Girlhood

Girlhood

Girlhood

Abi Roberts

Around two years old, children become conscious of the physical differences between genders. Before their third birthday, most children are easily able to label themselves. By age four, most children have a stable sense of their gender identity. During this same time of life, children learn gender role behavior; “things that boys do” or “things that girls do.” [1]

Children live in a world that has been created by adults, and they look to grown ups for cues on how to behave and who to be. [2] The media is saturated with the same message; women are valued for their looks and defined by their appearance, unlike their male counterparts. This is portrayed as an issue that mainly affects teenage girls and women, although more than a third of 7 to 10 year old girls agreed that women were rated more on their appearance than their abilities, and 36% said they were made to feel their looks were their most important attribute. [3]

Isla

Age Five

Maisie

Age Seven

Liv

Age Eight

Micah

Age Nine

The individuality of young girls is often overlooked by society; they tend to be stereotyped, meaning their thoughts and opinions are often left ignored. Research has shown girls as young as seven feel they cannot say or do what they want because of gender stereotyping, highlighting the impact of expectations on young females. [4]

Young girls are encouraged to find their place in the world from the moment they start school as they are suddenly aware that they are a part of a larger group and they need to figure out where they fit in. They become caught between wanting to conform, while also wanting to stand out as an individual; a problem that many adults also face. It seems as though this challenging of norms is starting younger, and with the rise of gender equality over the past decades, parents have made a move towards raising their girls to not be hindered by the traditional gender roles of previous generations. Girls are able to experiment with their identities more than ever before.

References

1. HealthyChildren.org. (2015). Gender Identity Development in Children. [online] Available at: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/Pages/Gender-Identity-and-Gender-Confusion-In-Children.aspx

2. Buchanan, D. (2018). I’m not shocked that young girls love lipstick – there are worse problems. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/20/lipstick-girls-boys-gender-equality

3. Topping, A. (2016). Girls as young as 7 feel pressure to be pretty – body confidence study. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/oct/04/girls-as-young-as-7-feel-pressure-to-be-pretty-body-confidence-girlguiding-study-reveals

4. Marsh, S. (2017). Girls as young as seven in UK boxed in by gender stereotyping. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/21/girls-seven-uk-boxed-in-by-gender-stereotyping-equality

Girlhood noun [gurl-hood]

1. the state or time of being a girl.

2. the period when a person is a girl, and not yet a woman.