Gender Roles

Yesterday we went to Liam’s introduction to preschool (they called it a “Welcoming Tea” but that was a bit of a misnomer…certainly welcoming, but not at all “tea-like”).  His classroom is home to two different classes (one on Tuesdays and Thursdays and one Monday-Wednesday-Friday) so there were twice the number of children (plus their parents) as there will normally be and the result was an absolute zoo.  Liam didn’t seem at all phased by everything going on around him and was fascinated by the vast assortment of toys available to him.

The most interesting part of the morning to me (and I’m guessing this is the Sociology degree in me on display) was the distinct division of gender roles among the children in the classroom.  The oldest children were “young 3s” and yet even at such an early age these children had clearly picked up gender messages along the way.  The only children frequenting the dress-up station were girls happily adorned in princess costumes and hats and the boys flocked to the transportation stations full of planes, trains, and automobiles.  I didn’t observe any cues from parents that would have led the children to make any particular choice and yet there was a clear division.

I’ve always been fascinated by the nature vs. nurture argument when it comes to stereotypical gender roles but it’s an impossible thing to completely discern, because no matter what kind of environment is provided by a child’s parents, society inevitably weasels its way into the equation.

It will be really interesting to see what happens as Liam takes part in his first group childcare setting as well as learning to navigate the waters of attempting to raise a well-adjusted girl in our culture.  I hope she likes trains, because we certainly have enough of them in the house already!

I think my favorite part of this observation however, was provided by Liam.  He was carefully inspecting all the large trucks and other transportation equipment when he came across a little princess statue on the rug.  He gleefully picked it up exclaiming “Oh, Mama!  I found a princess!”  He then proceeded to help that princess drive the tar out of a big-rig all the while chattering away about how much fun she was having and what a great job she was doing.

I just hope that we can help him learn that dressing up can be fun, invite the girls in his class to play with him at the transportation stations, and hold on to the idea that princesses can drive big-rigs (and do a great job).