Question Part (a) Describe some of the ways in which gender categories can be used      to explain the formation of gender identities in young children OUcourse.htm

  Gender identities in young children are different from the ones we have as adults. This essay sets out to describe the categories that exist and their influence on the formation of gender identities in young children. To clarify, the term sex is used to describe the biological differentiation, gender is more complex taking into account social and cultural factors

Starting at birth the sex of a child is set, a qualified doctor makes a categorization of male or female based on initial appearance and this judgment is irrevocably printed on the birth certificate. Even if genetic evidence of a different sex is found later and regardless if the wishes of the individual, this document cannot be changed. It is a very essentialist view; the child is either one sex or another. No ambiguity, however this is not an exact science and mistake can and have been made.

This starts a process of gender formation in the child. For the first 12-18 months the people around the child do most of the gender formation, the parents act towards the child according to its sex and the stereotypes in place in their environment.

From the decoration of the nursery to the clothes the child is dressed in a certain stereotype is enforced i.e. pink room and frilly dresses for girls and blue and trousers for boys. This stereotyping carries on throughout childhood and its importance is immense.

The ease in which genetic males and females can be raised as the opposite gender suggests that biology has less to do with gender identity than cultural issues. (Gross 1999)

Once a child reaches 2-3 years it starts to categories itself as a boy or a girl but this categorization is not always based on sex the factors of dress and behavior seem to be more important at this age ((Bem 1989) showed that about half of 3-4 year old children were able to differentiate by genitals and then went on to differentiate by clothing and hairstyles. The half that could not was easily fooled by external changes. This implies that the idea of gender at that age is fluid, it can be changed by clothing or hairstyles, children believe that they can be a different gender to their own i.e. boys wanting to be mummy.

Also at play here are stereotypical influences, the clothes and toys a child is given, the behavior that is encouraged or discouraged, the activities shared with others all reinforce the idea of what is a “proper” boy or girl. The ideas start to form of behavior being masculine or feminine and children act accordingly.

After the age of 5 children start to recognize the idea of multiple gender identities, the begin to see that there are more than 1 type of masculine and feminine behavior but they still seem to conform to the stereotypes, i.e. boys will be boys and girls are quieter.

The actions of the same sex role model are also important here, if the male role model is aggressive and domineering then the child will believe that this is “normal” male behavior and act accordingly.

It is here that the concept of them and us begin to emerge, the idea that the other gender is opposite of yours in some cultures that the other gender (usually the female one) is less than the male. And that crossing the boundaries of behavior is unacceptable e.g. boys don’t cry and girls shouldn’t be aggressive.

By the time a child reaches 7-11 the gender identity has diversified to include many ideas of masculinity and femininity. However in role-play exercises done the gender stereotypes are still prevalent (Francis 1997,1998) showed that boys generally took the more domineering roles where as girls tended to the more supportive roles. It is now that children start to notice the other factors in gender identity such as a class and culture. These other factors sometimes outweigh pure gender differentiation.

They also start to maintain their gender identities by choice of clothes, hairstyles and behavior. All the while influenced by the stereotype of what is acceptable gender behavior in their society.

So it seems that gender identity formation in young children is initially structural. Starting with the sex of the child and the stereotypical reactions to that differentiation. It later develops into self-categorization with strong cultural and stereotypical influences.

Question part b) To what extent has changing gender identity affected the performance of girls and boys at school in the contemporary UK?

 There has been much media and social interest in the differences in exam results between boys and girls. There is statistical evidence that girls are now outperforming boys in exams, this is a turnaround from the 1960’s and 70’s when boys constantly out performed girls. Leaving aside the validity of the testing methods, how could the changes in gendered identity have affected this In recent years the workplace has been changing and along with it gendered expectations of what is masculine work and feminine work.

 Whole communities have to re-evaluate their ideas of gendered identity. The old industrialized communities of male breadwinner and female housewife are becoming less common. More women are going to work and this shift has caused a re-evaluation in schools.

As with most identity issues biology plays a part. Boys tend to the scientific and analytical and girls to the literary and expression. This is due to the differing cognitive processes of the sexes and has been shown to play a part in academic interest.

These differences show up in the types of subjects done well in, i.e. English literature places more importance on expression and understanding so girls seem to do better. Science and engineering are more analytical so boys have more interest and understanding. Interest and natural ability are important, as a young person is more likely to choose a subject they understand and enjoy.

Also not to be discounted are the issues of class and race, different cultures place importance on different subjects and class can somewhat limit the options an individual has.

In detail the exam results of boy and girls have shown a marked difference. Overall but especially in the field of English, there are differences in Math’s and Science too but they are not as large. As with most statistics there are problems with this interpretation and the issue of testing is a contested one, however a trend can be seen. How do the changes in gendered identity influence this?

Gender identity has changed markedly in recent years. The changing of the family gives women more opportunities in the workplace so more girls are thinking beyond the home. Good jobs require a good education so girls may be applying themselves more. There is also however continuity, girls still seem to suffer from a certain amount of stereotyping and for most the “glass ceiling” still seems to be in effect. The high status high power jobs are still seen as masculine careers and women relegated to support role. This is even reflected in the types of subjects chosen i.e. English language and literature as opposed to the skills required in the workplace e.g. computing and business studies

The gendered roles have not changed so markedly here, although more girls are being encourages to pursue the “hard” sciences they still remain a male dominated subject (possibly due to the interest and ability issues discussed previously) and boys still think it is feminine to learn to cook.

On the other side the “laddish” culture developing places little importance and in some cases considerable scorn on academic achievement i.e. studying and reading are girly

It shows a change in gender category of masculine too feminine and is not to be encouraged.

The headline from the Guardian newspaper of 6^th Jan 1998 summed this phenomenon well “problems that arise when boys will be lads” 

For boys the loss of most of the industries has led to an uncertainty about the future and a growing disinterest in schooling, why study when there are no jobs, whereas the marketplace for women has opened up.

There is also the problem of knowledge, school knowledge is narrowly defined and is not a reliable indicator of success in the work market. Leaving school with many qualifications does not guarantee a high status, high paid job. The recent trend of work-based experience goes some way to help this, and even here there are gender differences. How many boys would choose to be an administrative assistant? That would be seen as non-masculine. Conversely more girls are being encouraged into the typically male sectors although this could be a deliberate reverse stereotype.

In summary, the changing patterns in academic achievement are closely linked to the changing gendered identities of both individuals and society as a whole. In fact it has been suggested that the change in academic results is more an indicator of this than actual ability or intelligence ((Murphy and Elwood 1998) and that the study of statistics can give an insight into the society we live in.