# 7

So going off of my last post, something to think about is how Gender Developments and Gender Roles all start.  The whole not knowing which gender baby Storm was, was a direct result of the parents decision.  This new article I found, Why are Parents So Important in the Gender Socialization Process, talks about how big of a role parents play in the child development process.  Although in the future it is said that the media can overpower the parent's influence, it is the parents the child is first exposed to.  The parents are in charge of teaching the child manners, buying the child cloths/toys and later on letting the child participate in a certain activity.  Which type of clothing do I buy for my child?  Do I tell my daughter that she can't play on the football team because it's better for her to try ballet?  Do I let my son have a tea party?

Society and the social norms of a society are the second factor that influence children.  For a long time the social norm for distinguishing a boy from a girl was a color. The expected color for a girl was pink and the color for a boy was blue.  So today if you saw a baby wearing a pink outfit, you are automatically going to assume that the baby is a girl.  In class we discussed the idea behind Deviance.  Deviance is violating a social norm.  In this case an example would be boys wearing dresses.  Also in class we discussed that without norms, we would experience Social Chaos.  Yet would it really be chaotic if girls wore the color blue.