I would like everyone to see this clip , it really shows how the media affects children in such young age. I believe we need to focus on how not only does it affect teens but i really think that it affects children first especially because at the age of 4 or 5 ,children begin to acknowledge male and female behaviors and it is sad to know that the behaviors for gender roles they believe in , is not entirely true.
so my questions for you guys are :
1) do you believe that their answers are based on what media portrays or is it natural and it is just the way children think about gender roles?
2)Do you think that it is "okay" for them to think like that?
3)If in the future you had children , would you let them think this way about gender roles or would you change it? why or why not?
1) The children’s responses were definitely not natural. Their responses are, in fact, influenced by what the media portrays (BIG TIME) and their parents (or family) as well. When you are small (let us say about four or five years of age), you realize (okay, not completely, but even a little bit) that your father is gone out for work and the mother, mostly, takes care of you. I think is the reason why many children in the video pointed out the man when asked about who goes to work.
ReplyDelete2) It is not okay for small children to stereotype about gender roles. It is none of their business at all in my opinion. They should be fooling around the house, making lots of noises, and annoying the parents at that age (not literally, but figuratively).
3) If I have children in the future, I would try my best not to let them think this way because I, personally, do not stereotype much about anything, in general. Stereotyping involves so much presumption and many assumptions that the actual truth is hidden because of the stereotype itself. I would change it (stereotype(s)) by presenting them with facts that oppose the stereotypes.
I think that the responses the kids gave is based on the media more than their parents, because the kids watch cartoons where they see the mothers cleaning the house or cooking for the family, and the fathers going to work. I dont think their parents told them these things directly. It has to due more with their common knowledge of the things they see around them. It would help if their parents lightly informed them about the differences.
ReplyDeleteYour question about it being "okay" for the kids to think like that; I don't think they even think too much about this let alone know anything about stereotyping.
Adding to Faduma's comment media plays a big role in the lives of toddlers and how they see male and female from their eyes. They aren't born as sterotypes but are influenced by media without even knowing it. We have no phsyical control on trying to change their mind about how they feel seeing that everything they watch is somewhat related to a sterotype without us even thinking so. We have all grown up with the same cartoons and such not knowing that they were portraying their characters in a way until we were introduced to media studies ourselves. The same cartoons have been around from when we were little and i'm quite sure we had the same mentality as the children in your video.
ReplyDeleteHere's a video to show how cartoons play a big part in the lives of children.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4BxGtWvsvo&feature=related
1. I would say that it is primarily media based because not all families in todays society has the ideal nuclear family or even the same roles within each household.
ReplyDelete2. Yes it is okay for them to think like that but it wrong for them to believe that that is the way in which things are to be done they need to keep in mind that roles may be flexible here and there from time to time.
3. Yes i would allow them to think this way but I would teach them that one specific person doesnt not always have to complete a single certain task once the job gets done then that will be fine.
Just on a side note this is called socialization and its hard to be prevented because of traditions from way back when...Now we are understanding the effects that it has on us
e.g the reason why Homosexuals took so long to embrace their sexuality
1) I really do believe that the answers the children gave were due to the influence media has on them. TV always shows the woman cleaning the house, cooking, taking care of children etc. And the men are shown as doing the 'manly' things such as fixing the car etc.
ReplyDelete2) Since they're just kids they really do think everything they see on TV or around them is the norm without believing its accuracy. They probably don't even know what sterotyping is at this age but I believe that their parents should expose them to different things at this age so when they're older they don't become closed minded and think one way.
3) If I do plan to have children in the future I will try my hardest to teach them about different gender roles and diversity so that they grow up to think different then what society thinks as a norm.
I believe that the answers the children gave were somewhat based on what the media portrays, but could also be natural depending on the family situation. For example, my mom stayed home when I was a kid for many years so if I was asked the same questions I would answer the same way as the kids in the video did, based on my own family experiences. If a child had both parent's working and still answered those questions that way then I would say that it's due to the media.
ReplyDeleteI think it is okay for them to think like that because they're just kids. At that age they don't really know anything at all about gender or stereotyping. If I do have children in the future, I would allow them to think that way. I wouldn't try and tell them to not gender stereotype anyone because it's part of growing up. When you're a kid you're going to think someone of the opposite sex has "cooties". Everyone does when they're little but then once they grow up they realize that gender stereotyping is wrong.
