Do Gender Stereotypes damage Children?

kegg_2

fernliebee wrote: »

Yeah maybe! (excuses excuses!)

No I am actually only joking. Women's football is very well supported here, and it is not as wide spread as the male equivalent so they are two very good reasons as to why the women's team is much more successful (relatively) than the male England team.

I just find it really funny as I am not a football fan (male or female) so makes me giggle when you hear people being so optimistic about England's chances at World cup or whatever!

optimistic is a england fans middle name:rotfl:.

How much it is based on fact and how much wishful thinking is a matter of perceptions

Alikay

My sons (now very straight and manly 16 and 19 year olds!) wanted dolls when they were little but not baby dolls. Action Man was too scary with his snarly face so we got DS1 a Captain Scarlet and DS2 had a Ken with a baby in a sling (which he called his "Barbie daddy"). I don't think gender stereotyping did them any harm, but we did have to be creative with choosing toys.

I think it's even harder now that ELC have started making a lot of their toys like kitchens, shops etc in pink. I foster young children and find unisex toys very hard to get.

BudgetBlonde

It's only very recently that blue has been a boy's colour and pink a girl's - up until about 60 years ago it was the other way around. Pink is a derivative of red and therefore was considered more suitable for boys, and blue was associated with (I believe) the Virgin Mary.
Anyway .....

ciderwithrosie_2

I've got 3 boys - the older two were really into Thomas the Tank and lego, but also had a play kitchen, duplo house, a shopping trolley etc. The youngest went to a child minder at 3 and as she had all girls at the time he enjoyed playing with the barbies, so when we were next in a toy shop and he chose something he wanted a barbie - not a problem for me or hubby, after a while he had a couple of barbies, assorted clothes and shoes, some bratz dolls a diva star and some polly pocket stuff. His grandad was well funny about it saying 'it'll turn him into a !!!!!!' Hubby pointed out that action man was also a doll, without the pretty clothes! My son also got teased/bullied at school for a time until he had enough one day and whacked the worst bully up the side of the head with his lunchbox! My son is now 15 and is perfectly well adjusted, comfortable with who he is, has loads of friends of both sexes and is not a '!!!!!!', but even if he were hubby and I would love him no less!

milliebear00001

Well, I'm not sure my two are very representative. I have a daughter (6) who is not interested in pink and has little time for dolls/teddies/toy kitchens etc. She was much girlier a couple of years ago, and who knows what she'll be like at twelve. My son (3) LOVES Power Rangers, cars, Lego, jigsaws, building, dolls, teddies and his pink dolly pram. So...a bit of a mixture.

I work full-time, but was a SAHM until DD was 5. My husband is now a SAHD. We made an effort to buy them a mix of toys -as I think there's value in all of them, so DD had dolls and had Lego and footballs - same for DS. They have developed their own preferences and I hope they'll continue to do so. I must say, I have been surprised that my DD isn't more girly since starting school, as many of her friends are VERY girly.

I think trying to bring up your children according to your own, rigid view of what they should be like, is a recipe for disaster. Either you'll be disappointed (like the women who spend years having more babies so they get their 'girl' who turns out to be a footie-playing tomboy) or they'll grow up following that rigid view and lack the mixture of traditionally 'male' and 'female' qualities we all need to have if we are to be fully rounded people.

maggied_2

fernliebee wrote: »

I find it humorous how football 'isn't for girls', yet see how the England womens football team do, compared to England male football team. Come on lads thought you were supposed to be the experts! I think the macho footie blokes are scared of the competition myself

A good book if you are interested in this subject is Toxic Childhood. It has a whole chapter on this, as well as other good topics. It is fairly simplistic but a good read non the less.

I HATE slogan t-shirts on kids, they make me want to puke! Yes I know I'm being over the top but I really don't want my DD's front emblazoned with pathetic sayings which mean nothing! Why would I want to tell the world that my DD is 'spoilt' or 'shoe mad' or a 'shopaholic'

I was brought up with a wide variety of toy's, I had younger brothers and whilst I liked my baby dolls and pram etc, I also loved playing football, climbing tree's and generally getting mucky. I did get frustrated as I never fitted in with the girly girls as they wanted to play 'boring' games like princesses and hairdressers etc. Although the boy's would let me join in I was always treated as less than them, in football they would put me in defence, and when we played 'teenage mutant hero turtles' I wanted to be Donatello because he was clever and invented thoings but they would make me be April O'Neill because I was a girl!!! Yes I'm still bitter ha ha!

My mum had a thing about Barbie dolls (which I agree with, and Bratz too) and I wasn't allowed them. I had one my Grandma bought me but never got into it really. I preferred Tonka trucks and Dinosaurs I will never buy a Bratz doll for my DD (or any DS I may have ) they are disgusting, and I really don't agree with letting 5-8 yr olds play with dolls in sexy PVC catsuits and the like I think it is weird! Put's the Barbie's from our youth to shame!

Totally agree. My DSD arrived in a top once that said "IT'S ALL ABOUT ME ME ME" (with the MEs getting bigger). Why would you want anyone to look at your child and think that? Bizarre. To be honest I find the whole "gorgeous" and "little princess" is just too yuck for little girls anyway. And I really don't get Bratz at all - mmmm sl*tty dolls!

Admittedly I had Barbies although the accessories I had were an office and a camping trailer (without a car to pull it) - do you reckon my parents were teaching me about disappointment at an early age:D

One of my pet hates (and I'm not a mum yet so maybe this will change) is the rubbish 'toys' available for girls in the shape of household appliances. I know they want to copy mummy etc but how is an ironing board fun - you've got the rest of your s*dding life to be tied to one!! (and yes I know some boys love them as well but a very unscientific poll of my friends suggests that parents and grandparents are happy to buy these for girls but not so much for boys).