Stereotypes In Children

As it is with adults, children create a sense of identity through a variety of beliefs, behaviors and affiliations. They develop an understanding that they are born into their place in a particular distinct category, their positions in this category remains stable over time, categories are unchanging and typically, members of any distinct group share similarities with others of the same group (Gelman, 2003; Gelman, Heyman, & Legare, 2007). Because children infer that members of a gender category share similarities with one another, it can be argued that children recognize gender as a contributing factor in the development of their personal identity (Gelman).
Although the sex of an individual is a matter of biological processes, gender is
As early as 18 months of age, children begin to gain an understanding of gender stereotypes. Through gender labeling, children are commonly exposed to messages like, “big boys don’t cry,” “what a cute girl,” or “what a strong little man” (Bussey & Bandura, 1999). Males and females are held to gender-typed expectations regarding personality traits, abilities, activities, and roles. According to these gender stereotypes males are considered to possess such traits as toughness, aggressiveness and dominance, whereas females are regarded as sympathetic, gentle and dependent (Berk & Berk, 2009). Social expectations about gender in the U.S. portray men as possessing active-instrumental traits like competitiveness and dominance while woman are portrayed as having nurturing-expressive traits such as sensitivity and compassion. Until the 1970’s it was a common belief that men were expected to be the primary income producers of the family while women were expected to be the primary caregivers (Gerber, 2009). These differential beliefs may also impact a child’s identity from an academic standpoint as activities such as reading, spelling, art and music are considered to be feminine, where mathematics, athletics, science and mechanical skills are considered to be more masculine (Berk & Berk). After acquiring an understanding of the gender-typed expectations in a given culture, this understanding strengthens in degree and in complexity as the child develops (Powlishta et al., 2001). Although it is common for young children to initially present as rigid in their beliefs and endorse these gender stereotypes, as they age they begin to show some flexibility in their views. For instance, as children become more flexible in their thinking, they might come to accept that both boys and girls could be thought of as “strong.” This shift in rigidity