Gender Stereotypes in Young Children

Gender Stereotypes in Young Children à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Sugar and Spice and everything nice, thats what little girls are made of. Society today has made a clear cut line about what is appropriate for a little boy and what is appropriate for a little girl. Society has made that distinction through gender stereotyping. If you walk into a preschool class room today, little girls will be playing dress-up with fairy and princess costumes while the boys will be tackling each other or playing with dump trucks. Even though many people believe that gender is not learned, but instinctual instead, there may be outside influences on gender roles that children fall victim to, for example parents influence gender roles by the language they use and media and toys reinforce gender stereotypes in children by character portrayal and advertisements. There are many different parenting styles that are seen today. Psychologist Diana Baumrind discovered four basic styles of parenting; authoritarian, permissive-indifferent, permissive-indulgent, and authoritative (Morris, 310). Regardless of the parenting style that one family opts for, there seems to be a common thread; the majority of parents will dress little boys in blue and little girls in pink. The thought process behind this is so that their gender can be identified properly by an outside source. No parent wants to be walking through a store with their little boy and have a stranger ask, How old is she? Interestingly enough however, according to the article Whats Wrong with Cinderella? author Peggy Orenstein points out when colors were first introduced to the nursery in the early part of the twentieth century, pink was considered the more masculine hue, a pastel version of red. Blue, with its intimations of the Virgin Mary, constancy and faithfulness, was thought to be dainty. Somewhere along the line, the reverse was thought true; pink was more feminine and blue was more masculine, and is so enforced by todays standards. Another example of how strongly parents influence gender was learned when an experiment was performed at Harvard University. Male babies were dressed in pink outfits and were then given to adults to handle under the impression that they were girls. The language used with the boy babies dressed in pink fell into the female stereotype, while the girl babies dressed in blue fell into the male stereotype, being called handsome and tough (Pruett). Language is a big influence on gender interpretation. Often we tell boys not to cry and explain things with different tones for boys versus girls. If a little girl hits a friend, parents/caregivers might use a gentler phrase like, gentle hands on your friends please. If a little boy hits a friend, parents/caregivers might just shrug the action off as Boys will be boys as the common saying goes or raise their voices to get the point across more strongly, We DO NOT hit our friends! Even the compliments that adults bestow upon children can be gender stereotyping. When you tell a little a girl how pretty she looks in her dress is an illustration of that. Parents lead by example. Their children learn behavior from what they see their parents doing, even if unintentional. If a child sees their mother as the one who always does the laundry and cooks the meals and the father as the one who always takes the trash out, then chances are that the child will follow the same roles when as they grow up. Media also plays a large part in where children learn about what their gender role is. Disney movies are a prime example of this. In these movies, the leading female character, usually a princess, is sweet, romantic, daydreams about Prince Charming, and almost always wears a dress in a pastel color. On the other hand, the same Disney movie can represent the male population watching with a prince, who is usually strong, willing to fight, and always gets the girl at the end. These characters often lead to a misconception of what is feminine and what is masculine. On the spectrum of gender identity, Disney may represent the extremes of what the appropriate gender role is. Advertisements are often seen using gender as a marketing strategy for toys or games. If you look at a commercial for Tonka Trucks, there wont be a little girl to be seen in these ads. However, if you see a commercial for Easy-Bake oven, the opposite will be true. There will be no boys in those commercials. Seeing these on television demonstrates to children what should be an appropriate toy for a little boy and what should be appropriate for a little girl. Even the behaviors of children portrayed in television advertisements are stereotypic. Boys are often seen as active and domineering while the girls are portrayed as shy or overly silly. These advertisements usually lead to the purchase of the toys shown for the sex it was targeted to. Parents often wonder if you give a baby doll to a little boy or a dump truck to a little