1) I agree with what the people before me have said but I also believe that it starts before they are even old enough to watch television. It starts right from when they are born because as soon as they come into the world, if the baby is a girl, they are given a pink blanket but if they are a boy they are given a blue one. This is already exposing the children to gender divisions before they can even understand the difference between the two colours. When they then grow to the toddler stage their toys differ by gender as well. Girls are given toys like dolls, mini kitchens and doll houses whereas boys are given toys like cars/trucks, tools, and monsters. These are all seen as manly and toys that boys should play with. If a boy was to play with a doll he is seen as weird and people tell him not to play with girl toys. The child notices this and says boys are not supposed to play with girl toys furthering the gender division and creating the ideas of gender roles. The children are then exposed to televisions shows like Disney that are enhancing the ideas of gender roles. Here is an example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHD4n3JEpgc . This is why I believe that it is not natural. Media plays a big part, but it’s the family that plays a huge role as well.
ReplyDelete2) I don’t believe that it is okay for them to think like this because now that they have these ideas on how each gender is supposed to act, anyone that acts differently is thought to be weird, unusual, and that there is something wrong with them. When kids are acting “opposite” of their genders they are called things like tomboys and sissies, and that’s not right because who really said girls are supposed to act a certain way and boys the other.
3) If I have a child of my own in the future I would try to not let them have these ideas of gender roles because I want them to do what they feel like doing and act how they want to act. I don’t want them saying “oh I can’t do this because I’m a girl/boy.” I also would try and stop them from having these ideas because they are not necessarily how society is working out. Now days both males and females are working as well as males are staying home and cooking/cleaning. I would try my best but it’s not something that is easy to do.
In my opinion their response was normal because at such a young age they are exposed to these stereotypes. All the cartoons that these kids watch have gender stereotypes like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast. Not only does the media play a big part in the way the children answered the questions, the parents also influence the way the children answered the questions. As the children grow the parents inflict their beliefs and values on the children which also make them think that men work and women stay at home and clean. I believe that it is okay for them to think like this because they don’t really know the meaning behind it. As they grow up they will experience things in life which will make them open minded about the gender stereotypes. If I had children in the future, I would try to teach them to be open minded about gender stereotypes and other stereotypes.
ReplyDelete1) Even though the interviewer tried to take answer that he expected, the kids’ answers seem what they have seen in their daily life. Every single kid watches Television and it normally shows women working on the kitchen,cleaning and taking care of the children and men go to work.
ReplyDeleteAlso when i was a kid, most of the story books i read had those pictures of father was wearing a tie and carrying a suitcase while mother was cooking in the kitchen. That is how I started to stereotype about genders.
2) I think these kids may change these ideas when they have grown up. According to my view it depends on the situation they face. Home is the place where the love and affections, therefore mother and father play key role to make it pleasant. According to my view, we should not worry about at all.
3) Children learned everything at their small age from their informal education. We should not teach these things but they learn it from us in our day to day life. I think in future , the life is more complicated than this. If i had children in the future, I want them to be open minded about this fact.
1) I think their answers were influenced on what’s portrayed in the media and their experiences at home.Since the children are so young I think what they see at home has more of an impact on their perception of gender roles. Typically the mother goes on maternity leave, while the father is working and most of the children said, “The male works and the female stays home to take care of the kids.” The media does generally show a mother as nurturing and primarily the parent responsible for the children. The father is portrayed as the provider of the family and the one responsible for earning income. For example “The Simpsons” Homer works at a power plant while Marge is in charge of the house hold duties.
ReplyDelete2)I don’t think it is “okay” for children to think this way, they need to realize women and men can both work and be the providers for the family and be responsible for household chores (cleaning, doing laundry and taking care of the children). I believe as these children get older their perception of gender roles will change because they’ll be exposed to gender roles which don’t follow the stereotypes portrayed by media.
3)I wouldn’t let my children think this way, because I don’t want them to limit themselves to the gender roles they see in the media. I also think it’s important to encourage my future children they can do anything and gender shouldn’t be a factor as to what they can and can’t do.
1) I think children pick up this from their surrounding environment since they have to learn from somewhere. I guess media would be one of the factors but also the parents because some household have mothers doing all the cooking and cleaning while the fathers do the lawn mowing and things like that.
