Gender Roles at a young age

             

            Children at a young age already develop a notion of what is normal and expected in society. The family and the home enforce gender roles many would argue. George Chauncey argues that in the 1950’s, the mothers were being blamed for their child’s deviance, (Chauncey, 172).  The creation of the “sex criminal” enforced norms with in society that made mothers take a closer look at their children and surveillance their actions. Due to the media there was a great amount of fear of the “Sex Criminal”. Chauncey argues that because most states were feeding in to the notion/image of the “sex criminal”, everything that was not part of the norm or a threat to the norm was considered a “sex criminal”.  The video above is an example of how children are taught at a young age to conform to the normality of society. At that young age these children know what is gender specific and the worst part is these children are already brain washed to believe that women are the caregivers and stay home and men work. On page 177 Chauncey discusses at a young age children were being looked at to see if they were going to be abnormal and in need of help. He gives the example that if boys did not play sports and girls did that they were questioned and treated as if they were psychotic, (Chauncey, 177).  This here reinforces the ideology that all children are taught at a young age that certain activities are for boys and certain activities are for girls. Back then they were viewed as abnormal and punished but in modern day it is more excepted, however many times children are teased.  I believe that we need to start breaking the notions about gender at a very young age. It is hard as we live in a society, which is fueled by patriotism. Families need to stop reinforcing gender norms in the households, as it might be to late to change the children’s views when they start school.