girl, will they be gender confused. Even the most new-age parents might find it bizarre to see their little boys walking around preschool with a purse and in dress shoes. Boys have a harder time crossing the gender line, whereas some parents of females might think that its alright for their daughters to play with dump trucks or Legos. This does not mean that the son will be more feminine and the daughter will be a tom-boy, but a majority of parents do not want to risk that. Not everyone believes, however, that gender is strictly a learned behavior. In 2009, Texas AM University used eye tracking software to measure infants interest in either male or female toys (Shaffer). According to an article published in 2010, the author M. Fox, found the results to be extremely informative: Hormone levels in the saliva, as well as finger dimensions that indicate prenatal testosterone exposure were measured to see if these things could explain why the infants visually preferred certain toys over others. The results revealed that while the girls preferences werent affected by hormone levels at all, the boys preferences were affected by both current and prenatal hormone levels. It appears that the higher the presence of testosterone at the time of the test, the greater the preference for groups of figures over individual figures, and those who indicated a higher exposure to prenatal testosterone had a stronger preference for the ball over the doll. This means that the boys showed an optical penchant for gender specific toys. In an article in New Scientist, Linda Geddes states that research has been done to show that the introduction of changing levels of testosterone and estrogen while babies are in utero may also have some sway in which toys boys and girls pick. There are other theorists that believe that there is a cognitive connection to gender development. Carol Lynn Martin and Diane Ruble are two such theorists. They discuss Kohlbergs theory of gender development is and what the impact is of knowing your gender does not change. This is an important fact for children to learn, generally setting the concepts of what is correct behavior for your gender type. Martin and Ruble think that there are important cognitive themes for gender development, rather than the influence of a specific outside source. The first important theme discussed is The Emergence of Gender Identity and Its Consequences. In this stage, it is allegedly general knowledge that children understand that there are two different types of genders, and they have the realization that they fall into one of those two categorizing sexes. This first theme is then broken down into two sub-categories, Evaluative Consequences and Motivational and Informational Consequences. The former meaning that the child understands and identifies one group as their own and sees this group as a positive. The latter sub-category means that one the child picks a gender to identify with and while the want to understand the opposite sex dwindles, the individual seems only interested it their own gender identity. The second theme that is thought to be a cognitive gender identity link is Active, Self-Initiated View of Gender Development and the final theme is Developmental Patterns. In these two themes, the thought is that the main focus is learning about the social gender group that they most identify with, and forming and developing the characteristics that are most familiar with the identified gender. While exploring the cognitive connection to gender, many place a strong association to motivational significances and developmental configurations of the gender identity theory. Even though many theorists believe that gender is not a learned behavior, but you are born knowing the difference between appropriate male behaviors and toys and appropriate female behaviors and toys, others disagree. Those people state that there are many possible outside influences on children when they are learning their gender roles in society. Some also believe that being aware of specific gender stereotypes has a connection to how one behaves. The media and toys that children do see and use play an intricate part in the concept of gender roles and parents influence gender identity by using specific language and actions. Whether or not gender is identity is solely obtained by influence or is pre-determined by some cognitive connection, it is an intriguing issue. Should boys and girls be able to make the choice of the toy that they want to play with or what their favorite color is going to be regardless of what society claims is normal? With the role that parents or caregivers pl ay in gender role identification, they should learn different methods for breaking stereotypes. Adults could make sure that they use the same language for both sexes or become involved in activities such as cuddling with boys or wrestling with girls. Connecting children of both sexes in such a manner is a good way to encourage the cycles of gender stereotyping to end.

