Acquisition of Gender Identity and Gender Roles Term Paper

Acquisition of Gender Identity and Gender Roles - Term Paper Example From the very start, the gender identity is determined through the sex of the person at conception, the influence of the male and female hormones secreted in the body, and the societal definitions and perceptions which identify the requirements of roles particular to one gender (Cox, 2008). The biological factors remain the core of defining gender identity and roles. However, each child passes through numerous phases of cognitive and psychological development, which creates the initial pattern of self-identity as a sexual being (Sammons, nd). One of the primary researches and understanding of gender identity and gender role has been achieved through Kohlberg’s development theory (Cox, 2008). He states that children, according to their mental capacity, growth and approach develop the sense of gender identity in three successive stages. The first stage which takes place at 2 years of age is when the child identifies himself as male or female (Cox, 2008 and Sammons, nd). The second stage is called gender stability, which takes place at age four years. At this stage, the child realizes that he or she is permanently male or female, that is, gender is a permanent phenomenon (Bussey and Bandura, 1999). The final stage, the gender constancy, takes place at ages 5 and 7 y ears. At this stage, the child realizes that clothes or change of appearance does not alter the sex of the person (Cox, 2008). I remember how it was very difficult for my mother to make me conform to things that are considered girlish. At first, it was always the correction of me being a girl and not a boy. Then further emphasis on me being a girl, by showing me what I should like and which are boy things to do. Finally, I was instructed how to dress and act, with a constant barrage of statements starting with â€Å"little girls don’t do that†.