naamahdarling:

witchlockmonsterfox:

if anyone’s interested: the study my professor did was basically with children who were 2-3 years old.  they laid out toys for them to play with that were commonly associated with one gender or the other (action figures vs. dolls, a pink and therefore “girly” bike vs. a non-pink and “masculine” bike or w/e).  for a while they would observe them in the room and the children would be aware they were being watched by them.  during this period pretty much every child played with the “appropriate” toys

what they did next was then have everyone leave the room, but be watching behind one-way glass, and observe which toys the children would choose when they didn’t think they were being watched. a lot of children would play with any toy, regardless of which gender it was “meant” for.  they had no problem with it.  but they were aware of the fact that adults and other people had a problem with it.  they had already learned what they were “supposed” to do, despite the fact they didn’t seem to honestly care.  just as long as they thought they weren’t being watched and wouldn’t get in trouble for not playing with the “right” toys… which in itself says something

basically it supported the idea that children internalize gender roles at a young age, are aware of them, and it isn’t innately something a certain gender prefers over the other (or someone with one type of genitals innately prefers, as most people correlate gender with genitals, especially regarding a child. so it seems logical to assume it’s unrelated)

they’re just kind of arbitrary associations that seem to do more harm than good

So, basically, children too young to communicate effectively are being criticized and possibly punished for playing with the “wrong” toys.

Good job, parents.  Great fucking job.