Reviewing Films Depicting Supremacy of Artificial Intelligence Essay

There is without a shadow of a doubt that we are now living in a time when there is almost nothing we cannot accomplish. The outbreak of high technology all around the world is soaring, and day by day, improvements on what is already highly intelligent devices are being developed. From computers, to cellular phones, to MP3 players, everything has been made accesible to man. Because of this technology, man can bask in his creations and marvel at the genius that he has invented through the years. Half a decade ago, today’s technology wouldn’t have even been deemed as possible. Yesteryear’s most advanced technological developers probably wouldn’t have even dreamed of the possibilities of what we now have today. But such is the development of the human mind: our intelligence is further developing and increasing, being able to establish new concepts and ideas to be used for our own benefits. Indeed, with this highly advanced technology, we are further establishing ourselves as the dominant species of the planet. For us, we are in charge of our own destinies, and no species of another kind can tell us otherwise. But one is lead to ponder about the marvels of our own creations. What if the articifial intelligence we created were able to evolve themselves? What if these computers suddenly became self-aware, and starts acknowledging its own existence? It is true that we are the one who controls the technology, but what if the technology were able to control itself? If it became self-aware, what if, all of a sudden, it starts to refuse to follow its human creators? And if not the computers themselves, what if one person controlling these technologies started using them for their own ulterior motives? With our main defenses relying on technological advances, what if these advances were suddenly used against us? Would the humans still be able to lay its claim as the rulers of the earth when a something else establishes themselves as more intelligent and dominant? Such is the fear that some of us have: the fear of having our own technology turned against us. We fear the idea that perhaps someday, these computers that we have in our homes would become intelligent enough to start recognizing its own existence. In the early nineties, technophobia became rampant among the adults, although this fear was largely based on the misconceptions on computers being too overly complicated. Still, for some people, the advancements in technology is reason for them to be cautious about our own inventions. Creating Technopobia in Movies Since early in the 1980s, there have been a string of movies depicting highly advanced technology being used woefully and without any regard towards others. These movies often show state-of-the-art gadgets or creations, which are used against the protagonists to further cause ruin and devastation. Oftentimes these gadgets are used for the wrong reasons, and with its infinite possibilities, it creates the fear that maybe what we have created may not be totally beneficial to us, and could possibly create more harm than help in the long run. Perhaps the most popular among the movies that came out during the eighties that depicted this theme was the 1984 movie Terminator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a human cyborg sent back in time. In the future, Skynet, a computer system fights a losing war against the humans who built it, and who it nearly exterminated. Just before being destroyed, Skynet sends a Terminator back in time to kill Sarah, the mother to be of John Connor, the Leader of the human resistance. The terminator can pass for human, is nearly indestructible, and has only one mission: killing Sarah Connor. One soldier is sent back to protect her from the killing machine. He must find Sarah before the Terminator can carry out it’s mission (MGM. com). This movie portrays Skynet as a super computer, one that is capable to making decisions for itself. The super computer becomes self-aware, and recognizes the human race as a threat to its existence. It therefore wages a war against all of mankind, which almost led to the anniliation of the entire planet. In 1998, the movie ‘Enemy of the State’ provided a different insight on abusing highly advanced technology. Robert Dean, the main character of the story, is just a successful and gutsy labor lawyer when he runs into an old college friend who was a big hurry. Unknown to him, that friend secretly drops a disc and viewer containing footage of a political assassination overseen by the senior advisor to the National Security Agency. Unfortunately, that politician soon learns what Dean has in his possession and secretly uses the vast resources of the NSA to find, investigate and stop him before he goes public. Soon, Dean finds himself on the run, with his assests frozen, his loved ones watched and actively hunted by NSA agents using all the survellience technology they have available. Not knowing what is going, Dean must stay one step ahead while trying to figure out the cause of this mess (Yahoo! Movies). This movie dwells on the idea of government surveillance and the invasion of our personal privacy by the government. We see from the movie that these technological advances could be easily used against us, and just as it could make our lives easier, it could also make it extremely difficult. We