School a place where children go to learn, develop, mold, and grown into who they will become later on in life. A place that is both safe and scary for most children throughout their adolescents. As teacher and faculty try to steer their students towards bright futures and better choices, children just try to fit in. However, for some students the blissfulness of blending in will never come. They are faced with an internal struggle over their emotions and relatability, or lack thereof, to those of the same gender. These students have what is being called GID, gender identity disorder also known as gender nonconformance, gender confusion, gender fluid, gender versatile, or transgender. Sexual stereotyping begins at a very young age. Media and society begins pushing children into gender appropriate activities and roles despite any feelings of discomfort the child may have. The increasing number of children faced with gender associated issues that we see in the media, and the inadequacies of the public school system to help these students feel safe and cope with day to day life in such a public setting is alarming.
Sexual Stereotyping
Humans are naturally social beings and we look for external sources that tell us how we should act in order to be accepted in society. These influences can come from ones community, church, parents, and school. Now, in this technology driven time, the media is playing more and more of an important role in a child perception of the outside world.
Children are spending an ever increasing amount of time in front of the television each day. The image it is presenting to its impressionable audience provides the foundation for what is and is not acceptable in today’s society. It also provides them a disto...
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... they are without fear, especially in a social setting such as school where the masses congregate to learn. We should be using this time to educate our children on embracing our differences and empowering each child as an individual. This starts with baby steps, first we must educate our teachers and parents.
Works Cited
American Academy of Pediatrics. Healthy Children. 2013. AAP. Web.
Beasley, Elena. "Television and Gender Roles." 1997. Ed. Elena Beasley. Web.
Breitmeyer, Judy M.A. Interview. Michelle Simmons. 12 November 2013. E-Mail.
Fitzgibbons, Richard. Child Healing: Strengthening Families. 2005. IMH. Web.
Pope, McKenna. Change.org. December 2012. Petition.
The Associated Press. "American Schools Dealing wtih Gender Identity ." 17 May 2013. Newsmax.com. Web.
Trans Youth Equality Foundation. Trans Youth Equality. Ed. Pediatric Endocrinologist. 2010. Web.
Matt Zalaznick’s article, “Creating Inclusive Climates”, offers suggestions for how schools can support transgender students and improve school climate by educating classmates and faculty about the needs and experiences of transgender children. The need for such education starts at the elementary school level with many students beginning to identify as being transgender as early as the age of the average kindergartener. Although the implications of Title IX protections state that schools must not discriminate against students on the basis of sex, many districts have strengthened the wording with amendments to include specific wording to include stronger protections for transgender students.
It may be hard to admit, but television has become an intricate part of our everyday lives. People children often find themselves sitting in front of the television screen for a longer period of time than before and this has evolved immensely over the past few years. In this article, “The Trouble with Television,” by the author Marie Winn, mentions that addiction of television is negative effects on children and families. It keeps the families from doing other things and it’s a hidden competitor for all other activities. Television takes place of play and on top of that kids who watch a lot of television grow uncivilized. Also, the author mentioned that televisions are less resourceful for children and have negative effects on children’s school achievement and on physical fitness. Although there are so many other types of addictions but the author Marie Winn’s points of argument of watching television is a serious addiction that our children and families have negative effects.
He uses this fictional character to illustrate how students who do not identify within the gender binary still do not have adequate recognition. He notes that most of the terms that these students use stem from scholarly beliefs that gender falls on a spectrum, and that refusing to accommodate these students’ silences and oppresses their “deeply and strongly” felt feeling of not fitting the binary. He compares denying non-binary students rights and services to denying “redheads or people who live in Wyoming” rights, and he cites other countries such as Sweden and Nepal who have already changed policies to accommodate these students. He argues that we need at least five genders recognized, although with the present situation, it might be best to work for
White, A. V. (2006). Television Harms Children. Opposing Viewpoints. Television. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Mothering, 2001, 70)
Wong, Curtis M. "Transgender Teens Are Fitting In With The Aid Of School Officials, But Concerns Remain." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 May 2014. Web. 19 May 2014.
