An individual’s gender identity is generally developed at a very young age. How a child perceives their gender identity has a significant impact on how they believe they should act. Violence against women is much more likely to occur when boys are taught at a young age that “daddy is the man of the house” and “mommy just does the cooking and cleaning”, because this teaches them that women are inferior and deserving of less respect than men. Boys are taught to be more respectful towards women and flexible in their vision of manhood when male family members offer more positive roles in the lives of the young boys within their families (United Nations Development Fund for Women 2001).
Growing up as a child of two working parents who shared household responsibilities of cooking and cleaning, the idea that women were any lesser—or any different, for that matter—than men never crossed my mind. I loved playing with toy cars just as much as I loved playing with dolls. I enjoyed wearing my hats backwards just as much as I enjoyed wearing my princess dresses. My gender identity has never been forced into a rigid box; I attribute the way I was raised by my parents greatly to the reason why I have never a day in my life felt subordinate to a man. Many young girls and boys, however, are taught that they have to behave a certain way in order to be “feminine” or “masculine” enough. They are taught that a “lady” sits a certain way and a “man” acts a certain way. This pressure to conduct oneself in a certain, specific manner often leads young men to believe that their gender entitles them to a level of respect that women do not deserve and it leads young women to believe that it is acceptable for men to push them around.
It is extremely important for parents to teach their children at a young age that there is no difference between a man and a woman aside from their anatomy. Boys and girls should learn to “honor both the ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ values that are within themselves and society” (United Nations Development Fund for Women 2001). Distorted gender identity is one of the leading causes of violence against women; all it takes to put an end to it is to begin educating our children about gender equity at a young age.
Some remaining questions I myself have are how today’s society can encourage the parents of the near future to put more effort into educating their children on the concept of gender equity and how we can make the first step towards breaking gender roles and stereotypes.
References
United Nations Development Fund for Women. 2001. "Masculinity and Gender Based Violence”: UNIFEM Fact Sheet No. 5. Online. New York: United Nations. http://www.hiproweb.org/fileadmin/cdroms/CD_Genre/...