also find that if technology were to be used the wrong way, then those in power could have a commanding control over our very lives. Another movie that depicted computers going against humans was the highly acclaimed ‘The Matrix’. Thomas A. Anderson is a man living two lives: by day he is an average computer programmer and by night a malevolent hacker known as Neo. Neo has always questioned his reality but the truth is far beyond his imagination. Neo finds himself targeted by the police when he is contacted by Morpheus, a legendary computer hacker branded a terrorist by the government. Morpheus awakens Neo to the real world, a ravaged wasteland where most of humanity have been captured by a race of machines which live off of their body heat and imprison their minds within an artificial reality known as the Matrix. As a rebel against the machines, Neo must return to the Matrix and confront the agents, super powerful computer programs devoted to snuffing out Neo and the entire human rebellion (Whatisthematrix. com). The movie is almost identical to the concept of the Terminator, in which there is a computer mind that becomes self-aware of its own existence. Knowing that it has the power of technology, it sees the human race as disposable, and decides to take over and control the entire world. When Neo met Morpheus, he was awakened to the fact that they were being used by the computer systems as mere batteries to continue sustaining their own power. And it was up to them to reawaken the rest of the world from this nightmare that is the Matrix. The Fear of Control What these three films had in common was theme of technology taking over the human lives. The films shared similar highly advanced technology that in one way was very helpful, but at the other end caused problems that were catastrophic. This is what we are afraid of; that maybe perhaps at some point, our own creations would backfire on us and cause a lot of harm towards society, and it would perhaps be unstoppable when it happens. Perhaps what motivates the persistence of these kinds of themes is the fact that we all know that this fantasy that they try to present could and might become possible in the future. Fifty or so years ago, our technology today wasn’t even thought of as possible. A lot of things are being developed today that our predescessors couldn’t have possibly dreamed of back in the day. Nowadays, the sky is the limit. The human race is making every dream come to life, developing newer and better technology every single day. So deep inside, we know that this threat of computers taking over is not a long shot. We see that perhaps someday, artificial intelligence would become this advanced as to be self-aware. And if this happens, what’s gonna stop them from taking over the world and eliminating the human race? In terms of humans going against fellow humans using technology, we ourselves could be comparable to this technology. Donna Haraway mentions how we are like the cyborgs, which are both part machine and part organism. She further states: In short, we are cyborgs. The cyborg is our ontology; it gives us our politics. The cyborg is a condensed image of both imagination and material reality, the two joined centres structuring any possibility of historical transformation. In the traditions of â€Å"Western† science and politics—the tradition of racist, male- dominant capitalism; the tradition of progress; the tradition of the appropriation of nature as resource for the productions of culture; the tradition of reproduction of the self from the reflections of the other—the relation between organism and machine has been a border war (Harraway, 516). With the peer-to-perr capabilities of networked computer communication today, it is likely to have a major impact on both the film and music business. Depending on how this technology is used, it could have either a postive or negative effect on these industries. Everything could be made easier with technology, films and music could be produced with relative ease, and everything to be made more accesible. On the other hand, changing the sytems could mean doing things a lot different, which could cause a chain reaction among those who are involved. Business could be done more efficiently, but it could leave people out of jobs. Human work might be replaced by much more efficient computers doing their jobs, and that could have an effect on the economy of the country. Looking back, technology has certainly come along way since back in the old days, when all of this conveniences didn’t exist. It is easy to picture people being intimidated by these advancements, due to its infinite potential. Depending on how it is used, it could be very good for all of us, or it could be catastrophic to all. Only time will tell whether these technological improvements would come back to haunt us in the long run. Works Cited Enemy of the State. Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 3 June 2008 from http://movies. yahoo. com/shop? d=hv&cf=info&id=1800021531 Haraway, Donna. â€Å"A Cyborg Manifesto. † The New Media Reader (1985). pp. 515-541. The Matrix Trilogy. Whatisthematrix. com. Retrieved 3 June 2008 from http://whatisthematrix. warnerbros. com/ The Terminator. MGM. com. Retrieved 3 June 2008 from http://www. mgm. com/title_title. php? title_star=TERMINAT

Visiting a Champagne Cellar in Reims

