Tolerance.org published this article by Rebecca S. Bigler, Ph.D. The article takes a simple look into school-related gender bias. How many times do you think you've heard phrases like "good morning, boys and girls", "ladies and gentlemen, welcome...", or "boys vs. girls"? Throughout our 15+ years in academia, my guess would be we've all heard such gender labels used in generic fashion like this hundreds, if not thousands of times without giving it much thought. Well what if drawing attention to gender differences like this on a daily basis at an early age perpetuates into stereotyping, stereotype threat, and bias? Recent studies have shown this could be the case.
The article gives a few ideas as to how to correct this problem. Using groups such as boys and girls is a really easy, and natural thing to do, so rather than selecting something like gender teachers could separate the students by what kind of shoes they're wearing (laces, buckles, velcro, etc) or other such things. The article also, however, mentions that gender should not be ignored in any way. It just needs to be approached in a way that would not enter into bias or stereotyping.
My thoughts on this are as follows: I never would have stopped to think that using gender as a constant grouping, and drawing excessive amounts of attention to gender could be a precursor to gender bias. At surface level it seems like one of those "crazy over protective findings that causes more troubles than its worth... just let the kids figure things out". However, it makes me wonder how I might view gender differently if my school-hood would have avoided the gender-typing.
My question for you is... how early is too early to begin mentioning stereotyping and sexism?
http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-28-fall-2005/good-morning-boys-and-girls
The article gives a few ideas as to how to correct this problem. Using groups such as boys and girls is a really easy, and natural thing to do, so rather than selecting something like gender teachers could separate the students by what kind of shoes they're wearing (laces, buckles, velcro, etc) or other such things. The article also, however, mentions that gender should not be ignored in any way. It just needs to be approached in a way that would not enter into bias or stereotyping.
My thoughts on this are as follows: I never would have stopped to think that using gender as a constant grouping, and drawing excessive amounts of attention to gender could be a precursor to gender bias. At surface level it seems like one of those "crazy over protective findings that causes more troubles than its worth... just let the kids figure things out". However, it makes me wonder how I might view gender differently if my school-hood would have avoided the gender-typing.
My question for you is... how early is too early to begin mentioning stereotyping and sexism?
http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-28-fall-2005/good-morning-boys-and-girls
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