We live in a highly gender differentiated society. Boys and girls start receivin

Question

We live in a highly gender differentiated society. Boys and girls start receiving differential treatment from the world almost as soon as they are born. Throughout childhood, they are exposed to images of males and females that are highly stereotypical (e.g., Bob is the builder and Wendy is his assistant). As your textbook indicates, children very quickly become knowledgeable about gender stereotypes and their stereotypes are adult-like by 11 years of age. And, the cycle repeats itself with each succeeding generation.

Scholars in many different disciplines have long discussed the social inequality and personal disappointments gender stereotypes help create. The dos and don't s for men and women have long been the topic of academic debates, political rallies, and self-help books. Given these circumstances, it appears that living in a gender neutral world would be a step in the right direction; perhaps many social problems can be eliminated if this were to happen.

Given such a possibility, would you be willing to raise your children in a gender neutral manner? Could you? Pros? Cons? There is a lot to consider...

Cite at least one reference

Explanation / Answer

Yes, of course I would be willing to raise my child in a gender neutral manner. Like it's been mentioned above, gender stereotype is etched in the minds of young children. One of the major stereotypes is, boys wearing blue and girls wearing pink. Blue denotes masculinity and pink denotes feminity.

Gender Neutrality can come into existence only when we all begin to believe that Men and Women are equal, even physically. Men are naturally born stronger than women. But we have so many women out there competing with other men physically. I reckon, all women should feel secure physically which would boost their confidence and will never feel inferior to any man. These are the only superficial discriminations. In any field of work, there exists the "glassdoor effect" wherein no woman is ever allowed to reach the top most position. In every field a woman is paid lesser than her male counterpart. A gender neutral world would make a lot of things easier for women as it is otherwise a patriarchal society.

Pros:

1. The freedom of choosing between boy toys or girl toys, give them an edge in exploring themselves. They decide what they like. They are not forced to be stuck to toys that are meant for only "boys" or "girls".

2. They are exposed to more activities and interests. Else they are restricted to doing what they are ought to enjoy. It is usually only girls who like to be involved in the kicthen. The boys are usually flinging their cars on their makeshift ramps.

3. Without discriminations they get to be who they truly are.

4. It would only result in a boosting self esteem and a clearer self-concept of oneself.

5. They are more confident and self aware.

Cons:

1. Even if you try to avoid gender stereotypes, other people won't.

2. If parents try to be pushy about gender neutrality, the child may develop conflicts in interests. If your girl likes to be a princess, that's fine. She shouldn't be forced to like trucks.

3. If the child is not aware of his/her gender until he/she is enrolled in a school, they would be confused once they interact with their peers which would eventually affect their personality.

I personally see more pros than cons. Gender Neutral Parenting is a choice that should be made. I would gladly raise my child in a gender neutral manner.

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