'Children's cultural worlds are divided by gender'. Discuss.
Option 2
'Children's cultural worlds are divided by gender'. Discuss.
80%
I believe that in several ways children's cultural worlds are divided by gender but in other ways they are not. The dictionary defines gender as "sexual characteristics or category", which implies that it is determined by genetics. Theorist Judith Butler (Book 1, Page 203) tells us that "human conduct and human knowledge about the world are so enmeshed in an understanding of what it means to be female or male that we cannot escape from seeing people as defined by their sex - their maleness or femaleness - and hence as 'gendered'". The writer and cultural critic Raymond Williams refers to "culture as a way of life that makes sense to individuals involved in a particular community" (Book 3, Page ix). In this essay I intend to look at the ways in which a child's masculinity or femininity affects their experience of childhood and so can be said to divide their cultural worlds. In doing this I shall consider the areas of gender identity, play, friendship and emotion, social history, education and language.
Even before a baby is born its gender is the subject of speculation. Should the parents buy pink or blue clothing and choose a boy or girls' name? Research cited by Lloyd and Duveen (Book 1, Page 198) demonstrated that babies are treated differently, depending on whether they are wearing pink or blue. Female babies dressed in blue were played with more roughly and called big and strong, whilst male babies dressed in pink were soothed and cuddled and called pretty. Many adults in Western society see gender as something which is decided by our genetic makeup but this research is used by social constructionists to support the theory that gender is something that we 'do' rather than something that we 'are'. If this is true then society, rather than nature, must take responsibility for dividing children's cultural worlds by gender.
As children grow, we as adults make them identifiable as either a boy or a girl. Davies suggests that "Dress, hairstyle, speech patterns and content, choice of activity - all become key signifiers that can be used in successfully positioning oneself as a girl or a boy" (Book 3, Page 124). Equally how we 'do' masculinity or femininity depends on our audience. Davies' report of boys being collected by their mother from school described three different types of behaviour depending on the adults present. The wild excited genital grabbing is not likely to have taken place under the watchful eye of the teacher nor would the boys wish to spoil the image of the sweet child required by their mother. It is unlikely that the same form of behaviour would have occurred if the children had been girls as femininity is portrayed in a different way and so this aspect of children's cultural worlds can be seen as being divided by gender.
The play world of children is divided by gender from an early age. Girls are praised for playing gently with their dolls and play houses whilst boys are given cars, bricks and guns and encouraged to behave in a much rougher manner. As they grow, boys continue to play the more physical games such as rugby and football whilst girls are encouraged to take part in the more moderate activities of ballet or netball. To find a girls' rugby team or a ballet class that is only for boys would be difficult in our Western society, which again ...
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The play world of children is divided by gender from an early age. Girls are praised for playing gently with their dolls and play houses whilst boys are given cars, bricks and guns and encouraged to behave in a much rougher manner. As they grow, boys continue to play the more physical games such as rugby and football whilst girls are encouraged to take part in the more moderate activities of ballet or netball. To find a girls' rugby team or a ballet class that is only for boys would be difficult in our Western society, which again must be an indication of a gender division in their cultural worlds.
These patterns of play contribute to the dominance of single sex friendships amongst children, with mixed-sex friendships being rare even amongst pre-school children. Thorne studied the social worlds of boys and girls in an elementary school in America and conceptualized the term 'borderwork' to describe the way children form single-sex friendships. Children with friends of the opposite sex are then said to be 'border crossing', but this was mainly seen to occur amongst children who held a high status position amongst their peers. Thorne observed children playing chasing games in the playground with a group or individual being seen as a carrier of contagious germs. Usually it was the girls who were seen as symbolically contaminated and very rarely the boys. Thorne states that this may be because "in our culture even at a young age, girls are sexualised more than boys, and female sexuality, especially when 'out of place' or actively associated with children, connotes danger and endangerment" (Book 3, Page 31). This is another way in which children's cultural worlds are divided.
