Modern society is steadily moving away from strong gender stereotypes that used to dictate people’s lifestyles and were digested by individuals since early childhood. Today, both parents and teachers see the positive impact of the attempts to integrate anti-biased gender-related education on young children as they get more freedom to express themselves and grow up less aggressive (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2019). However, as their behavior depends on the examples they see at home, some youngsters still follow the stereotypes parents force them to identify to keep them safe from bullying (Kollmayer et al., 2019). Indeed, Schroeder and Liben (2021) claim that “pressure experiences with parents and peers are differentially related to children’s peer interactions, suggesting a possible mechanism by which levels of sexism may be shaped in peer groups” (p. 125). Generation by generation, the influence of primary characteristics such as race or gender fades, giving people more diversity in their life choices, and, in my preschool years, the stereotypes were a lot stronger than now.
Although gender stereotypes still exist because following the established roles is safer than getting free from biases, young generations have more chances to grow up loyal to gender expressions. In the video, children recognize the gender-related distinctions between boys and girls, such as playing cards or dolls, wearing dresses or not, and their parents admit that they buy toys and clothes based on the sex assigned at birth. Pupils in a video claim that if their peer expresses themselves opposite to their sex, others will laugh, and, for example, a boy in a dress will be sad about it. Their responses should enable teachers to develop a stronger anti-biased education program through which children could learn about the freedom of identification (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2019). The success of novel approaches towards helping youngsters learn about gender expression depends on how their parents perceive these modern concepts and if their family culture and tradition approve of it.
References
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2019). Understanding anti-bias education.YC Young Children, 74(5), 6-13.
Kollmayer, M., Schultes, M. T., Schober, B., Hodosi, T., & Spiel, C. (2018). Parents’ judgments about the desirability of toys for their children: Associations with gender-role attitudes, gender-typing of toys, and demographics.Sex Roles, 79(5), 329-341.
Schroeder, K. M., & Liben, L. S. (2021). Felt pressured to conform to cultural gender roles: Correlates and consequences.Sex Roles, 84(3), 125-138.