The words used in children's advertising. And we wonder why boys like blue and girls like pink!

Ok, oversimplified maybe. But it does say a lot about the role of expectations and stereotypes in children's gender identity. Boys are expected to like guns and battle games, rough-and-tumble. Girls are expected to like dolls and magic, pink sparkly things!

And children absorb these expectations. In 1994, Parke said that parents' reactions to emotional displays help a child to develop their sense of self. And these get internalised - boys learn that they should be 'strong', for girls it is far more acceptable to be emotional. Boys' self-descriptions have been found to change depending on if they're alone or in front of a group of other boys (Banjeree & Lintern, 2000).

Children learn to describe themselves and their gender from a very early age (by age 3, 90% are correct at identifying their gender!). Not long after this they begin to segregate - girls play with girls, boys play with boys (well, until we reach the teenage years...another story!)

In one study on gender roles, mothers played with a baby who was dressed up as either a boy or a girl. The researchers found out that when the baby was believed to be a girl, the mothers offered the baby a doll. When they believed it was a boy, they offered a train. So even as very young infants the expectations of adults have an influence on our lives - clothes, behaviour, toys, emotions, everything!

I just find this quite interesting. :)