RAISING A CHILD IN A GENDER NEUTRAL ENVIRONMENT

Raising a Child in a Gender Neutral Environment

Raising a Child in a Gender Neutral Environment

In many cultures people are separated by gender. As Meredith Small noted in Kids: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Raise Young Children, young girls are often left with domestic work, such as cleaning the house and taking care of younger children, while the boys are off hunting or gathering food. It makes me wonder, if these roles were switched or even non-existent, what kinds of roles would these girls and boys play when they mature into adulthood? Would the women still busy themselves with housework and looking after the young? And the men, would they all still go out and hunt for food? Are these things just in our nature, or is it our culture that implements these views?

In her book, Small states, “Babies have no gender - they have different sex chromosomes and different genitalia, and therefore are of a certain sex, but other than that, they are just baby humans” (Small, 163). I have never thought of babies in this way, but after reading the chapter on “Girls and Boys”, it is true that as a society, we place much more emphasis on gender than might be necessary. Some parents choose to put emphasis on some ideas and things being for girls vs. for boys. Does this come from how they were raised and how they are familiar with, or does it have more to do with the state of our society or economic status.

I chose to interview parents of children age birth to one years old as I feel that this is a key age where parents either place there child into a specific gender role/category or allow them to have the freedom to explore all elements of life and not just those stereotyped towards either boys or girls. When asked about their general view on gender roles, men tended to be more close minded and have the opinion that “a man should be the provider and supporter for his wife and family while the woman should nurture the children and spend time with the kids.” This was somewhat of a shock to me, as I have thought people were becoming more open minded to women in the work force and shared family duties. I feel this must be a generational concept. I myself am in college, live in a college town, and very few people I am surrounded with have children. Most people my age are in school and planning careers, both men and women alike.

According to an article in USA Today, “There are more men than women ages 18-24 in the USA — 15 million vs. 14.2 million, according to a Census Bureau estimate last year. But nationally, the male/female ratio on campus today is 43/57, a reversal from the late 1960s and well beyond the nearly even splits of the ...