Childhood Gender Nonconformity - Social and Developmental Theories of Gender

Social and Developmental Theories of Gender

The concept of childhood gender nonconformity assumes that there is a correct way to be a girl or a boy. There are a number of social and developmental perspectives that explore how children come to identify with a particular gender and engage in activities that are associated with this gender role.

Psychoanalytic Theories of gender emphasize that children begin to identify with the parent, and that girls tend to identify with their mothers and boys with their fathers. The identification is often associated with the child’s realization that they do not share the same genitals with both parents. This discovery leads to penis envy in girls and castration anxiety in boys. Freud’s theories are valuable in that they sparked new conversations surrounding sexuality and gender. However, there is not much empirical evidence to back up Freud’s theories.

Social learning theory emphasizes the rewards and punishments that children receive for sex appropriate or inappropriate behaviours. One of the criticisms of social learning theory is that it assumes that children are passive, rather than active participants in their social environment.

Cognitive development theory argues that children are active in defining gender and behaving in ways that reflect their perceptions of gender roles. Children are in search of regularities and consistencies in their environment, and the pursuit of cognitive consistency motivates children to behave in ways that are congruent with the societal constructions of gender.

Gender schema theory is a hybrid model that combines social learning and cognitive development theories. Bem argues that children have a cognitive readiness to learn about themselves and their surroundings. They build schemas to help them navigate their social world, and these schemas form a larger network of associations and beliefs about gender and gender roles.