In many ways the basis for the construction of masculinities and femininities of children is built on heterosexuality. This makes it difficult for those boys and girls who do not conform to what is seen as normal behaviour for their gender. For boys who cross the gender boundaries, in terms of the activities they take part in, life can become an unbearable as they are teased and called 'sissie'. Girls crossing the boundaries are called 'tomboys' but do not seem to receive the same amount of teasing as boys. For those who do not conform to the normal division of children's cultural worlds by gender life can become agonizingly difficult.
In Video 3, Band 1 we saw boys playing in dangerous places. Sean from Oakland showed us a long, dark, wet tunnel in the local park in which he plays with his brothers. They took turns at running through it and Sean admitted to once having been scared when he heard a groaning noise. He finishes by challenging the researcher to go into the tunnel. Tinco in Chittagong passes his time by jumping on the back of trains and buses and travelling around. He says it keeps him out of trouble as he fights with the other boys at home and his mother gets angry with him.
This quest for danger and excitement is generally a trait which belongs to the boys. Jordan's study of seven-year-old boys in Australia (Book 3, Page 32) found that most boys take part in fantasy play which involves assuming a 'warrior' discourse. They draw on the adventures of the likes of Superman or the Ninja Turtles and position themselves as heroes whilst others become cowards and baddies. Researchers working in many different places have found that boys' play often takes on an element of play fighting and competitive duelling that can be both physical and verbal. Boys also see themselves in a roguish role and this was portrayed in Hewitt's description of the 'boxing-out' activity that he observed amongst fourteen-year-old boys in a secondary school in London (Book 3, Page 44).
Girls play often involves some form of mimicry of the actions of women in their society. As I have already discussed girls play with dolls which mimics the way that they see women, both on television and in their immediate surroundings. Gregor describes the children of the Mehinaku in Brazil playing a game called 'Women's Sons' (Book 3, Page 27). Boys and girls play this game together, each playing the part of an adult of their own gender. A clay baby is made and then played with by the children - the baby becomes sick, dies and is buried by its parents. The women form a circle on their knees and keen and wail for their lost offspring. Although played as a game with outbursts of laughter, Gregor sees it as preparation for the young villagers who are likely to have to face infant mortality in the future. In Video 3, Band 4 Bilkis tells about what she does with her friends and it includes making things to eat. Each of these examples of girls play portrays the gender divide that exists in children's cultural worlds.
Within the cultural world of girls there are different emotions shown from that of boys. Whilst boys are not demonstrative about friends, girls see friendship as something which involves caring, sharing and mutual support within their relatively small group. They are not embarrassed to talk about the importance of their friends and make an emotional commitment to them. Minna and Elizabeth in Chittagong see themselves as a "photocopy of each other" and have what they describe as "the most special friendship in Chittagong" (Video 3, Band 4). We hear of girls talking openly about subjects such as puberty, periods and erotic attachments. The only time boys spoke openly and with any affection was about their pets. This is one area where there is a clear division in the cultural worlds by gender.
Historically education is one area where children's cultural worlds were divided by gender and in some cases they still are. In the past boys were expected to leave school and find a job that would enable them to support a family. Girls on the other hand were expected to be mothers and home-makers so it was felt that they did not need to be as well educated as the boys. There were also differences in the subjects they were taught with the girls given the cookery and sewing lessons whilst the boys learnt woodwork and metalwork. Worldwide today there are 42 million fewer girls than boys attending school (Book 2, Page 139). In Zimbabwe research showed that school enrolments by gender were equal but girls still spend a much greater proportion of their day working at home. These statistics indicate a divide in the cultural worlds of boys and girls throughout the world.
