Gender Roles and Sexual Orientation -- Teaching Children

   Our gender identity begins to form from the moment we are born.  Studies have shown children as young as 18 months exhibiting gender differentiated play (Caldera et al, as cited in Golberg, kashy, & Smith, 2012).  One of the reasons is because parents interact with their children differently whether they are a boy or a girl.  According to one study, mothers speak more and interact more with their daughters than with their sons.  Sons are also given more instruction than daughters (Blakemore & Centers, as cited in Lauer, 2012).

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  Interaction between parents and children is not the only impact that parents have on children's development of gender identity.  Research by Bandura has found that children model behavior exhibited by their parents.  Goldberg, Kashy, and Smith (2012) make the argument that -- based on the theory of social learning -- children learn gender roles by watching their parents interact with each other and with their environment.  Results of their study supported their theory.  Boys of lesbian mothers were less likely to engage in masculine play.  Overall children of homosexual parents were much less differentiated in their play than children of heterosexual couples (Goldberg, Kashy, & Smith, 2012).

   Parents are not the only influences, however.  If I were to base my theory of gender roles on what my parents did alone then I would think it highly strange that women participate frequently in the work force and that men stay home with children.  Society also plays a role in social learning.  Yet the importance of interaction between parents and children cannot be overstated.  In several recent studies it has been found that individuals who have homosexual or bisexual orientation are at greater risk of developing psychiatric disorders such as depression or anxiety (Zietsch et al., 2011).  Therefore, it is important that a home has a mother and a father who model gender roles for their children.  This helps to not only communicates to the child the differences between genders, but it helps the child to establish their own gender identity.

References

Goldberg, A. E., Kashy, D. A., Smith, J. Z. (2012). Gender-typed play behavior in early childhood: Adopted children with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents. Sex Roles, 67(9-10). 503-515.

Lauer, R. H., Lauer, J. C. (2012). Marriage and Family; New York, NY: McGraw-Hill

Zietsch, B. P., Verweij, K. J., Bailey, J. M., Wright, M. J., Martin, N. G. (2011). Sexual orientation and psychiatric vulnerability: A twin study of neuroticism and psychoticism. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40(1). 133-42.