeliefsaboutgender.Thisoverviewoftheimpactofparentalinfluenceongender
    roledevelopmentleadstothesuggestionthatanandrogynousgenderroleorientationmaybemore
    beneficialtochildrenthanstrictadherencetotraditionalgenderroles.
    INTRODUCTION
    Childrenlearnataveryearlyagewhatitmeanstobeaboyoragirlinoursociety.Throughmyriad
    activities,opportunities,encouragements,discouragements,overtbehaviors,covertsuggestions,and
    variousformsofguidance,childrenexperiencetheprocessofgenderrolesocialization.Itisdifficult
    forachildtogrowtoadulthoodwithoutexperiencingsomeformofgenderbiasorstereotyping,
    whetheritbetheexpectationthatboysarebetterthangirlsatmathortheideathatonlyfemalescan
    nurturechildren.Aschildrengrowanddevelop,the
    genderstereotypestheyareexposedtoathomearereinforcedbyotherelementsintheirenvironment
    andarethusperpetuatedthroughoutchildhoodandonintoadolescence(Martin,Wood,&Little,
    1990).
    Achildsburgeoningsenseofself,orselfconcept,isaresultofthemultitudeofideas,attitudes,
    behaviors,andbeliefstowhichheorsheisexposed.Theinformationthatsurroundsthechildand
    whichisinternalizedcomestothechildwithinthefamilyarenathroughparentchildinteractions,
    rolemodeling,reinforcementfordesiredbehaviors,andparentalapprovalordisapproval(Santrock,
    1994).Aschildrenmoveintothelargerworldoffriendsandschool,manyoftheirideasandbeliefs
    arereinforcedbythosearoundthem.Afurtherreinforce
    mentofacceptableandappropriatebehaviorisshowntochildrenthroughthemedia,inparticular,
    television.Throughallthesesocializationagents,childrenlearngenderstereotypedbehavior.As
    childrendevelop,thesestereotypesbecomefirmlyentrenchedbeliefsandthus,areapartofthechild's
    selfconcept.Figure1illustratessomeofthefactorsinvolvedinparentalinfluenceonachild'sself
    concept.
    ParentalInfluence
    Achild'searliestexposuretowhatitmeanstobemaleorfemalecomesfromparents(Lauer&Lauer,
    1994Santrock,1994Kaplan,1991).Fromthetimetheirchildrenarebabies,parentstreatsonsand
    daughtersdifferently,dressinginfimtsingenderspecificcolors,givinggenderdifferentiatedtoys,and
    expectingdifferentbehaviorfromboysandgirls(Thorne,1993).Onestudyindicatesthatparents
    havedifferentialexpectationsofsonsanddaughtersasearlyas24hoursafterbirth(Rubin,
    Provenzano,&Luria,1974).
    Childreninternalizeparentalmessagesregardinggenderatanearlyage,withawarenessofadultsex
    roledifferencesbeingfoundintwoyearoldchildren(Weinraubetal.,1984).Onestudyfoundthat
    childrenattwoandahalfyearsofageusegenderstereotypesinnegotiatingtheirworldandarelikely
    togeneralizegenderstereotypestoavarietyofactivities,objects,andoccupations(Fagot,Leinbach,
    &OBoyle,1992Cowan&Hoffman,1986).Childrenevendenytherealityofwhattheyareseeing
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    whenitdoesnotconformtotheirgender
    expectations(i.e.,achildwhosemotherisadoctorstatingthatonlymenaredoctors)(Sheldon,1990).
    Figure1,Parents'InfluenceonChild'sSelfconcept
    PARENTS
    Parentchildinteractions
    Rolemodeling
    Reinforcement
    Equalencouragementfor
    sonsanddaughters
    Approval/disapprovaI

    CHILD'SSELFCONCEPT

    Sonshaveadefiniteedgeasfarasparentalpreferenceforchildrenisconcerned.Mostparentsprefer
    malechildrenthroughouttheworld(Steinbacher&HOlme8inBasow,1992,p.129).Also,people
    whoprefersonsaremorelikelytousetechnologyforselectingthesexoftheirchild(Steinbacher&
    Gilroy,1990).Thispreferenceformalechildrenisfurtheremphasizedbythefindingthatparentsare
    morelikelytocontinuehavingchildreniftheyhaveonlygirlsthaniftheyhaveonlyboys(Hoffman,
    1977).