According to Leonardo Sax, the founder of the National Association for Single-Sex Public Education, “...whenever girls and boys are together, their behavior inevitably reflects the larger society in which they live” (Stanberry, 3). (1) It is a part of nature for girls and boys to socialize and get prepared for the real-world and develop skills to interact with another gender. (2) In the real-world it is conventional for both genders to work together and communicate everyday. (3) According with the journal “Forbes”, when students are separated by gender, they miss an opportunity of working together with different perspectives and developing their own, new, and unique thoughts as well as ideas (Saunders, 1). (4) Advocates often argue for schools to be a reflection of a ‘real’ world to prepare young adults for the future (Jackson, Ivinson, 15). (5) When both genders learn together, they learn from one another and benefit from absorbing various learning styles (Saunders, 4). (6)
The effect of the media on young children is especially salient. Young children often learn how to act and behave from what they observe at home, from the adults and older peers they come in contact with, and from what they see on television.
Did you know that single-sex classrooms are the worst classes ever? Over the past decade, single-gender classrooms have been opened in at least 230 schools in the rural, suburban, and the urban areas. Single-gender classrooms are classrooms where either young girls’ are in one class together, or young boys are in another class together. Single-sex classrooms were created because studies showed that boys and girls learn differently and they could benefit from being in a classroom with peers to whom they can relate. Since 2008, single-gender education has been the key to improved educational performance among boys and girls throughout the years. Today, gender differences among girls and boys are steadily rising in the classrooms they are in, and single gender classrooms are increasing. Teachers go by the theory that “separate sexes meant equal education.” While some educational experts believe single-gender education is best, parents have begun to notice the development of sexual stereotypes, and the children work better together. Furthermore, single sex classrooms cause more students to fail and have behavior problems. Reasons for this are: students are more distracted and lack focus, boys and girls develop sexual stereotypes, their learning abilities are different, and single sex classrooms cause boys to be very problematic.
These important questions on the topic of children’s television viewing in its early beginnings continue to be debated in society. The creation of children’s television shows in the 1940s and 1950s offered children pure entertainment and very little smart education. According to Palmer, “there were a few shows that did teach children values and morals, but the true educational television shows for children did not appear until the late 1960s(28). Not only educational shows, but public television shows, dialogue, help in increasing a child’s vocabulary and in improving he/she speaking skills. Therefore, parents should encourage their children to watch more public television today because public television helps children to read.
Yates, Kimberly. "Same Sex Schools vs. Coed Schools Statistics." Everyday Life. Global Post, 2013. Web. 20 Dec. 2013.
Discrimination through media causes teenagers to isolate themselves from the world, as well as implement online socialization and not having the capacity to communicate with another human being in person. Furthermore, this is the effect of abuse of media. Extreme online socialization will lead to the inability of contacting with people or whenever one is out in public, social interactions will remain brief. Online socialization in a developing child and exposure to media will directly influence and affect a child’s attitudes (Lee & Conroy, 2003).
Some of the most controversial issues in society have historically revolved around matters relating to gender and sexuality. As gender plays an integral part in how we function in society, we quickly learn what is expected of us through our gender roles at a young age and our sexual scripts as we get older. We are expected to conform to our respective gender roles of femininity or masculinity depending on the sex we were assigned at birth. We learn that certain characteristics and expressions are attributed to each gender but are never taught that gender is fluid but instead it is binary. We also become subjected to assumptions of our sexual desires and attraction based on our sex and our gender and are expected not to deviate from it. We become
In order to bring change, the myths of Gender have to be altered. Believing that the world consists of only two genders has been a cultural invention which does not accommodate the vast number of experiences humans are capable of living. According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network in 2009, “86% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students experienced harassment at school; one in three skipped a day of school in the past month because they felt unsafe there” (Colombo 376). Their gender preference is not accommodated in society, and as a result, they are being discriminated, judged, mentally affected and not allowed expression of their social identity. There are many cultures that have three or more gender categories.
Children can be influenced and impacted in many ways whether it is from their parents, peers, and even strangers. One thing many people don’t realize is that many children, nowadays, are actually being influenced by the media, meaning they are being affected by different media sources, such as television and the internet. The question is whether the sources of media, television and the internet has a positive effect or a negative effect on children, and which source of media has a bigger effect.
The mass media has played a key role in shaping people’s lives. The modern society’s use of mass media including TV, radio, newspaper, as well as print media has largely influenced people’s ideas regarding themselves and the society at large. This is evident from their behavior towards themselves and their community as well as their treatment of the environment. While some experts believe that the media is to blame for most of the negative behavioral traits among the active members of society, the majority agree that the media makes people understand and develop a positive sense of association with their society within which they live, making it easy for them to identify and get their role in it.