Champagne cellars are one of the major attractions in the gorgeous city of Reims (pronounced R in(nasal) sss). Follow along on this journey to a wine cellar in this easy bilingual story designed to help you  learn French in context. Visiting A Champagne Cellar Si vous à ªtes à   Reims, il faut absolument que vous visitiez les caves d’une des nombreuses maisons de champagne de la rà ©gion.  Les sià ¨ges d’un grand nombre de maisons de champagne sont  situà ©s à   Reims, et beaucoup proposent des dà ©gustations. Pendant un aprà ¨s-midi, nous avons visità © les caves de la compagnie G. H. Martel Cie, qui sont situà ©es à   1,5 km au sud-est de la cathà ©drale, une promenade agrà ©able à   pied. Un des employà ©s, un homme plaisant qui s’appelle Emmanuel, nous a accueillis et il a immà ©diatement dit  : Descendons aux caves  ! If you are in Reims, you absolutely must visit the cellars of one of the numerous champagne houses in the area. The headquarters of a large number of champagne houses are located in Reims, and many offer tastings. During an afternoon, we visited the cellars of G. H. Martel and Co, located 1.5 km southeast of the cathedral, an enjoyable walk. One of the employees, a pleasant man named Emmanuel, welcomed us and immediately said: Let’s go down to the cellars! Nous avons descendu un escalier à ©troit et nous nous sommes retrouvà ©s dans un rà ©seau de caves qui est situà ©s à   environ 20 mà ¨tres sous le sol. Au quatrià ¨me sià ¨cle, les Romains ont creusà © les caves au-dessous de Reims pour obtenir la craie qui à ©tait utilisà ©e pour la construction de leurs bà ¢timents. De nos jours, il y a plus de 250 kms de ces caves, et beaucoup servent à   maintenir le champagne à   tempà ©rature pendant le vieillissement. L’avantage  ? Un environnement dans lequel la tempà ©rature et l’humidità © sont bien contrà ´là ©es. We descended a narrow stairway and found ourselves in a network of cellars which are situated about 20 meters below ground. In the fourth century, the Romans dug the cellars below Reims to obtain chalk which was used for the construction of their buildings. These days, there are more than 250 kms of these cellars, and many serve to maintain the champagne at temperature during the aging process. The advantage? An environment in which the temperature and humidity are well controlled. Emmanuel nous a expliquà ©s que la production de champagne est soigneusement rà ©gulà ©e. Si l’on peut lire  «Ã‚  Appellation d’Origine Contrà ´là ©e  Ã‚ » sur à ©tiquette, on sait que le vin a à ©tà © produit selon des rà ¨gles rigoureuses, par exemple la classification du terroir oà ¹ les raisins sont cultivà ©s, le rendement à   la vendange, le rendement au pressurage, le vieillissement, et la quantità © d’alcool, parmi d’autres à ©là ©ments. La culture des raisins doit se faire dans les vignobles de la rà ©gion Champagne-Ardenne, et la production entià ¨re du champagne doit à ©galement y avoir lieu. Emmanuel explained to us that the production of champagne is carefully regulated. If one can read â€Å"Appellation d’Origine Contrà ´là ©e† on the label, you know that the wine has been produced according to strict regulations, for example the classification of the land where the grapes are grown, the yield of the harvest, the yield from the wine pressing, the aging process, and the volume of alcohol, among other components. The growing of the grapes must be done in the vineyards of the Champagne-Ardenne region, and the entire production of the champagne must also take place there. En gà ©nà ©ral, il y a seulement 3 cà ©pages qui sont utilisà ©s dans la production de champagne  : le chardonnay, le pinot noir, et le pinot meunier. Typiquement, un champagne consiste en un mà ©lange de deux ou trois cà ©pages. Et donc, la particularità © du vin, sa saveur, sa couleur et son bouquet, est dà ©terminà ©e, au moins quelque peu, par les compà ©tences et la crà ©atività © du viticulteur pendant le mà ©lange. In general, there are only 3 grape varieties that are used in the production of champagne: chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier. Typically, a champagne consists of a mixture of 2 or 3 grape varieties. And so the defining feature of the wine, its taste, its color, and its bouquet, is determined, at least a little, by the skill and creativity of the wine maker during the mixing. Ce qui donne au champagne son caractà ¨re, c’est les bulles. Selon la mà ©thode champenoise, une double fermentation est utilisà ©e  : la premià ¨re en cuves pour à ©laborer l’alcool, et une deuxià ¨me dans la bouteille elle-mà ªme pour produire la gazà ©ification. What gives champagne its character are the bubbles. According to the mà ©thode champenoise, a double fermentation is used: the first in vats to produce the alcohol, and a second in the bottle itself to produce the gasification. Le biscuit rose de Reims est presque aussi connu que le champagne lui-mà ªme. C’est une tradition en France de tremper ce petit biscuit dans votre flà »te de champagne. Le goà »t là ©gà ¨rement sucrà © du biscuit se combine bien avec le goà »t sec du champagne, et les deux suscitent un dà ©lice inà ©galable  ! The pink biscuits of Reims are nearly as well known as the champagne itself. It is a tradition in France to dip the small biscuit in your flute of champagne. The light, sweet taste of the biscuit combines well with the dry taste of the champagne, and the two provoke an unsurpassable delight!

