Family Based Post-Genderism
Family based post-genderism occurs when parents commit to raising their children in a gender-neutral environment. They encourage their children to play with whatever toys and dress however they wish. Parents teach their children that men and women are equal and should be equally responsible for earning a living and taking care of the household. The mother and father take equal part in the children’s emotion and intellectual up bringing as well as providing for the family. Sociologist, Barbra Risman studied the effects that living in a post-gendered household has on children. She concluded that despite the fact that the children hold post-gendered beliefs about the roles of men and women, they believe and adhere to the stereotypes about boys and girls their own age.
She asserts that the disconnect between children’s post-gendered upbringing and their highly genderized views of how children are supposed to behave is the product of interacting with their peers who were raised to believe in the bipolarity of gender. Risman’s study shows that the opinions of other children has a greater effect on how post-gender children view gender relations among their peers than their parents’ post-gendered beliefs.
Risman, Barbara J. Gender Vertigo. New Haven: Yale University, 1998
