Tabula Rasae Gender Roles

The title of a best selling book proclaimed that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. This title encapsulates the image that the two sexes are completely different and opposite to each other. Gender-role development is one of the most important areas of human development. In fact, the sex of a newborn sets the agenda for a whole array of developmental experiences that will influence the person throughout his or her life. Gender roles, norms and stereotypes play a pivotal role in the way men and women are raised and perceived, not only by parental and family figures, but also by society as a whole. The English philosopher John Locke (1632 – 1704) believed that we are all born ‘Tabula Rasae’, a blank slate that is written on by the pen of experience.
Why are gender identification and gender roles so important in relation to human development? First and foremost, one's sex is one of the most salient characteristics that are presented to other people. Second, who one is as a male or a female becomes a significant part of one's overall identity; it is one of the first descriptors people use about themselves. Labeling oneself as a "boy" or "girl" can begin as early as age eighteen months. Third, gender is an important mediator of human experiences and the way in which individuals interact with each other and the physical environment. Individuals' choices of friends, toys, classes taken in secondary school, and vocation all are influenced by sex. Gender roles and stereotypes change throughout time, change from one geographical location to another and can shape our existing and future identity. Gender role adaptation and the affects of not conforming or adapting to gender roles, will ultimately affect the way the developing human perceives themselves, as either male or