Taylor L becoming increasingly aware of the gendered expectaions placed on children

In Marita’s class we have learned a lot about gendered expectations and how society influences individuals to think, feel, and act in a certain way. While I have heard about this before, I have never talked about it to such an extent. It is pretty interesting that after these discussions I have become so aware of these supposed gender roles. I have become increasingly aware of these  at my internship and I have tried to combat it.

           

One of the learners I work with loves to play with the kitchen set in the Speech Therapy big room. I encourage him to play and pretend cook after our sessions. I never thought that this might not be acceptable in society’s eyes. Therefore, I was taken back when I witnessed one of his classmates get upset after he tried to play with the kitchen set in the classroom. I confronted the girl and told her that anyone could play with the kitchen set and informed her that she could also play with all the toys. While my statement quieted the girl, I am curious where she got this idea. I surely hope the teacher did not say that only the girls could play with the kitchen set. I do not think this teacher would say that but this young child was so adamant that the boy coming to the kitchen was not allowed.

           

Another instance where I noticed gendered behavior was at lunchtime. One of the boys in the classroom did not want to finish his lunch and a male volunteer turned to the boy and said “come on, don’t you want to be a man.” This statement insinuated that society expects young boys to become strong men and that anything but is not acceptable. This got me thinking about how the volunteer would have responded if the learner were a girl. I think the volunteer would have dismissed it and believed that the girl was full.

It is sad that these ideals are passed on to youth when they are so young. I hope that educators and individuals coming in contact with youth eventually read these articles. We have such a profound influence on the youth and we could prevent the next generation from abiding by the imposed gender roles.