I am racking my brains here, and coming up with NOTHNG...

[Oakmaiden]

Please help me...

I am writing a dissertation on stereotyping in KS2 children, and have ground to a complete halt.

I am TRYING to think of ways to show that gender stereotyping is pervasive throughout our entire culture - but without mentioning specific things like the media, books, TV programming, advertising etc (they will come later).

All I can come up with so far is that the baby changing units is generally in the women's toilet room.

There must be more examples of mundane things that people hardly notice but which underline the gender roles in society???

That in the week most of the people in the shops are women - their place in society is to be the people who go part-time after children, who stop working, who do the food shopping and the clothes shopping and keep things running at home
School run time it's majority women
Out late at night you are far more likely to see a man walking home by himself than a woman

Think I will go for the clothing example - thank you! And maybe birthday cards...

The other stuff is all great too - I am finding it all really interesting - but it is for a later section :)

How about sport in schools? I notice my daughter's class almost exclusively play football for PE. There's little or no emphasis on games that are traditionally or exclusively played by girls. No netball for example. Is the suggestion that boys won't play a girl's game but it's OK for girls to play a 'boys' game? Given the professional game is exclusively male, what message does that send to girls?

What about school uniforms? How practical is a skirt or dress when it comes to play or even sitting on the carpet? How does this restrict what girls do? Why do schools persist in expecting girls to wear restricting dress?

How about inside the school. Why are the low paid jobs held by females and the high paid jobs held by men? Show me a male dinner lady or crossing supervisor. Why are the majority of primary headteachers male even though primary teaching is predominantly a female profession? Does the number of male teachers increase the higher up the school you go? And why is it that you are far more liable to see a male teaching year 6 than reception?

Clothing is a good one in both directions, actually.

DS has a love of charity shops. He'll come home proudly with something v cheap a hat, a watch, or a t-shirt and then fret hugely that maybe he's accidentally bought a 'girl's one' and will be teased for it. Generally he thinks it's a 'girl's one' if it's lighter, daintier, paler or more decorative than a 'boy's one' (or doesn't have, say, skulls and skateboards on it to make it obvious).

There's one girl at DD's school who always wears boys' clothing. Now, given that they are all in sweatshirts and black trousers, you wouldn't think this would be obvious, but it is. Her trousers are loose-fitting, with pockets and a belt; the 'girls' ones' aren't. Her shoes are sturdy, with thick soles and trainer styling; the other girls have t-bars (and can't run as fast). Even her coat looks warmer and more practical.

The odd thing is that I only started to notice these things because, on a girl, you expect them less (and I have kids of both sexes and hand down clothes willynilly).

How about children's books? i can't find the interview, but I think JK Rowling admitted she'd made her main character a boy because girls and boys will read about boys, but many boys won't read about girls.

Toddler groups - there are many "Mum and Toddler" groups, working on the principle that while Mums might work, Dads won't be primary carers.

Heard this about shoes before, girls shoes less hard wearing so guess what they will be discouraged from climbing and scooting
Playgrounds are very mixed, while the areas for older kids. ( skate parks, football pitches, basketball courts ) seem very very male

The jobs that our children see us doing and the jobs that we as adults encourage them do. Our expectations for them are reflected in the behaviour we reward. A little girl picks up a remote control, she's just changing the channel. A little boy picks it up, and oh look, he's gonna be an engineer.

We were in a shop a while ago. I was trying on a top and asked DS what he thought. He said he didn't like it. The shop assistant said jovially "what does he know, he's just a boy". The look DS gave her! I was so proud of him. Obviously she was just joking but it all goes in, this idea that boys shouldn't care about certain things. Luckily have trained DS in the art of stereotype spotting.

I think the fact that it's so hard to pinpoint is because it's so deeply woven into everyday life. Each individual case seems tiny and trivial but add it all up and it gives a distinct picture.

Good luck with your project.

Sorry, i see you DIDN'T want books, and you're looking at 7-11 year olds. I think the clothing still applies.

How about how boys are the default, girls should aspire to be like boys. Girls can wear boys clothes, play with boys toys etc but not so much the other way.

Standards of behaviour, boys held to a lesser standard of behaviour than girls.

