Do Gender Stereotypes damage Children?

neneromanova

retro_bluebell wrote: »

the rolly eyes are so appropriate sometimes though lol BTW nowt wrong with The Wright stuff (I have it on now) better than Jezza lol

I just watch it for the "celebs" they get on here. And yes. It's FAAAAAR better than the Jeremy Kyle show. Thank god he'll be off our screens soon and onto Americans.

galvanizersbaby

laura.1984 wrote: »

I dont think i would really want my daughter playing soccer. Im a girly girl and i would hope my daughter would be too.

I think football is on the curriculum for both girls and boys at my children's school

mummy_Jay

I think teaching a child "pink is for girls and blue is for boys", is just introducing them to being prejudice at a young age and wrong. Children should be allowed to grow up without being told they shouldn't like something because of its colour, let them make there own minds up what they do or do not like.

I also think its a shame that girls toys and clothes all seem to be so pink dominated, what ever happened to choice?

Slightly off topic but I've seen mention of men wearing pink shirts, a boss I use to work with use to tell its male employees that 'if dealing with men go with a white shirt and dark suit but with female wear a pink or lilac shirt with matching tie it subconiously makes them feel your more submissive and makes it easier for you to manipulate the meeting'. I have no idea if there is any truth to this, but since then I've found myself thinking if I see a guy wearing pink I need to be wary of that one.

retro_bluebell

galvanizersbaby wrote: »

I think football is on the curriculum for both girls and boys at my children's school

Yep same at my sons school they have separate boys and girls footie teams, the girls win far more matches than the boys lol

retro_bluebell

neneromanova wrote: »

I just watch it for the "celebs" they get on here. And yes. It's FAAAAAR better than the Jeremy Kyle show. Thank god he'll be off our screens soon and onto Americans.

Really? Thank god I cant stand the man!

galvanizersbaby

laura.1984 wrote: »

I personally dont think i would openly promote it retro_bluebell for instance i wouldnt push for her to try for the girls soccer team

laura1984 - do you have a DD or are you speaking theoretically?

If your DD attends school it will likely be on the curriculum so it wouldn't make much difference whether you promoted it or not tbh - she will still be playing it (unless you can opt out on her behalf)

euronorris

laura.1984 wrote: »

I personally dont think i would openly promote it retro_bluebell for instance i wouldnt push for her to try for the girls soccer team

You don't have to, nor should you, push her to do anything.

Just show her all the options and let her decide what she would like to do and then be supportive of her choice.

BTW, even if you were promoting 'girly' things with her at home, it won't stop her from partaking in 'boyish' things away from the home. Like playing football with the boys at school for instance.

According to my Mum though, this quickly ruins school shoes! haha. Used to drive her crazy!

mummy_Jay

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7817496.stm

An article on the effect of so much pink on girls, its an interesting read. Interest how it use to be blue for girls, not pink.

Gingham_Ribbon

neneromanova wrote: »

So...Do Gender Stereotypes damage Children? Does putting a boy in blue and a girl in Pink Damage them? (Where's the rolls eyes smilie?)

How stupid are some people? IMO no it doesn't. I just think it makes them look cute.

So what does everyone else think?

Yes, they do damage children in subtle and more obvious ways.

Pink and blue tops are irrelevant but look at the writing on most of them. Girls are told they're 'little princesses' and boys are told they're 'trouble'. What kind of message is that sending to both the children and the adults they encounter?

Then look in many of the toy shops. Toys are catagorised as boys' toys or girls' toys rather than letting them choose for themselves. The older they are the more likely they are to reject anything that is considered 'unsuitable' for their gender, thus limiting their experience.

These limitations don't stop with play. As they get older, the girls have learned that they should be nurturing (through dolls etc) and capable in the house through the endless variety of pink household toys like the vaccuum cleaner I bought my son that I had to strip the 'mummy's little helper' sticker off. Boys have learned that they're meant to be rough and tumble, getting into trouble etc.

Boys and girls ARE different, there's no reason to pretend otherwise. But why should a sensitive boy who wants to play with a dolly or an adventurous girl who wants to put on a safety helmet and pretend to build a factory have to feel that they're doing something 'wrong' by engaging in these activities? And why should we continue to allow boys to think that everyone considers them pest and girls to feel they have to be angelic all the time?

foreign_correspondent

Gender roles limit children's potential - for many years, women were denied an education, because it was not for girls...were not allowed to vote, as it was believed to be beyond them, until recently, women were forced to give up work if they became a mother, men were expected to be breadwinners and to be distant from their children... all that is fine if you choose it, but incredibly limiting for the girls who are intelligent and want to be educated, for the women who have worked hard to get a career, and for the men who may want to nurture their children,

I worked with a teenage girl once who was a very talented footballer - played for quite a prestigious team, and was far, far better than any of the local boys (who grudgingly admired her! lol). It was her passion, and her talent, and lead to her being focussed, fulfilled, fit and ambitious, whilst many of her female peers were drinking, experimenting with drugs, trying to pull boys, and, with no aspirations, were on a fast-track to teenage pregnancy - thank god her mum didn't tell her she 'couldnt play football, it wasnt for girls' when she was little...