Children in rich and poor countries enter their teenage years with damaging gender stereotypes firmly set, a study found
Sexual stereotypes such as women being the weaker sex are firmly rooted by the age of 14 whether you’re from India or America, researchers claim.
Children in rich and poor countries enter their teenage years with damaging gender stereotypes firmly set, a study found.
And of the 15 countries surveyed, the only one that said the girl should take the initiative in a relationship was Scotland.
Whether growing up in New York or New Delhi, boys and girls are outfitted with ‘gender straitjackets’ at an early age, it suggests.
Researchers say this can have lifelong negative consequences – especially for girls – including the risk of abuse and suicide.
Experts across the globe looked at how culturally enforced gender stereotypes become firmly rooted between ten and 14.
Robert Blum, director of the Global Early Adolescent Study based at Johns Hopkins University, said: ‘We found children at a very early age – from the most conservative to the most liberal societies – quickly internalise this myth that girls are vulnerable and boys are strong and independent.
‘And this message is being constantly reinforced at almost every turn, by siblings, classmates, teachers, parents, guardians, relatives, clergy and coaches.’
Interviews were carried out over the last four years with roughly 450 early adolescents matched with a parent or guardian – totalling nearly 900.
The countries involved were Bolivia, Belgium, Burkina Faso, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Scotland, South Africa, the United States and Vietnam.
Whether growing up in New York or New Delhi, boys and girls are outfitted with ‘gender straitjackets’ at an early age, it suggests
Scientists said the work shows a need to rethink adolescent health interventions, which usually focus on teens aged 15 and above, so that they target a much younger age group.
Kristin Mmari, associate professor and lead researcher for the qualitative research at the Global Early Adolescent Study, said: ‘Adolescent health risks are shaped by behaviours rooted in gender roles that can be well established in kids by the time they are ten or 11 years old.
‘Yet we see billions of dollars around the world invested in adolescent health programs that don’t kick in until they are 15, and by then it’s probably too late to make a big difference.’
The study found that gender-based restrictions rationalised as ‘protecting’ girls actually made them more vulnerable by emphasising subservience.
They also implicitly sanctioned even physical abuse as punishment for violating norms.
In many parts of the world these stereotypes leave girls at greater risk of dropping out of school or suffering violence, child marriage, early pregnancy, and health problems.
Boys in New Delhi and Shanghai were encouraged to spend time outside of the home unsupervised, whereas girls were advised to stay home and do chores.
Shaming and beatings for those who sought to cross the divide was reported by girls and boys in both cities.
Across all settings, young girls reported a constant emphasis on their physical appearance and their bodies as their key asset
In all but one city – Edinburgh, Scotland – children said it was the boy who had to take the initiative in any relationship.
Across all settings, young girls reported a constant emphasis on their physical appearance and their bodies as their key asset.
Prof Mmari said: ‘In New Delhi, the girls talked about their bodies as a big risk that needs to be covered up, while in Baltimore girls told us their primary asset was their bodies and that they need to look appealing – but not too appealing.’
The researchers noted that their findings supported previous work that found ‘during adolescence, the world expands for boys and contracts for girls.’
But boys did not always emerge unscathed, the researchers said.
The stereotypes they learn – the emphasis on physical strength and independence – made them more likely to be the victims of violence and more prone to tobacco and other substance abuse, as well as homicide.
And in China, India, Belgium and the US, they found a growing acceptance for girls pushing against certain gender boundaries, but almost zero tolerance for boys who do.
The consequences for boys who were perceived as adopting feminine behaviour, like painting their nails, ranged from being bullied to being assaulted, they added.
Venkatraman Chandra Mouli, co-director at the Adolescents and at-Risk Populations Team, Reproductive Health and Research Department, World Health Organization, said: ‘We know from research studies and programmatic experience that unequal gender norms can be changed, but this takes carefully planned and implemented interventions that target both young people and the environment they are growing and developing in.’
The research was published by the Global Early Adolescent Study, a collaboration between the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), in the Journal of Adolescent Health.