Last night, I read an article about 'boys are born to prefer dolls over
masculine toys like cars' which was very interesting to me and, I
posted it on my facebook page. This article took me back when I was doing an
English course for the legal program I studied in 2005. At that time, I did a
paper on gender stereotyping (it somehow shows my feminism ideas!), and what you read here is a re-written
of that paper back in 2005:
Well, in
order to answer this question, let’s raise this one: when does gender
stereotyping really begin? Sometimes, we get baffled by its root, I mean if it
is a part of the society we live in, the school we study or the home we raise
at. Or perhaps we would go a bit further and say human beings are born with
gender stereotyping characteristics, as mentioned in some religious books.
“One day
in the Garden of Eden, Eve calls out to God, "Lord, I have a
problem!"
"What's
the problem, Eve?" God asks her.
"Lord,”
she says, "I know you've created me and have provided this beautiful
garden and all of these wonderful animals, and that hilarious comedy snake, but
I'm just not happy."
"Why
is that, Eve?" Came the reply from above.
"Lord,
I am lonely. And I'm sick to death of apples, “she says.
"Well,
Eve, in that case, I have a solution. I shall create a man for you, “the good
Lord tells her.
"What's
a 'man', Lord?" she inquires.
"This
man will be a flawed creature, with aggressive tendencies, an enormous ego and
an inability to empathize or listen to you properly. All in all, he'll give you
a hard time. But, he'll be bigger and faster and more muscular than you. He'll
be really good at fighting and kicking a ball about and hunting fleet-footed
ruminants, and not altogether bad in the sack."
"Sounds
great,” says Eve, with an ironically raised eyebrow.
"Yeah,
well. He's better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick. But, you can have
him on one condition."
"What's
that, Lord?" she asks.
"You'll
have to let him believe that I made him first."
This is obviously
not more than an ironic joke about the ‘Story of Creation’, but this idea really
exists in religious stories. In Koran, men are superior to women on account of
the qualities in which God has given them pre-eminence. Islam outlines and
structures men and women’s roles, rights and obligations according to gender stereotyped
frames. Christianity also places men in
positions of authority in marriage, society and government. Jewish men have recited the blessing of being a man. Blessed
our Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe that I was not born a woman (Morning
Prayer, Orthodox Jew). Gender stereotyping
from the religious perspective is not though the centre of my focus in this thought
paper. Instead I look at the issue within the family, school and society briefly.
Parents’
roles to create gender differences start in treating their babies stereotypically.
Children learn about stereotyping when they are
little kids- so that their world starts to be perceived in that way. Babies learn at a very early age
what it means to be a boy or girl. Children are experiencing different kinds of
gender biases or stereotyping ideas in early childhood. Gradually, those beliefs
become a part of their personality, judgement and criteria to describe or
perhaps label themselves and others. Children interactions, their imaginative and
physical world are full of signs which are to be reinforced according to the gender
biased opinions. Girls learn how to be more submissive, neat, polite, and
emotional whereas boys are encouraged not to deny their softer side but to be more
aggressive, stronger and powerful. A gender stereotype shows the belief that we
are a girl or a boy; we must follow some specific rules, and believe in them
accordingly. These beliefs affect our own interests and talents, they dictate
us what we have to be in the future. Parents have certain ideas of how boys and
girls should think, behave and be. Based on social stereotypes, these ideas
frequently act as guides for the parent’s behaviours when they are raising
their children. They spoil and over-protect girls, allow them to cry whenever
they need something but criticize boys for acting like a baby when they are really
suffering from emotional or even physical problems such as an injury during a childish
playing: “act like a man” or “don't cry like a girl!” These sayings are very familiar
to boys in different cultures. In addition, the way parents dress their
children, the way they decorate their children's rooms, the toys they give
their children to play with, the stories they tell their children are all
examples of parents’ roles to create a kind of stereotyped thinking in their
children.
As we
move into a larger world; the school, those beliefs are reinforced and get
stronger in our minds. All our talents and mental abilities are going to be
attacked by stereotyped ideas in the school. Teachers try to convince us that
we are doing great at mathematics, technology and computer if we are boys and
we will be great expertises in humanity sciences, language or literature as
girls. In fact, whenever a girl shows a wonderful capability in math or
computer, it is because of her hard working not an instinct capability. Teachers’
attitudes toward students’ performance in mathematics classes parallel those of
the parents. Girls are seen as successful due to their hard work, while boys’
success is attributed to their talent (Gail, et. al., 2003)
.
Boys and girls base their educational planning in such away due to different
approvals for the choice of their future majors.
Moreover,
they are classified in sport activities with the same strategies. Active games such as wrestling, soccer, karate are considered as suitable
sports for the boys whereas girls are not only prohibited from those sports but
also from jumping, running races or vigorous activities because they are easily
injured compared to boys. The reason is obvious enough: girls’ muscles are
weaker than boys. ( in the bracket and, as an ex-personal trainer, I have always been annoyed of why it is more often that men's pictures demonstrate the correct form of exercises on gym machines.)
Later
on, gender stereotyping develops in society- one example is career
opportunities. “Picture in your mind a female drill sergeant in the United States
Marine Corps. Do you imagine a muscular, gruff, masculine woman? Now picture a
make nurse. Does a gentle, effeminate image come to mind?
(Williams, 1991). Do not surprise if
your answer is yes to this question! Certain careers remain always as a men‘s
work or are perhaps best suited to men like a car mechanic, airline pilot, train
driver, hardware engineer, member of the parliament and president. Parents,
teachers, peers, society, and various other societal agents teach children which
are suitable for girls, which are boyish and how they have to classify their
behaviour accordingly. What they have to do, what they have not to do. So, as
you see this is not strange if we say
that ‘by the time children are adults, they have been exposed to sufficient
formal and informal role training, or conditioning. To make them properly
socialized individuals ready, able, and for the most part willing to assume their
appropriate roles’ (Williams, 1991). Working women are only secondary earners,
so men should be given precedence in hiring (Greenglass, 1982). This is partly
because of the unfair decision taken by men when they prefer their spouses to
quit their jobs and stay at home for raising children and housekeeping duties.
Although women are more diligent in their career and show more responsibility
they are not treated equally in their career.
Gender Equality in Mathematics: School Science & Mathematics
