“Sorry boys, my daddy says no dating.” “I only date superheroes.” “I hate my thighs.” These are all real sayings put on clothing intended for newborn girls. Yep, you read that right. Newborn girls. Obviously the clothes for newborn boys must be the same, right? “Future man of steel,” “future boss,” and “lock your daughters up,” are all printed on boys clothes—just a little different from the girls, huh?
From the clothes they’re placed in and the content they consume to the hobbies and interests they’re encouraged to pursue, girls are, consciously or unconsciously, treated differently from boys from birth, instilling a gendered bias into children’s perception of the world.
Even before a child is born, they are often assigned one of two colors—pink or blue—depending on their gender. This unnecessary gendering of colors follows children as they grow up, creating a relationship between certain colors and the assumption of who they should apply to. Children tend to follow the given gender labels for certain colors, showing the social pathway for gender-typed preferences; if a color is labeled as “masculine,” boys are more likely to favor it, and vice versa. In fact, girls begin aligning themselves with pink around 2 years old, and while their preference for pink over other colors fades by age 4, boys continue to avoid pink until adulthood, possibly for the belief that pink is a “girls color” and the female stereotypes around the color. Thus, as children receive gendered items, clothes, and toys, they are unconsciously associating their gender with a specific color from a young age, and while girls are less affected by any strict rigidity in connecting to pink, boys are extremely disconnected from it, and are even most likely to list it as a least favorite color.
Similarly, gendered colors extend into the toys marketed to children of different sexes. Ignoring the blaring issues with the idea of “gendered toys,” toys labeled as “boys only” often feature bold colors like red, brown, and black, and are mostly action figures, weapons, or small vehicles. On the contrary, those labeled as “girls only” are pastel colored, mainly pink and purple, and are generally dolls, beauty, jewelry, and other domestic-oriented items. Even when toys are marketed as for both genders, they gravitate toward the “boys only” appearances rather than girls’. Gendering toys, especially with such extreme differences, pushes the mindset to children that boys can be aggressive and competitive (playing with action figures and weapons) while girls must focus on beauty and nurturing (makeup, baby dolls).
Plus, toys gendered for boys frequently emphasize STEM concepts, creating the sexist views toward STEM subjects at an early age. Toys like building blocks, LEGO sets focusing on cars and police, and construction machines all target a predominately male audience instead of a gender-neutral one. This could play a role in the gender gap in STEM subjects, as even from a young age girls are encouraged far less to participate in engineering and “hard” science activities with the toys they’re given.
Furthermore, children’s literature influences sexist stereotypes and mindsets from their portrayal of women and girls. Books help to illustrate the cultural and social norms for children to follow, and when they depict stereotypical jobs of men and women, the kids reading the book absorb the stereotype. Children aware of the gender differences in their books tend to pick jobs more aligned with their gender’s stereotypes, while those noticing non-stereotypical female behaviors often choose non-traditional female jobs. Plus, female characters are featured significantly less in titles and pictures—although they parallel male characters’ numbers as protagonists, the subtle difference in representation still impacts children. Men tend to be pictured in different occupations and activities, while women are often only illustrated as homemakers, caretakers, and maids. Some children’s books are even outright sexist with quotes like, “boys invent things. Girls use what boys invent.” Not only do these narratives negatively impact the already damaging female stereotypes, but they create a diminished sense of self-confidence in young girls that extends into adulthood.
Interestingly, the fact that girls aren’t represented fairly in literature doesn’t impact the views of reading by girls. In fact, most students (both boys and girls) view reading as a feminine activity, making boys less likely to read and more likely to see others as feminine for doing so. Art and design is also seen as more feminine, with only technical and digital arts appealing to boys. Unfortunately, the arts are often seen as non-intellectual and irresponsible, qualities that have been assigned to female occupations. Art education also strays toward more “girly” approaches, emphasizing leisure in creating art instead of technical skills. While some may argue the curriculum should change to adapt to the “masculine” interests, the focus should instead be on why boys look down on leisure-forward and physical art—and what needs to change in their mindsets. However, it should also be recognized that incorporating the digital and technical arts (such as photography, woodworking, and computer aided design) could help to alter the sexist perspective of the arts, as both boys and girls would be exposed to the same topics and boys would begin to associate the technical sides with the traditional sides.
Okay, girls are treated differently to boys from a young age, but why care? Why does it matter? Exposure to prolonged hostile sexism instills lower self-confidence in girls and women and negatively affects career aspirations. This then morphs into lower salaries and worse job benefits for those with these self-deprecating mindsets. Plus, sexism can elicit and predict greater violence in the future, specifically in men, as girls tend to exercise greater empathy and boys refrain from practicing empathy.
Ultimately, girls experience sexism from the moment they’re born, from the moment they’re swaddled in blush pink cloth. From the moment they’re given their first toys, from the moment they begin to read. Girls’ mere existence prompts sexist and discriminatory mindsets to be pushed upon them; the creation of a clear distinction between them and boys despite the lack of actual developmental differences.