Thoughts Children Have about Gender Stereotypes
When children are at a young age, much of the educational programming they consume involves teaching them the rights and wrongs about the many facets of life. They learn about items such as problem solving and the golden rule of treating others the same way they want to get treated. However, as children shy from the morally-responsible shows that get targeted toward them, they begin to see shows with more comedy and satire, shows that are questionable for adolescence. Shows such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, The Big Bang Theory, among many others, tend to reinforce the stereotypes of gender more regularly than traditional children’s programming, so they are evident in nearly every episode of those types of series. The primary issue with that presentation is when children’s minds are developing, they absorb all of the gender representations that get presented to them in shows and films that they watch. Those philosophies get stuck in their minds the more they get exposed to them. Those details go along with the findings of a study done in the Journal of Adolescent Health, which examined the norms children have about gender, the expectations they have about themselves, and how the negative impacts from those stereotypes carry into adulthood. Kristin Mmari, the lead qualitative researcher on the study, found that many of the findings were universal across both genders and that girls and boys experience their perspectives changing right around puberty. As she notes,
There seems to be a shift as soon as girls and boys enter [puberty], where their attitudes and beliefs about the opposite sex change dramatically, and they talked about how this was not so in childhood. That they could have these friends — opposite sex friends — and they were given equal amounts of freedom. They were treated the same, they thought. But once they began puberty, and their bodies developed, their worlds changed (Dastagir, 2017).
Young children have better perspectives on gender presentations because they get used to having girls and boys being equal and civil to each other, as well as having playtime with the opposite gender. However, the programming they consume as they hit puberty and their teens start to stretch the ideals on how to pursue a romantic relationship. If they do not possess any of the following characteristics, no one will take them seriously. For girls and boys, the integration that is evident through elementary school where everyone is friends with everyone, all of a sudden becomes competition by middle school, where popularity contests and being the best at everything rule their minds. The pressure gets to the kids so much that their thought processes drastically change, and the traditional stereotypes that they got told to go against at a young age are now the moral codes by which they live.
Distortion of Thought
Mmari discusses that the biggest myth perpetuated about gender is that when girls hit puberty, they are vulnerable and in need of protection to preserve sexual and reproductive health, while boys are more and strong and independent. It is that myth that changes how the world sees both sexes during adolescence, and how it continues to treat them during their lives. The way you perceive children is not biologically-driven, but socially-driven. There are several consequences children face from high exposure to gender stereotypes, along with the general expectations society holds about them. The severity of the consequences is more likely with boys, but that does not mean that girls have it easier. Among the consequences that girls face for conforming to the stereotypes, they include depression, child marriage, leaving school early for personal reasons, and getting exposed to violence and engaging in some themselves. Meanwhile, for boys, they are more likely to engage in physical violence than girls, they die more frequently from unintentional injuries (i.e., drug overdose), they are more prone to substance abuse and suicide, and they have a shorter life expectancy (Dastagir, 2017). Knowing that children go to extreme measures with the stereotypes is scary because there is no need for them to do so, especially since the content they take in is inaccurate, almost 100 percent of the time. Children need to get reminded that what they see in adult programming regarding gender should not reflect the way they are supposed to dress and act. If the situation ever gets too dire, their parents should remind them to challenge the stereotypes, so they can have less of a distortion than they initially did, and they can return to the same mindset they had about gender when they learned when they were younger.
Self-objectification Theory
When teenagers get caught up in stereotypes about gender, many of them, especially girls, start to view themselves as inanimate objects rather than intellectual human beings. That philosophy is known as self-objectification theory, a significant consequence of relying too much on gender stereotypes. Teens who believe in that theory take drastic measures to make their exterior appearance to be as sexualized as possible. According to Rachel Calogero, adolescent girls between the ages of 11 and 13 experience the most third-person perspective taking on their bodies than boys of the same age group. Since girls and women are the most likely to face self-objectification, we think that boys and men are immune to the theory, but that is not true. Although not in large amounts, men do experience moments of self-objectification, and have similar thoughts to women about how they should appear to please others. Consistent with objectification theory, gay men experience higher self-objectification than heterosexual men, where they strive to maintain a satisfying and pleasing appearance to men. Heterosexual men, generally speaking, do not feel sexually objectified by other men. When men feel sexually objectified by women, they do not respond as negatively (Calogero, 2012).
