Literature Review
In sexuality and gender in children’s daily worlds, Thorne and Luria provide their studies on the fourth and fifth graders on their sexuality in three states. The authors define gender as culturally and socially accepted views on the division of labor and identity according to biological sex. They find that children are keen when making friends and engaging in different activities. Sex is one of the factors that are considered by children when selecting friends. Girls, according to the authors, focus on developing their personality while boys mostly engage in sports. Both genders are also helped each other in developing gender roles in which girls engage in emotional activities ad boys try to build their independence and sexuality.
The authors use the example of the boys continues to need to break the rules. Boys in elementary schools use dirty words as one of how they break the rules. An example of Massachusetts public school is used to show how students use dirty words in group directed plays. Boys used dirty words the moment they were not present to their teachers. An example of the California school is used to show how girls pair with each other and create friends. Girls are more concerned about popularity in these pairs hence the use of words like ‘friends’ and ‘nice.’
In conclusion, Thorne and Luria present the behaviors of children as they grow up and develop themselves. They present both genders have had different personalities and attitudes. The authors, however, focus more on the negativity of boys, presenting them as lawbreakers and dirty language users.
The study provided by Thorne and Luria is biased in favor of the girls. While the study focused on the positive behavior of girls, the boys are mostly viewed on the negative side and are seen as a gender that finds fun in breaking laws, taking risks, and using offensive language. Girls, on the other hand, are seen as friendly individuals who are more concerned with creating friends and being nice to each other. The competition that exists between girls is not seen as a negative attribute. The study should have focused on generalizing the study rather than dividing the two genders.
The study has collected deficit information on both genders. The examples used present children in schools only. While the study was directed towards assessing the behavior of girls in their daily worlds, it only focused on the behavior of the children in school. This provides information from only one regulated area. The study should research the behavior of the children while with the parents, guardians, and when they are with the neighborhood children. In the neighborhood environment, the children would behave differently with limited friends to choose from. The authors do not also engage the parents in the study since they can provide more information on their children.
In conclusion, there is a deficiency in data collection and bias in favor of the girls. The research, therefore, needs to address these faults as they are crucial to the interpretation of the information. Despite these faults, the authors are effective in addressing the research topic and coming up with effective ways to define gender roles among the children.
Work Cited
Thorne, Barrie, and Zella Luria. “Sexuality and gender in children’s daily worlds.” Sexualities: Identities, Behaviors, and society (2004): 74-86.