    Reasonsgivenbywomenfortheirpreferenceforsonsaretopleasetheirhusbands,tocarryonthe
    familyname,andtobeacompaniontothehusband.Reasonsforwantingdaughtersincludehavinga
    companionforthemselvesandtohavefundressingagirlanddoingherhair(Hoffman,1977).
    Parentsencouragetheirsonsanddaughterstoparticipateinsextypedactivities,includingdoll
    playingandengaginginhousekeepingactivitiesforgirlsandplayingwithtrucksandengagingin
    sportsactivitiesforboys(Eccles,Jacobs,&Harold,1990).Childrenstoypreferenceshavebeen
    foundtobesignificantlyrelatedtoparentalsextyping(Etaugh&Liss,1992Henshaw,Kelly,&
    Gratton,1992Paretti&Sydney,1984).withparentsprovidinggenderdifferentiatedtoysand
    rewardingplaybehaviorthatisgenderstereotyped(Carter,1987).Whilebothmothersandfathers
    contributetothegenderstereotypingoftheirchildren,fathershavebeenfoundtoreinforcegender
    stereotypesmoreoftenthandomothers(Ruble,1988).
    Astudyofchildrensroomshasshownthatgirlsroomshavemorepink,dolls,andmanipulativetoys
    boysroomshavemoreblue,sportsequipment,tools,andvehicles(Pomerleau,Bolduc,Malcuit,&
    Cossette,1990).Boysaremorelikelytohavemaintenancechoresaroundthehouse,suchaspainting
    andmowingthelawn,whilegirlsarelikelytohavedomesticchoressuchascookinganddoingthe
    laundry(Basow,1992).Thisassignmentofhouseholdtasksbygenderleadschildrentolinkcertain
    typesofworkwithgender.
    Somestudieshavesuggestedthatparentshapingasasocializingfactorhaslittleimpactonachilds
    sexroledevelopment(Lytton&Romney,1991Maccoby&Jacklin,1980).Otherresearch,however,
    suggeststhatparentsaretheprimaryinfluenceongenderroledevelopmentduringtheearlyyearsof
    life(Santrock,1994Miller&LaneinBerrymanFink,BallardReisch,&Newman,1993Kaplan,
    1991).Becausesocializationisatwowayinteraction,eachpersonintheinteractioninfluencesthe
    other(Lewis&Rosenblum,1974)thus,parentsandchildrenengageinreciprocalinteraction,with
    childrenbothrespondingtoandelicitingbehaviors(Kaplan,1991).Also,developmentisinfluenced
    bymanysocialfactors,andchildrenmaybestbeunderstoodintermsoftheirenvironment
    (Bronfenbrenner,Alvarez,&Henderson,1984).
    Manystudieshaveshownthatparentstreatsonsanddaughtersdifferently(Jacldin,DiF'ietro,&
    MaccobyWoolett,White,&LyonParke&O'Leary,inHargreaves&Colley,1986Snow,Jacklin,
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    &Maccoby,1983Power,1981).Theparentchildrelationshiphaseffectsondevelopmentthatlast
    wellintoadulthood.Becauseoftheselonglastingeffects,theparentchildrelationshipisoneofthe
    mostimportantdevelopmentalfactorsforthechild(Miller&LaneinBerrymanFinketal.,1993).
    Parentalattitudestowardtheirchildrenhaveastrongimpactontheirdevelopingsenseofselfandself
    esteem,withparentalwarmthandsupportbeingkeyfactors(Richards,Gitelson,Petersen,&Hartig,
    1991).Often,parentssendsubtlemessagesregardinggenderandwhatisacceptableforeachgender
    messageswhichareinternalizedbythedevelopingchild(Arliss,1991).Sexrolestereotypesarewell
    establishedinearlychildhood.Messagesaboutwhatisappropriatebasedongenderare80strong,that
    evenwhenchildrenareexposedtodifferentattitudesandexperiences,theywillreverttostereotyped
    choices(Haslett,Geis,&Carter,1992).