In sport, boys sports are mainstream e.g. football, cricket, rugby. Girls get netball, rounders, hockey. How girls play sport is always measured against how boys play sport (not vice versa - again going back to boys being the default)

slug - oh the roles in schools thing! That is my concluding paragraph! How can we expect children to challenge stereotyping and to aspire to a wide range of opportunities, when within school we reinforce those stereotypes at every turn!

Could you illustrate it by talking about a child called say Brooklyn. so B hates drawing and writing, what's the point of things that aren,t true? Never mind, dad is going to bring home my new stunt pegs from work, promises me that we can go the skate park after school, bet I,ll be the only girl there again

What about the language that adults use too? Stuff like "grow a pair", "man up", "don't be a girl". There is so much talk about a boys passage into manhood (which includes distancing himself from the feminine) yet grown women are referred to as "girls".

Professional sports is an interesting one though. Why aren't 88,000 women interested in going to Wembley to watch the FA Cup final this month? Lots of women attend men's professional football matches. The Beeb tries to raise the profile of the women's game, but it still ends up in a 20,000 seater stadium. Last year only 13,000 went to the final. I bet there are more than 13,000 women at Wembley for Chelsea vs Liverpool.

If you walk past huge playing fields or commons - all the people playing sport will (99% of the time) be male - either playing football, rugby or cricket.... 'male sports'

Agreed FoodUnit, but why? We have fantastic sportwomen in the UK - Ennis, Addlington, Pendleton, Halsall, Radcliffe etc etc etc. The women's rugby and football teams are brilliant - far more stature amongst their peers than the men's equivalent.

Are women doing enough to encourage their daughters to participate, or is it just a great big 'meh'?

It seems that exercise is something woman do to be healthy and maintain their figures (and sexual attractiveness) whereas exercise is something men do for fun. Therefore the exercise woman seem to do is just that, running, gym, fitness classes, but men it's sports, the running/gym etc is often seen as getting fitness up to do the sports well, attractiveness is a by product, not an end in itself.

Sanjeev I have to say, I actually feel a bit frightened when I walk to the areas where they have all the playing fields near me. And the fear I have is a fear of rape/sexual assault. I am aware that people wouldn't hear me scream and I feel nervous every time another male walks past (since it is only ever males that do).... I wonder if the fact that these spaces are not made welcoming and safe-feeling for females are partly to blame?

Also, if you only see men/boys wearing cricket whites on your common for example, there is an element of gender transgression so a girl has to have the courage to confront this to join in - and she may well be told they only have males even if she does get far enough to enquire.

There are a lot of factors including parents perhaps not doing enough, but I think local governments really have to do more to get 50% female on their playing fields.

sorry, that is only half a post! Perhaps sport is something woman don't do so girls don't do... being thin might be part of being a woman, being a sportsman is part of being a man.

Cars. Each model is assigned a gender and set up accordingly. I'm sure I read that the steering column on some "man" cars is sufficiently high that it's dangerous for people below a certain height in the event of a crash (ie predominantly women) because it crushes their pelvis rather than their legs. Ditto tall people (ie predominantly men) can't fit comfortably into "girl" cars.

Op, have you seen Ikeas instruction booklets? How to work this ironing board: heres a picture of a woman showing you how. How to build this shelf: heres a picture of a man showing you how.

No Sanjeev it is not that women aren't doing enough to encourage sport in their daughters - what a bizarre notion.

It is a combination of factors, society's obsession with the way women look as opposed to what they do; women and girls being encouraged to play nicely/quietly/gently etc (there is a thread about gender differences further down that highlights a teachers attitude to boys requiring more outdoor play); sport being a man's world; lack of media coverage and lack of media focus on women's sport stars. Not just talking about TV but newspapers as well. If you look at the percentage of pages (or even paragraphs) about women in sport every day in the newspapers it is minimal. It's about the image of sport for women; encouragement and promotion at school; being constantly compared to the male version of whichever sport you do and then; women's sport never being taken as seriously as men's and yes, being encouraged by family members (not just the female members of the family).

Oh and what SeventhEverything said - men have more free time to play sport (especially after having children).