Gender Equality Starts At Home
It’s no surprise that one’s beliefs and perspective originally roots from his or her early childhood — at the comfort of one’s home. I am a middle child who was born and raised in a Korean household. Traditionally, it is common for asian households to be pretty strict, but the way I was brought up was the exact opposite. I am so grateful that my parents taught me about gender equality at a young age, mostly through their actions.
I grew up with an older sister and a younger sister who were raised the same exact way as me. My sisters were tomboys growing up and actually deviated from anything that was pink or considered to be girly. Therefore, my sisters only wore “boy’s clothes” during their childhood, and sometimes they still like to lounge around in some boxers at home because they are just so comfortable. However, my mother and father never judged any one of us and happily bought us whatever we liked. During my adolescence, I remember my mom gave us remote control cars, scooters, and water guns and they were the best ever.
Ever since I could remember, I was never once restricted or restrained from wanting toys and clothes that were “only for boys” because my parents gave me the never-ending freedom to make my own choices. My mother owned a toy shop at a swap meet for approximately 18 years so I was constantly bombarded with cool new toys and merchandise. She sold dolls, barbies, bikes, and the list could keep going on. Though I was intrigued by the barbies and dolls at a young age, I was also intrigued at all the toys that were “designed for boys.” At the time, I wasn’t aware that there were certain toys for “boys” and for “girls.” I just knew that playing with all different kinds of toys made me happy, and I am so thankful that my mother never forced me to only play with dolls, cooking toys, and barbies. I believe that by allowing me to explore my interests without negative reinforcement from my parents allowed me to become the open-minded and feminist woman today. It’s crazy to think that such a seemingly small situation could impact a child to change their beliefs growing up. I know that if my parents constantly reinforced the notion we were to never wear boys clothes or even play with toys made for boys, my mindset would be totally different today — and not for the better. So thank you, Mom and Dad.
Because of my personal experience, I know that it is important for parents to teach their kids about gender equality at a very young age. Ever since birth, our parents are the people we first look up to and learn from. They are our teachers, and we try our best to follow their footsteps. An article that is highly relevant talks about how as a parent, she tries to teach her kids about gender equality through her actions. For example, she gives her kids the freedom of choice to choose any toy they desire, allowing her son to grow out his luscious locks, not assigning chores according to gender, and have open conversations about gender stereotypes. Her parenting skills are not only effective and progressive, but her kids will definitely benefit from.
In Gayle Rubin’s work titled, “The Traffic in Women: Notes on the ‘Political Economy of Sex’,” Rubin states, “Gender is a socially imposed division of the sexes. It is a product of the social relations of sexuality” (179). She brought up a great point in which she states, “The idea that men and women are two mutually exclusive categories must arise out of something other than a nonexistent “natural” opposition. Exclusive gender identity is the suppression of natural similarities. It requires repression: in men, of whatever is the local definition of “feminine” traits; in women, of the local definition of “masculine traits.” This notion is relevant because she emphasizes the fact that our society is teaching young kids that girls and boys need to act a certain way. Therefore, it is so crucial for parents to teach their kids that society is not always “right.” She also adds, “The division of the sexes has the effect of repressing some of the personality characteristics of virtually everyone, men and women” (180).Instead of suppressing young girls and boys of their natural personality and desires, we should instead acknowledge them and positively reinforce these traits. In result, achieving gender equality would not seem so far away anymore.
In A. Leon’s article titled, “How Equality in Disney Films is Faulty,” the author states how the representation of the women in Disney films reveals how society has portrayed women to be not only submissive, but also dependent on men. Given that Disney is one of the most popular forms of entertainment and media out there, it is easy for young girls to think that they “have” to be like the princess if they are constantly taught that. Therefore, I believe that it is important for parents to be aware of the media, and properly educate their young ones about gender stereotypes.