The Significance of Kokoda - 1187 Words

The significance of Kokoda for Australian’s can be seen in many different ways. In a strategic sense and also in a symbolic sense. Firstly, the Kokoda Campaign saved Australia from possible invasion, or more precisely from being isolated from the United States of America . Secondly, Kokoda was the battle that lead to victory in the Second World War, as well as to improvement of Australia’s post-war practices and military operations. Symbolically, the Kokoda Track will be remembered when Australia’s think of the Second World War, just like when you think of the First World War, the landing at Gallipoli looms large, both have captured the Australian imagination. Each year five thousand Australians take up the mentally and physically†¦show more content†¦As the Kokoda fighting began in July 1942 , the scheme of both sides was in transition. The Japanese felt it was time to defend their gains, and halt the fighting and advancing. But the Allies were thinki ng differently. Having massive amount troops, ships, aircraft and supplies in New Zealand and Australia, they made the decision to launch a counterattack to defend and retake some of the islands that were occupied by the Japanese. Papua had no particular resource that they desired, but it was a useful link in the chain of defences of the newly conquered area of Japan. So because Japan was quickly gaining new lands closer to Australia, posing a threat to Australia’s safety, the battle of Kokoda was the most important Australian-fought victory, in terms of winning the war. The campaign helped to shape Australia’s post-war training practices and military operations. Although it was not they first victory against Japan, it allowed the allies to make thrust forward through ‘island hopping’ and ultimately win the war. Kokoda was the battle that ended Japan’s dominance and permitted the Allies to go on the offence. Australia greatly learned from their Koko da experience, and subsequently improved their strategic thinking. They learned to not purely rely on naval defences, and realised that they cannot just let other countries dot the fighting. â€Å"†¦the modern Australian professional army wasShow MoreRelatedAustralia s Involvement For The Australian War1353 Words   |  6 PagesJanuary 1943, the events of the Kokoda Trail Campaign and the Battle of the Beachheads took place on what was once the Australian territories of Papua and New Guinea. Good morning, I am Lee Varnes, and I am representing the Australian War Memorial to inform you of the significance of Australia’s involvement in the Papua Campaign. I will be discussing the reasons behind Japan’s invasion of Papua, the course of the campaign, the outcome of the campaign and the significance it had on the Australian peopleRead MoreThe Battle Of The World War1455 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferent conflicts that it’s almost impossible to point to a single battle as a turning point† During the war some turning points for the Allies were; The Fall of Singapore, The Bombing of Darwin, The Battle of the Coral Sea, The Battle of Midway and The Kokoda Campaign. The United States Forces also played a big role in the war in The Pacific Theatre and the turning points for The Australian Forces. The Japanese Bombing of Pearl Harbour on 7th December 1941 was the starting point of the war in The PacificRead MoreAustralian History Essay - Contributions in World War 21753 Words   |  8 Pagesundeniably came in the campaign in Papua New Guinea, in the Pacific Theatre of War. This was fought against the feared Japanese forces, and it was there that the Japanese sustained their first land defeat, and according to Paul Ham, who wrote the book Kokoda (2004) it was â€Å"the start of the great roll-back of the Japanese troops†. The Australian troops, with very little aid from any other country, managed to stop the Japanese advance across islands in South East Asia. In doing this they were able to playRead MoreModern History.Hsc.2012 Essay25799 Words   |  104 Pagesfelt like istory had turned a corner and never going back * stock market * black Thursday November 24 1929 * the jazz age * a speakeasyyyyyyy How significant were the Republican policies in causing the great depression? The significance of the republic policies were great, they brought a lot of growth in the 20’s allowing the market to strive over lots of trading and the purchase of shares, but was also an unstable market, as the government had no control over what it did and