    BenefitsofAndrogynousGenderRoleOrientation
    Whiletheremaybesomebenefittoadheringtostrictgenderrolestereotypes(Le.,providingasense
    ofsecurity,facilitatingdecisionmaking),therearealsocostsinvolvedinthemaintenanceofgender
    roleStereotypes.Thesecostsincludelimitingopportunitiesforbothboysandgirls,ignoringtalent,
    andperpetuatingunfairnessinour
    society(Bed,1994).Parentswhoespouseanegalitarianattituderegardinggenderrolesaremore
    likelytofosterthisattitudeintheirchildren.Androgynousindividualshavebeenfoundtohavehigher
    selfesteem(Lundy&Rosenberg,1987Shaw,1983Heilbrun,1981),higherlevelsofidentity
    achievement(Orlofsky,1977),andmoreflexibilityindatingandloverelationships(DeLucia,1987).
    Childrenwhoseparentshavestrongegalitarianvaluestendtobemoreknowledgeableaboutnonsex
    typedobjectsandoccupationsthanareotherchildren(Weisner&WilsonMitchell,1990).Children
    whosemothersworkoutsidethehomearenotastraditionalinsexroleorientationasthosewhose
    mothersstayhome(Weinraub,Jaeger,&Hoffman,1988).Infact,preschoolchildrenwhosemothers
    workoutsidethehomeexperiencetheworldwithasensethateveryoneinthefamilygetstobecomea
    memberoftheoutsideworld,andtheirsenseofselfincludestheknowledgethattheyhavetheability
    tomakechoiceswhicharenothinderedbygender(Davies&Banks,1992).
    Familieswithoneormoreandrogynousparents(i.e.,amotherwhorepairsthefamilycarorafather
    whobakescookiesfortheFTAmeeting)havebeenfoundtoscorehighestinparentalwarmthand
    support.Theseandrogynousparentsarefoundtobehighlyencouragingregardingachievementand
    developingasenseofselfworthinsonsanddaughters(Sedney,1987Spence&Helmreich,1980).
    Becauseofthestronginfluenceofparentsongenderrolesocialization,thoseparentswhowishtobe
    genderfairandencouragethebestinboththeirsonsanddaughterswoulddowelltoadoptan
    androgynousgenderroleorientationandencouragethesameintheirchildren,
    REFERENCES
    Arliss,L.P.(1991).Gendercommunication.EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:PrenticeHall.
    Basow,S.A.(1992).Genderstereotypesandroles,3rded.PacificGrove,CA.Brook/Cole.
    Beal,C.(1994).Boysandgirls:Thedevelopmentofgenderroles.NewYork:McGrawHill.
    BerrymanFink,C.,BallardReisch,D.,&Newman,L.H.(1993).Communicationandsexrole
    socialization.NewYork:GarlandPublishing.
    Bronfenbrenner,U.,Alvarez,W.,&Henderson,C.(1984).Workingandwatching:Maternal
    employmentinparentsperceptionsoftheirthreeyearoldchildren.ChildDevelopment,55,1362
    1378.
    Carter,D.C.(1987).Currentconceptionsofsexdesandsextyping:Theoryandresearch.NewYork:
    Praeger.
    Cowan,G.,&Hoffman,C.D.(1986).Genderstereotypinginyoungchildren:Evidencetosupporta
    conceptlearningapproach.SexRoles,14,211224.
    Davies,B.,&Banks,C.(1992).Thegendertrap:Afeministpoststructuralistanalysisofprimary
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    DeLucia,J.L.(1987).Genderroleidentityanddatingbehavior:Whatistherelationship?SexRoles,
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    Eccles,J.S.,Jacobs,J.E.,&Harold,R.D.(1990).Genderrolestereotypes,expectancyeffects,and
    parentssocializationofgenderdifferences.JournalofSocialIssues,46,186201.
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