The big issue with self-objectification is when kids feel others do not appreciate their stellar looks, the missing gratification takes a massive hit on their self-esteem and they begin to view themselves more negatively. For instance, self-objectification increases the opportunity for negative emotions such as shame and anxiety and contributes to a variety of mental and physical problems, such as eating disorders, sexual dysfunction and depression (Ter Bogt, Engels, Bogers and Kloosterman, 2010). The high exposure of seeing female characters get over-sexualized to please a man is the ideology that girls feel they must pursue to get the same result. They see those characters with thin bodies, huge rumps, sexualized outfits (i.e., dresses, skirts) and excessive makeup. Girls overlook the more simple approach as to be themselves and they think that if they have none of those attributes, they start to question their existence. No teenager should succumb to self-objectification if they do not possess any of those qualities, because there is no point for them to doubt themselves if they do not feel that they are beautiful enough. All girls and women (boys and men, too) are already beautiful inside and outside, and the more reassurance and self-confidence they have, the more positive they will view their lives.
Self-objectification in the Digital Age
Our world is more digital than ever in 2019, so it is impossible to find a platform where there are no objectified images and narratives. Self-objectification exists everywhere, including primetime television programs, sports programs, television commercials, cartoons and animation, the Internet, music videos and lyrics, video games, magazines and newspapers, cell phone applications, and billboards (Calogero, 2012). You cannot go anywhere without seeing over-sexualized depictions of women, and in some cases, men, as well. The high production of negative gender stereotypes causes the number of girls that fall victim to self-objectification to skyrocket. The following video looks at how we can understand how self-objectification plays a major role in the digital age, as well as how women can have a more positive outlook on their lives and themselves.
The ways girls can come across the negative stereotypes and objectification narratives are so astounding. No matter which medium they use, everything will be right there waiting for them. If they fall down the objectification path, they will not be unnaturally living their lives. They might have a decent group of friends and can keep their external looks in check, but they will see themselves as inanimate objects to the pleasure of others, and going that route will cause nothing but hardships. For instance, they are likely to compete with their peers for gratification on social media, as well as showing off their appearance to others to try to win friends over, especially boys. When they do not get what they hope for, some girls develop severe mental and physical health effects, such as depression and anorexia, and make their exterior appearance so severe. In extreme cases, they tend to view themselves as the opposite of their condition, such as a dangerously-thin girl seeing themselves as overweight. Media producers and writers need to see that the stereotypes they use for their programs cause significant implications on the self-esteem and physical appearance of teenagers. Although the teen is somewhat responsible for having such beliefs and doing any internal or external damage, the producers and writers should also be held accountable for causing the mess in the first place. They need to take into consideration that the stereotypes they present can lead to dire circumstances (i.e., objectification) if girls view them the wrong way since they offer the program in a way that gets based on their thoughts of what it means to be successful. Most of the time, the ways the male writers and producers see success for a woman is a slightly-underweight body, with huge breasts and a large rump, way far off course for how a woman should be successful. Too much focus on the success of a woman gets based on appearance, where it should be more about their intellectualism and contribution to the many positions our society has for them. Giving women good looks with a non-sexualized body is fine, but what matters most is giving them intelligent capabilities and occupations in male-dominated occupations will show teenagers how successful they can be without making them subject to objectification.
Sources Used:
Attanasio, J. P. (2015, December 27). Self-Objectification (Part 2). Retrieved November 12, 2019, from http://joepattanasio.blogspot.com/2015/12/self-objectification-part-2.html.
Calogero, R. M. (2012). Objectification Theory, Self-Objectification, and Body Image. Retrieved November 5, 2019, from Objectification Theory, Self-Objectification, and Body Image.
Dastagir, A. E. (2017, September 22). Gender Stereotypes are Destroying Girls, and They're Killing Boys. Retrieved November 5, 2019, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/09/21/gender-stereotypes-destroying-girls-and-theyre-killing-boys/688317001/.
Feeding & Eating Disorders ( USMLE Step 2 CK Psychiatry) Flashcards. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2019, from https://www.memorangapp.com/flashcards/61025/Feeding & Eating Disorders/.
He, H. (2016, April 8). Understanding Self Objectification in the Digital Era. Retrieved November 5, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NH0tMnxBQI.
Paul, K. (2017, September 20). Rigid gender stereotypes tied to increased depression, violence and suicide in children. Retrieved November 12, 2019, from https://www.marketwatch.com/story/rigid-gender-stereotypes-tied-to-increased-depression-violence-and-suicide-in-children-2017-09-20.
Salemme, D. (2017, April 5). Women Actually Like To Be Seen As Sex Objects, According To Science. Retrieved November 12, 2019, from https://www.rebelcircus.com/blog/women-actually-like-seen-sex-objects-according-science/.
Selfies and Self-Objectification: A Not-So-Pretty Picture. (2014, March 13). Retrieved November 12, 2019, from https://beautyredefined.org/selfies-and-objectification/.
Ter Bogt, T., Engels, R., Bogers, S. & Kloosterman, M. (2010). “Shake It Baby, Shake It”:
Media Preferences, Sexual Attitudes and Gender Stereotypes Among Adolescents. Sex Roles, 63(11-12), 844–859. doi: 10.1007/s11199-010-9815-1.
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