Identity Development

Self-Concept - young children are forming their identity--beliefs about who they are.

*They are not always accurate since most preschoolers overestimate their abilities.

*Result from how their parents treat them and the society and culture they live in (for example Asian societies tend to have a Collectivist Orientation, valuing interdependence, blending in, and interconnectedness, while in Western cultures like ours have an Individualistic Orientation emphasizing personal identity, uniqueness, and competition.)

Racial & Ethnic Identity - Racial identity includes skin colors as well as other subtler aspects. It is both perceptions of others and self. Since preschoolers focus on salient physical differences, they recognize gender first, then obvious racial variations, and finally more subtle ethnic differences.

*Race is a political social construct (not biological) based on shared characteristics.

*Ethnicity is a particular cultural, national, or other group that may share the following; culture, religion, race, language, or place of origin. A complex social construct that usually includes shared customs, language, religion, values, behaviors, and beliefs (Ott, 1989). Children are able to identify others from their own ethnic group by four or five years and accurately sort people into other ethnic categories by six or seven.

*Two people could be the same race but different ethnicities or vice versa.

• By age 3 or 4, preschoolers distinguish between members of different races and usually show preference for members of their own race.
• Minority and majority identities develop very differently
• Race Dissonance/Ambivalence is the phenomenon in which minority youngsters indicate preference for majority values or people.

There is much more research on gender identity than on cultural or racial identity. The studies that have been done show that racial identity development differs for white European Americans and discriminated minorities such as African Americans and Native Americans (Cross, 1997). A new movement is focusing on programs such as P.R.I.D.E.: Positive Racial Identity Development in Early Education, to train adults to help Black children’s positive racial development to help counterbalance the negative implications of lifelong racism. (White, 2019).

Reducing racism & prejudice- Systemic racism and discrimination affect all children. The structure of racial hierarchy in American society is normalized and transmitted to children from birth (Tatum 2003).   Systemic racism and discrimination have recently been recognized as trauma since chronic stress activation- especially early in life- causes negative impacts on the brain affecting learning, behavior, and lifelong health. (from “How Racism can Effects Child Development”, Center for the Developing Child, Harvard University, 2019).  Teachers need to be very mindful in order to unlearn racism.

Gender Identity: is the sense of being male or female is also a social construct and not the same as biological (anatomical) sex.
The nurture vs. nature debate rages in where gender differences come from. Most psychologists would agree that some differences are innate but shaped by the cultural response.

• Is society’s earliest and most important identifier – knowing you are male or female is so fundamental that even most two-year-olds can accurately identify as a girl or boy (what’s the first question asked about a new baby?) Children can correctly identify the genders of others, too, by using physical cues like hair length and dress.
• There are not really pink or blue brains - differences between the sexes are much less than previously thought and are not "hardwired". Really neuroscientists have identified very few reliable differences.
• Adults treat boys and girls differently from birth- reinforcing cultural stereotypes that males are independent, forceful and competitive and females to be warm, nurturing, expressive and submissive. For example, adults consistently underestimate girls’ physical and cognitive abilities, while boys are touched and talked to about feelings less than girls.

• Gender Constancy or Stability—knowing that gender is permanent and not changed by time, outward characteristics or preferences -- a boy will still be a boy when he grows up, or even if he wears a dress and plays with dolls-- usually develops by four to six years (Munroe, et al., 1984).

• Transgender and/or Gender Non-conforming- These are people who do not identify with the biological sex they were born as.  Transgender means identifying with the opposite gender and can begin as young as 2 years (Steensma, et al, 2013). Cisgender refers to someone who does identify with their natal sex.  Gender-non-conforming or non-binary describes people who don’t identify with either gender and may prefer the pronoun they.  Exploration of gender through play is typical in young children and does not usually mean a child will be transgender or non-conforming.

• Gender schema theory- An information-processing theory that explains how children categorize actions and objects according to whether they are appropriate for their gender or not. Children learn what is considered masculine and feminine at a very young age (by 18 months, toddlers will look longer at a gender-appropriate object [Serbin, et al., 2001]). By the time children are four or five years old, they will reject toys that they were initially attracted to if later told it was for the other gender (Martin, et al., 1995).
• Preschoolers often become stereotyped about what is appropriate for boys and girls—toys, clothes, and play—partially because they don’t yet understand gender stability. Young children are commonly rigid about gender roles, even when they are in non-stereotypical environments. For example, a preschooler could say that only boys can be doctors even though he has always had a female pediatrician. Four-year-old girls will often insist on only wearing dresses and having long hair while boys will reject anything that seems “girly.” This is probably because
  preschoolers are not yet confident that gender is unchanged by appearances or actions as well as reflecting societal expectations.
• The toys we chose reinforce— recent research finds that “boy toys” are related to fighting or aggression (violent, competitive, exciting, and somewhat dangerous), and “girl toys” are related to appearance (physical attractiveness, nurturing, and domestic skills). The most educational toys were typically categorized as neutral or moderately masculine.
• Exploration of gender through play is typical in young children and does not usually mean a child will be gay or will be transgendered. However, a few children do identify with the gender that is not the same as their biological sex, or are gender non-conforming.
• Reducing stereotypes and sexism--Since we are all products of our cultures, most adults--teachers, parents, etc.--engage in reinforcing gender typing. Many studies have shown that most adults reinforce sex-typing in play and chores (Leaper, 2013). It is important to recognize our own stereotypical behaviors in order to try to eliminate their use. For example, how many teachers comment on how pretty a girls’ dress or hair is, ask boys to do physical tasks, divide children by sex, etc.? Although gains were made by the feminist movement in the 1970s, there still exists a huge difference in what boys and girls are expected, allowed, and encouraged to do.

Vignette:
When my daughters were preschoolers, I took them shopping for sandals and was appalled at what was being sold to young girls. All the “girl sandals” were pastel, heeled or wedged, and lacked back straps. The only other sandals available were sturdy and earth-colored but clearly marketed to boys. The girls begged for the glittery sandals despite my protestations until I made them run a lap around the store. After comparing sandals they realized that the pretty shoes were not good for running, climbing, or even walking.

Whether it is baby girls in dresses that interfere with crawling, four-year-olds in strapless shoes, or teens teetering in heels, girls are hobbled by fashion in a way that boys would never put up with. But since society values boys’ physical activities rather than appearance, clothes for males tend to be much more practical. But don’t believe that boys aren’t affected and hemmed in by sexism, too. Pity the poor boy who doesn’t like his clothes emblazoned with sports or trucks, let alone wants to dress like a princess occasionally!