ReplyDelete2) It's not okay for them to think like that, but I don't think they know about these stereotypes, and they can careless. But this will effect them in the future, because they will take these stereotypes and put them into actions.
3) I would not let my kids think this way because this will effect them in the future. They will put themselves within the stereotypes about gender roles .To prevent this from happening I am going to do my best by making my household an equal place for both genders. For example by both my husband & I can do the cooking or alternate.
1. I do not think that the children's responses were natural. If anything, the influence of media and parental and cultural views has a lot to do with the way the children responded. In addition, I agree with Harshika, the children probably have seen more women cleaning the house and being a housewife while the men would support the family financially. This could just be a part of their own culture. I think it also has a lot to do with personal experiences.
ReplyDelete2. I do not think that it is okay for these children to think this way. It is important for these children who are still developing to understand that they do not have to feel pressured to fit the expectations of gender roles.
3. I think that if I had children, either way they are going to be exposed to the idea of gender roles. But I would try to educate them about the importance of being your own person and not having to meet the expectations of gender stereotypes.
I do not think only media shows this kids about gender roles. I think that at this age is more of their parents whom teach their kids about gender roles and also what they see at home. If they see mom stays at home and dad goes to work they are going to think that this is the way it is. It is not okay for kids to think this way. They need to be thought about gender roles by their parents so that they will grow up to be a better person. In the future I will teach my kids different about gender roles. I will let them play with what they want and teach them how both men and women are capable of doing the same thing.
ReplyDelete1 – I believe that it is more natural then actually thinking that the media has more to do with it. I think this because back than, to be more specific, during BC period it was known to all humanity that the women where to obey the man, the man could marry various women, and the women were to care for there children and their households. Men where to work and be the providers for their family, and till this day that mentality of “men-work, women-cook” is still part of our society. That ideology has altered slightly because our coast fro living is higher.
ReplyDelete2 – I strongly disagree to the fact that kids should think like that. Because kids in there homes would create a sense of pride, lets just say. For example, my best friend is the only, literally only one that cleans, cooks, and looks out for here younger brother. And her younger brother does nothing! When I us to ask him ‘why he does not help his sister?’ his response it “because she is the women of the house, and my mother told her to do it not me”. It is just completely wrong to put all the housework on the females. Both genders should equally divide work among each other.
3 – I would definitely change some aspects, like both should help at home, both should cook, and they should work. But what I would not change is the way they dress and treat girls more delicate than boys probably. This is because I oppose the homosexual concept, lets say. Not saying I wound not accept the people, but I would not want that to happen with my children, and that is where institution comes in, and gender role, where they learn how their behaviour or a family should appear to look like.
(I apologize with time, and hope I do not offend no one)
1)Their answers are not naturally based and it’s the media that makes the little kids think in a certain way. Media plays a big role in a childs development, what ever they watch and the things that they do or follow is all what they are taught from TV. On Tv they see many things and learn that specific things are for men or women, and this is all that they learn in there early years, and they follow that.
ReplyDelete2)No, I think it’s not okay that they think like that because the way media portrays genderroles is stereotyping, they show how certain things are meant for only men or women, just like how the interviewer asked the kids, "who goes to work?", their reply was men. This is not true it can be women who goes to work, work is not meant for men only.
3)If in the future,I have children in this age,I would let them think think they want about gender roles but I will correct them on the way, I will let them know what is right and what is wrong. When it’s the right time to let them know about everything and how things work out I will correct the wrong.
I think the media has made them think like this because I have a younger brother who is four and he thinks just like these kids too. Sometimes I’m with him when he’s watching TV, especially treehouse and almost all the shows are made for either boys or girls. There is only one show that I can think of that the character is both a boy and a girl because he’s a rat. The shows called Toopy and Binoo and the main character is a boy and a girl. One time my brother actually asked me if Toopy was a boy or a girl and I said he’s both, and he just laughed and didn’t believe me.
ReplyDeleteI don’t really see the problem because they are just kids and they do whatever they see. The thing they watch the most is TV and whatever they see there is what they say/act like.
I think it’s hard to change their mind or make them think otherwise because in the end they are going to watch more TV then they are going to hear me talk. TV has a very big impact on kids because that’s where they learn new words and new things. The only way I think they will have different opinions is if media changes and makes new shows with different aspects and maybe make more characters that are both a boy and a girl.