Blog week 3<p>
Gender,
Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation<p>
When we think about all the media that
children see everyday going to and from school, it is amazing that they can
learn to understand how to play with others on any level. Children are given
mixed messages constantly by the toys (how they are advertised, and the messages
they get from people around them). Books are still portrayed as gender specific
in most cases, but they are getting better and if you look you can find books
that have stay at home dads, grandparents as the parents, interracial families
and books that children can look at and understand about the many cultural
differences that surround them each day. In some ways the society is getting more
open minded about gender, sexual orientation, and diversity as a whole-but we
have a long way to go before it becomes second nature for both adults and
children to just enjoy being alive and not worry about what they are playing
with or wearing for the day. Once we all become comfortable with ourselves then
we can teach children the same (I hope!). <p>
This week we had to read resources
dealing with gender identity and sexual orientation and how it relates to early
childhood. Does a
child being called a “momma’s boy” count in the same category? My son was
called this for years by the children in our neighborhood and the school that
he went to in Louisiana. My husband was serving overseas and my son was the
only boy in the house, but he played with toys that everyone calls boy toys and
did everything a person would expect a boy to do and he did help out with
chores of all kinds and play with his sister. I found nothing wrong with who he
played with, what he played with or how he interacted with other children. Some
would say that momma’s boy and sissy are the same but I’m not sure about that. Also
at a school I worked at when I first moved to Virginia there was a little boy
of three and a half that wanted to play in the dramatic play area with the
dolls everyday and some of the boys would laugh at him and didn’t want to play
with him outside or in any other centers, he started being really quite and I had
to have a class talk about it being okay to play with all the toys no matter
what they were. In my classrooms there is no such thing as boy toys or girl
toys-they are just toys that everyone can play with. Growing up I remember
hearing the term tom boy and thought nothing of it because I played wherever I wanted
and didn’t worry about that type of thing (at least not while my parents were
alive). I used to love to climb trees and hunt for bugs and even jump off the
roof of our house. When children hear comments about what they play with as
being girly or a baby toy it can affect their self esteem, and their social
skills in regard to being able to socialize with others. This can make it
difficult to go to school when the time comes <p>
References: <p>
Course
Media: "Start Seeing Diversity:
Gender"
Course
Media: "Start Seeing Diversity:
Sexual Orientation"
Spiegel,
A. (2008). Two families grapple with sons' gender identity: Psychologists take
radically different approaches in therapy. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2008/05/07/90247842/two-families-grapple-with-sons-gender-preferences
Maglaty, J. (2011). When did girls start wearing pink.
Retrieved from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/When-Did-Girls-Start-Wearing-Pink.html
