Proposal Paper #2

Title: Parental Influences on Gender Roles

Audience: Expecting Parents
Topic: The impact of parental role influences on developing children and why an androgynous gender role orientation may be better for children to grow up with then traditional family gender roles.

Exigence: Our society is full of gender biases and stereotypes which start at childhood and are learned from parents.
Purpose: The purpose is to show parents the benefits of their children growing up in equalitarian families and/or androgynous gender role orientations.
Claim: Young girls who grow up in equalitarian families or androgynous gender role orientations that do not adhere to traditional gender roles have higher self-esteem, stronger achievements in math and science, will have more flexibility in dating and love relationships, and have less signs of depression. If we can eliminate gender stereotypes and biases at a young age it may help develop a stronger sense of self in children and discourage the negative effects of gender stereotypes that they will run into in their future.

Quotes/Research:

According to Purdue University’s Tips for Healthy Gender Development, “Giving boys and girls the chance to watch women and men do different jobs” will help promote healthy gender role development. In equalitarian family kids will see their mother and father both go to work, clean the house, and help them with school work. This gives them the opportunity to see that either gender is capable of all jobs.

Parents shouldn’t expect all boys or all girls to like the same things, its very important that you let your children explore who they are and what they like without telling them or giving them toys that they are suppose to enjoy based on their gender. Parents who have an equalitarian attitude regarding gender roles are more likely to foster that attitude in their children. Androgynous individuals have been found to have higher self esteem and higher levels of identity achievements (Orlofsky 570).

In the article, “Gender Roles in Marriage: What do they mean for girls’ and boys’ school achievements” they discuss how growing up within traditional feminine drastically affect young girls performances in math and science, were as girls who have a more masculine social roll may achieve higher scores and be more interested in math and science. This more masculine roll in young girls comes from the idea that their father was around in day to day activities to instill those masculine qualities, and that they were encouraged to achieve results in more masculine studies (such as math and science) not only typically female gender studies.