In schools in the Western world boys and girls are often given tasks by teachers in gender groups. Thorne's experiences as an ethnographer saw her observing a class where the teacher introduced a maths game with the "Beastly Boys" against the "Gossipy Girls" (Book 1, Page 215). The boys and girls separated into different areas of the classroom and the gender divide was very apparent. Most research in this area has concentrated on the differences between the genders, presumably as it is a more interesting topic than a study of the similarities would provide. Thorne states that at the times boys and girls worked together in mixed gender groups she had to force herself to record the details as "it seemed less juicy, less ripe for gendered analysis than... the math game" (Book 1, Page 215). Even to an ethnographer the cultural worlds of children are of more interest when they are divided by gender.
Walkerdine, a psychologist is interested in the way that females are often positioned as less powerful than males which then impacts on their cultural world. She observed a nursery class where all the girls were dressed as nurses and were being told by the teacher to help the boy doctors. One of the little girls Jane suddenly stopped being a nurse and switched her identity to a tea-lady and then to a housewife. In doing this she changed from being subservient to being the one giving orders as she tells her 'husband' that he will go to work in the hospital but so will she and that he should "tidy up this room make sure and tell me" (Book 3, Page 105). Jane's use of language allows her to change her status within her group. This is just one example of the ways in which children can construct for themselves the identity they wish to portray to the world.
In conclusion I think that children's worlds are divided by gender and that this division occurs as a result of the traditional way in which society viewed gender and so treated boys and girls. In the past there have been very clearly defined views on what were suitable activities and jobs for each sex, whether it was at work or play. Today, in Western societies, I think that these gender divisions are gradually disappearing in the adult worlds of work and play and I think that it is fair to assume that this process will have an impact on the gender division that currently exists in children's cultural worlds.
(Wordcount 1997)
References
Butler, J., (1993) Bodies That Matter: on the Discursive Limits of Sex quoted in Woodhead, M. and Montgomery, H., (2003) Book 1, Understanding Childhood, Chapters 1 & 2. Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Davies, B., (1982) Becoming Male or Female quoted in Kehily, M. and Swann, J., (2003) Book 3, Children's Cultural Worlds, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Gregor, T., (1977) Mebinaku: the drama of daily life in a Brazilian Indian village quoted in Kehily, M. and Swann, J., (2003) Book 3, Children's Cultural Worlds, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Hewitt, R., (1997) 'Box-out' and 'taxing' quoted in Kehily, M. and Swann, J., (2003) Book 3, Children's Cultural Worlds, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Jordan, E., (1995) Fighting boys and fantasy play: the construction of masculinity in the early years of school quoted in Kehily, M. and Swann, J., (2003) Book 3, Children's Cultural Worlds, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Kehily, M. and Swann, J., (2003) Book 3, Children's Cultural Worlds, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Lloyd, B. and Duveen, G., (1990) Social Representations of Gender quoted in Woodhead, M. and Montgomery, H.,(2003) Book 1, Understanding Childhood, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Maybin, J. and Woodhead, M., (2003) Book 2, Childhoods In Context. Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Thorne, B., (1993) Gender play: girls and boys in school quoted in Kehily, M. and Swann, J., (2003) Book 3, Children's Cultural Worlds, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Thorne, B., (1997) Children and Gender: Constructions of Difference quoted in Woodhead, M. and Montgomery, H., (2003) Book 1, Understanding Childhood, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Video 3, Band 1, Pages 1-19, My Space: Oakland, (2003), The Open University
Video 3, Band 1, Pages 20-38, My Space: Chittagong, (2003), The Open University
Video 3, Band 4, Pages 196-246, Friendship: Chittagong, (2003), The Open University
Walkerdine, V., (1981) Sex, Power and Pedagogy quoted in Kehily, M. and Swann, J., (2003) Book 3, Children's Cultural Worlds, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Williams, R., (1989) Resources of Hope: Culture, Democracy, Socialism quoted in Kehily, M. and Swann, J., (2003) Book 3, Children's Cultural Worlds, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Woodhead, M. and Montgomery, H., (2003) Book 1, Understanding Childhood, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Kathleen Brown PI number: W0468897
U212 Childhood TMA 05
