Gender differences are not raining differences but the result of various ways of treating boys and girls. Mili Saha identifies how gender discrimination is seen in the 60s still exists today.
There was a classic experiment performed in the 1960s when interactions were observed between adults and a baby, at times dressed in blue and called John. Adults attempted to soothe baby Jane if she cried because she was ‘upset’. Baby John, on the other hand, received the more stimulating or rough-and-tumble play and if he cried, he was ‘angry’. Please let me know what it was that made such a big difference in their attitudes!
Think about a teacher using race or ethnicity labels in such a way: “Good morning, Hindus and Muslims!” We simply greet in the same way, “Good morning Boys and Girls!” This could easily be replaced with a gender-neutral greeting: “Good morning, kids or students!”
Another stereotype often occurs in maths or other applied subjects, when teachers and parents label it a ‘boys’ field’. Studies have revealed that such assumptions may cause girls to perform considerably worse because they worry about confirming the beliefs that girls are bad at maths. Teacher’s biases generate self-fulfilling prophecies.
Maintaining traditional gender beliefs is certainly the case in Asian education. The problem lies in categorizing identity; both personally and biologically. The main reason for underperformance is not biology but the BLUE vs. PINK distinctions that directly lead us to look for explanations in different school attainments. Right after birth, we differentiate at addressing, speaking, parenting, along with dressing, and behaving towards children. Baby girls receive more affection, instructions, and control while boys experience less control, concern, and guidance. Why do we do that? Isn’t that just confirming social stereotypes?
Mili Saha is Associate Professor at Jagannath University.
