Problem: The symbolic interactionist perspective helps understand how gender is socially constructed because it focuses on how people learn gender through daily interactions. Gender isn't something we're born knowing; it's something society teaches us through family, school, and media (Conerly et al., 2022). We "perform" gender based on expectations we've learned, and those expectations get reinforced over and over again. One example is how children are treated differently based on gender from birth. A baby girl might be called "pretty" and dressed in pink, while a baby boy might be called "strong" and dressed in blue. Those subtle differences teach kids what behavior is expected of them (Conerly et al., 2022). Another example is how schools unknowingly encourage boys to speak up and girls to stay quiet and polite, reinforcing gender roles early in life. That expectation doesn't come from biology; it comes from social norms that get passed down through interaction (Conerly et al., 2022). This stereotype shows how society shapes gender roles through interaction, even in families that don't fit the "traditional" mold.
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