“Learning to be Gendered” by Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet brings to light the expectations and societal pressures that are placed on children to fulfill and act their gender role. The process of assigning gender begins the moment we are born and continues throughout our lives to the very end, as we constantly learn how to successfully belong to new groups or adjust to changes in the groups to which we already belong. In looking at gender norms, we go back to our very beginnings, to the very moment when we were born. But we also consider all the moments since then, and throughout a person’s life.
From the very beginning of the child’s life, it is important for it be obvious what gender category they are in. The first steps of gendering a child is initiated by the parents. The names given to the children are assigned to them based on their sex. They get a girl name if they are a female and a boy name if they are male. Eckert and Ginet make the point that as soon as the very first linguistic act of naming the child happens, adults can start to perpetuate the initial gender role assigned to the child. Even though it has no effect on how a child is treated medically, when a child is born, a hospital gives them a “gender appropriate” colored cap or blanket so they can tell what sex the baby is. The idea of assigning colors seems to be very significant for people when it comes to …show more content…
As boys and girls get older, the actions and characteristics they possess are the direct response to how they were treated as babies. The characteristic assigned to each gender is not the product of their sex, but the stereotypes and societal norms adults push onto them. The societal constructs are no longer just enacted by adults when the child turns three. They begin to develop themselves into the gender they believe they are supposed to be
From the very beginning of the child’s life, it is important for it be obvious what gender category they are in. The first steps of gendering a child is initiated by the parents. The names given to the children are assigned to them based on their sex. They get a girl name if they are a female and a boy name if they are male. Eckert and Ginet make the point that as soon as the very first linguistic act of naming the child happens, adults can start to perpetuate the initial gender role assigned to the child. Even though it has no effect on how a child is treated medically, when a child is born, a hospital gives them a “gender appropriate” colored cap or blanket so they can tell what sex the baby is. The idea of assigning colors seems to be very significant for people when it comes to …show more content…
As boys and girls get older, the actions and characteristics they possess are the direct response to how they were treated as babies. The characteristic assigned to each gender is not the product of their sex, but the stereotypes and societal norms adults push onto them. The societal constructs are no longer just enacted by adults when the child turns three. They begin to develop themselves into the gender they believe they are supposed to be