Describe Gender Roles

While growing up, I was subjected to many things that have influenced me and shaped me into the person I am today. From my parents divorce to being bullied in middle school, but one event I did not realize influenced me as much as it did was my choice of toys. From the day we are born we are forced into gender roles. Girls are swaddled in pink blankets while boys are swaddled in blue. From here on out, it only gets worse. To clarify, the article I read, “Boys and Girls, Constrained by Toys and Costumes” was an article, in summary, about the confinement children receive from gender based toys. From toys being certain colors for boys and girls to toys portraying certain occupations towards a gender. These toys place barriers around
For example, a child who is told that he can only play with manly toys that promote action and violence may grow up to not have good relationships with women because he does not know how to show his softer side. Boys are often told not to show emotion because “boys don’t cry,” or so they say. Another example of gender labelings effect on children is how a girl who is told she can not get dirty or do anything that is too hard , forms ideas on what she should be as she grows. She may become dependent on someone else to care for her and lose her independence. Gender labeling is very damaging to children and their perspectives of themselves and the world around
The simplest definition of cultural shock is the disorientation that people feel when they come in contact with a different culture. Our society today has a perspective now that is relatively new and is changing everyday. We use to generalize the public as boy and girl with their specific roles. Now, we understand that there are many variations. When the changes started to occur, gender neutral toy stores for example, the general public felt cultural shock because their world was changing. This change has caused our society to be more open to those who are different from our