Gender conformity starts young – and boys and girls fall in line in different ways
Many people have felt the subtle pressure to be “man enough” or “woman enough” in the eyes of others. And research has shown this pressure can have personal and social consequences.
When men feel their manhood is challenged, they can respond with compensatory aggression and other harmful behaviors. When women step outside stereotypical femininity – or even just consider doing so – they often receive backlash.
As researchers who study how gender stereotypes and norms affect people in often unexpected ways, we wondered about the processes by which children feel motivated to conform to stereotypical gender norms. When does this start, and how might it manifest?
In recently published research we conducted with our colleague Andrei Cimpian, we found that when children perceive that their sense of being a “normal” or “proper” member of their gender group is threatened, they feel pushed to conform to stereotypical gender roles in different ways, with lasting consequences.
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This response mirrors a cultural double standard in the U.S.: Girls are often encouraged to be athletic, assertive or like “tomboys,” while boys face no socially acceptable equivalent in the other direction. There is no benign male version of tomboy. The closest word is “sissy,” which is not typically considered a compliment.
