Analysis Of Parenting, Children's Socialization With Gender Norms

Part III: Gender Analysis of Parenting, Children’s Socialization with Gender Norms and Changing the Social Norms

Introduction

Having a family and raising children to be acceptant to the changing genders identities in their peers can cause parents and children confusion. There are aspects that parents need to identify in order to teach the children the acceptance. Parents need to understand that they are the first humans that children identify with and that they are being watched and studied to learn the social norms that are expected of them. When children enter school they demonstrate the learned behaviors that they witnessed from their families. Children are drawn to their peers that demonstrate the same behaviors and beliefs that they have

Children begin to learn behavior by watching and copying the adult’s behavior. This process continues throughout the development of their lives. Starr and Ferguson (2012) explains “parents play a particularly salient role in their young children’s gender role development as the first same-gender models young children have” (p. 464). From birth, a child is taught how to suckle from their mothers and are either dressed in blue or pink to show the sex of the baby. Gender socialization starts early because as the baby develops they are more likely to watch the parent or adult that shares the same sex. Starr and Ferguson (2012) further explains by saying “that girls learn gender roles, attitudes towards their body, and possibly sexualized attitudes and behaviors primarily from their mothers” (p.465). The girls watch their mothers for the social clues about how a women is expected to act, dress and present herself in public. These clues have, over time, became the social norms that women are expected to project and depending on the behaviors outcome girls are more likely to copy that

Some children relate more to the opposite sex and can find themselves feeling isolated and depressed. According to Mulvey and Killen (2015) children that “Act[ing] in nonstereotypic ways is associated with peer victimization including physical, verbal, and relational aggression (Aspenlieder, Buchanan, McDougall, & Sippola, 2009), and social exclusion (Killen & Stangor, 2001; Lee & Troop-Gordon, 2011)” (as cited in Mulvey and Killen, p 681). Children continue to develop socially through their friends throughout school. The children that are excluded from friend and have a more difficult time making friend becomes the target for bullying and aggression from their classmates. The difference between a born male playing with dolls and a born female playing with a football, the boys are socialy thought of as weaker than the female playing with a