I recently found this video on YouTube, in which young children are interviewed about gender and gender roles. While you are watching this, keep in mind that these kids are between the ages of four and five, yet they seem very certain of their beliefs already.
With beliefs that seem to take root between the ages of 3-5, it seems nearly impossible to eradicate the gender roles that are so prevalent in our society. I found it very interesting how the interviewer utilized barbie and ken dolls to depict an average mother and father. Another very revealing aspect of this segment is how quickly the young children respond to the questions, possibly showing how ingrained these ideas actually are. At the age of 5 these children had already took issue with cross-dressing, and already had firm ideas about the roles of men and women. With ideology like this finding its way into the minds of such young children, how can we create a more open-minded and accepting society?
What are your thoughts?
What do you think of the video?
That video was really interesting! I was especially intrigued by the doll questions at the end. It was surprising to me how quickly and easily the children responded. This video reminds me of another post (http://csp19.blogspot.com/2010/09/riddle-me-this.html?) about how children were told a riddle about a surgeon and his/her son. Most people would be stumped because they're used to surgeons being male, but these kids seemed progressive in that they guessed that the boy in the riddle had two fathers or they answered correctly and said the mom was the surgeon.
ReplyDeleteThis YouTube video shows that while children are more open with the idea of two same gender parents or females holding higher employment statuses, they are still very much set in established gender roles.
I was also really interested in the doll questions. It shocked me how self-assured the children were when they responded to the questions. How young the children are, combined with the quick and assured nature of their responses, shows just how ingrained in our culture gender roles really are. It's kind of scary to think about-- by the age of 2, we are already becoming inflexible in our ideas and opinions.
ReplyDeleteI think this video is extremely interesting yet extremely disturbing. Its sad that at such a young age, children are already capable of assigning gender roles.
ReplyDeleteThis also upsets me because I had several conversations with people who believe that advertisements that target young children or movies directed toward children ( like Disney movies which are notorious for carelessly throwing around sexist gender roles and racist notions) are harmless. Now while I am sure that to an extent, these kids have learned these gender roles from their parents, they have probably also seen them in movies, television shows, and commercials. It's as simple as watching a laundry detergent commercial which usually always shows a woman cleaning and doing laundry. I heard too many times from people who believe that these ads are harmless and that children probably do not learn that much from these ads but I think this video serves as evidence.
-Myaisha Hayes