Gender Stereotypes Online
Post date: Mar 15, 2017 9:42:38 PM
You have been invited to a birthday party for 3-year-old twins, Jasmine and Jayden. You need the students’ help in brainstorming a list of possible gifts for each child. Spend three minutes thinking of some gift ideas. A Venn diagram can help. Click here to download into dochub a Venn diagram for you to use.
Share their gift ideas aloud. Can you give Jasmine a stereotypical “boy gift” like a toy truck? Can you give Jayden a typical "girl gift,' like a doll? What gifts could you give both? How do double standards play into the choices? Key Vocabulary
Gender: social ideas about what it means to be masculine or feminine
Stereotype: a popular belief about a group of people, based on assumptions that are often extreme and inaccurate
Avatar: an image or character that represents a person online
Gender stereotypes, for example, encourage people to think that little girls are sweet and like to dress up as princesses, while boys are rowdy and like to play with trucks. These are common assumptions, but they aren’t always true. Many people embrace them while many others choose not too there is nothing wrong with this choice.
Name different interests, subjects, and activities that teens might pursue – for example, art, math, cooking, sports, and video games. Where on the gender scale they would place each activity. Explain your choices. Do these reflect stereotypes about femininity and masculinity? For example, is a boy less masculine if he likes to cook? What about a male chef at a restaurant? Is a girl less feminine if she likes to play video games? What about a female software engineer?
Why might some people find gender stereotypes limiting? Gender stereotypes can encourage very specific ideas about how boys and girls should act. Some people’s personalities and interests might match up with gender stereotypes; others’ might not. In some cases, gender stereotypes may keep some people from feeling comfortable with who they are, or who they want to be.Gamers' have a term called "Gender-bending" that refers to players who create a character and avatar that is the opposite of their own. How might your experience change if people treated you according to a different gender?
Gender Messages in Virtual Worlds
There are different sources of gender stereotypes. How do we learn about them? Where do we see them? The Internet is a major source of media. We may see, and even take part in, communicating gender stereotyping online. We are going to create avatars for a virtual world. You should keep track of the gender stereotypes you notice along the way. Complete assignment #1 #2 and #3
Download the Dress Up Your Avatar Handout.
Use Avatar Maker to create your two Avatars.
Think about what kinds of features make one more Feminine and what kinds of features make one Masculine. How does hairstyle impact this? Gender stereotypes are messages that encourage us to think of certain looks, actions, or things as especially “manly” or “girly.” Gender stereotypes are often based on more extreme ideas about how boys and girls are supposed to act. Some people might not identify with these ideas, and can feel limited if others assume them to be true
You should recognize that virtual worlds are a form of media – just like television, movies, advertisements, and music. The media aren’t solely responsible for creating gender stereotypes, but they certainly can encourage them with images and messages. Many video games actively influence gender roles with how characters and armor are designed. Homework is you downloading Gender Stereotypes Online to your Dochub and finishing this handout.
