The Effect of Gender Roles on a Child’s Identity

The old mantra, "being myself" is said more easily than it is done, especially for preschool children. Children often face the stereotypes of gender expected by media and adults. In addition, preschoolers are particularly vulnerable to stereotypes, as their thinking process relies on classifying things to understand them. They will encounter stereotypes faster than adults for the first time. Therefore, especially in schools, it is important not to force the role of gender while children are still acquiring their own identity.

When children get clues from fellows and teachers, the classroom can concentrate on these stereotypes. As a teacher your task is to monitor the behavior in the classroom to ensure that your child can develop his or her identity without worrying about stereotypes.

Especially when the target environment strengthens the expectations of individual people, expectation may be nervous. Regardless of whether we accept it or not, we all want the behavior of a boy and the behavior of a girl. For example, men are aggressive and girls must be passive and courteous. When a child can not meet sexual expectations, they encounter a negative reinforcement like guilt, shame, and sometimes violence.

This problem is not new. You can see evidence of inherent pressure of role by sex with comments on Popular Music Video "Small Game" by a 15-year old boy who appeared on YouTube last month. Thousands of comments show that through childhood experience, it is related to the surreal performance of role-based video threats.

While other people surround these sex roles, this pressure can make many children form their own identity. Doing so may result in your child being unable to fully understand his / her possibility and discrimination through low self-esteem and lifelong.

It is easier to notice discrimination by the sex of others than ourselves. Pay attention to the way you talk and act around boys and girls in class. Do you treat boys and girls when you cry? Do boys and girls receive disciplinary action when they disturb you or are they admired when they are sitting quietly? As long as neither boys and girls have the same expectation, children understand the handling of boys and girls at once.

As mentioned above, children classify their surroundings to understand naturally. Therefore, when a child sees another person's behavior or looks different from a habit they will differentiate in your classroom. Do not emphasize or ignore this behavior nor ignore it so that the importance of equality and respect will be consistently communicated in the classroom.

Human sexual behavior is different from gender identity. Gender identity is a wider role than sexual identity. Gender is usually shaped by the social environment in which children are exposed. For example: the figure of the authority to the toy track, the girl, and the little boy to play with the doll. Therefore, human physiology and gender formation allow or even allow some form of sexual expression, but it is unpredictable that future sexual behaviors will be considered "sex-matched".

Gender identity and expression are related but different concepts. Child gender identity does not necessarily indicate a specific sexual expression, and the gender identity of a child does not always indicate a child's gender identity. The variety of expressions and behaviors by gender is as follows. Your child is respected and needs a knowledgeable doctor. Discuss your child's gender identity and behavior with your child's doctor and seek help. Your doctor advises you to work with experts. If you are having trouble finding a properly trained doctor, please consult the support team.

Child gender identity is often strengthened by gender roles during the remaining grade and academic years. Preferences for homosexual couples are usually 3-4 years old and sexual roles are better defined by subsequent interactions. A common assumption is that boys usually like more violent activities, usually accompanied by physical attacks. On the contrary, girls are thought to prefer a quieter activity and depend on more fantasy and imaginary situations. Above all, according to a financial survey, these assumptions are basically correct in examination of school-age children. The school environment is often used as a model of society and usually presents attribution of male or female role by gender there and at home.