12 Gender Role Development in Cis-Gendered One and Two-Parent Families

Keywords: Gender Role, Family, development, BIPOC, Gender Characteristics

INTRODUCTION  

A gender role is a social construct that involves a certain set of behaviours, demeanours and attitudes regarded as appropriate for a person’s perceived gender identity. These gender roles develop and are learned throughout our lives from a variety of sources, but recent research indicates a strong connection between gender role development and the number of parents in a household. This was shown in academic literature as early as the 1990’s by Russell and Ellis (1991) whose study indicates the development of an androgynous gender role is more likely to arise among people raised in one-parent families. The most recent census done by Statistics Canada and The Government of Canada (2022) reveals that one-parent families account for 28.2% of total families with children, a 1.1% increase from 2011. This makes understanding gender role development among one and two-parent families more pertinent than ever before as the traditional family becomes less conventional. Understanding gender role development and how it may connect to family structure is further encouraged by Western culture’s increased awareness of gender diversity as transgender and non-binary individuals get further accepted in today’s society. This may be understood by examining research that considers how gender roles are influenced by a family’s structure while also examining differences in parents’ gender, and culture. This is to understand how other factors may work alongside family structure in influencing gender role development.

WHAT IS A GENDER ROLE?  

Gender roles, previously known as sex roles, but the term has since changed to reflect a more standardized differentiation between the terms sex and gender. Sex is based on a set of biological characteristics and gender is socially constructed characteristics that are commonly attributed to certain sexes that can vary vastly from culture to culture (Blackstone 2003). Gender roles are represented by a particular set of emotions, attitudes, behaviours, and perceptions that are associated with a certain gender more so than others (Levesque 2014). These representative traits then help to dictate or possibly explain the gender role that an individual has filled or will fill. Gender characteristics that are associated with gender roles are frequently described as gender stereotypes which can be particularly powerful in dictating a person’s self-perception and perception of others. Examples of common gender role stereotypes for men include assertiveness, aggression and independence which denote a traditionally masculine gender role. These gender roles often involve positions of power, labor jobs and an overall “provider” role. Female stereotypes consist of being nurturing, sensitive and emotional often described as a traditionally feminine role (Slivkin and Stright 2000). Female gender roles conventionally consist of being a caretaker, teacher etc. often with a focus on caring for children. These roles develop and are perpetuated beyond just the family structure. The education system, colleagues/friends, and mainstream media have a particularly strong influence on gender role development (Ward and Grower 2020). However, this paper will focus mainly on the influence of the family structure.  

CANADA’S FAMILY STRUCTURE  

The latest 2021 census from the Canadian Government will highlight statistics and information on what Canadian families look like. In 2021, Canada had a total of 5,976,755 families with children, and 4,286,165 families without children, and as previously mentioned, 28.2% of families with children are one-parent families. Of the 1,302,670 one-parent families in Canada 77.2% percent are families in which the one parent is a woman and 22.8% are families where the one parent is a man (Statistics Canada 2022).
 
As non-binary and transgender populations are smaller in size when compared to Cis gender populations, single parents that fall into these classifications were included in the binary gender categories to protect anonymity. However, this is unfortunate as such information would have been applicable to understanding gender role development in families.  

GENDER ROLE DEVELOPMENT IN TWO-PARENT FAMILIES

To understand how gender role development in a single-parent family differs compared to two-parent families, the two-parent family first needs to be examined. While older research material suggests an increase in androgynous traits in single-parent children, research on two-parent families showcases the opposite, demonstrating an increase in stereotypical gender roles. This can be specifically described in a study done by Endendijk et al. (2016)
 
where the specific trait of aggression is studied with two-parent families. Aggression, which is typically described as a masculine gender trait, therefore, is found in more male oriented gender roles, (Slivkin and Stright 2000) is shown to have an increased likelihood in two-parent families. This is attributed to fathers as they are much more likely to use physical control on boys than girls causing boys to develop more stereotypical masculine traits, leading to masculine gender roles (Endendijk et al. 2016). The lack of stereotypical gender roles, such as aggression, for boys in single-parent families can further be accounted for by the fact that single-parent families are more likely to have a female parent than a male parent (Statistics Canada 2022) resulting in less physicality being showcased by the parental figure and reducing the likelihood of a trait like aggression arising. For females, it follows the same path. Two-parent families are more likely to encourage traditional gender role development than single-parent families, especially if those parents follow conventional gender roles themselves.  

GENDER ROLE DEVELOPMENT IN SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES

The increase in separation and divorce rates dating back to the 80’s has created a push for Sociologists to understand the possible effects it may have on childhood development. One of these effects is gender role development (Brenes, et al. 1985). A study done by Brenes et al. (1985) showcases this early interest in the subject. The study examined gender-role development in preschoolers from both one and two-parent families. This study establishes that there is a noticeable link between gender role development and family structure as children from one-parent families had an increased understanding of gender role stereotypes and had less preference for the type of toys they played with. Early childhood gender role development has been linked to family structure; however, this has been shown to go beyond early ages as college students raised in one-parent homes have a higher percentage of androgynous gender role traits (Ellis and Russell 1991). The family structure-gender development link seen in college-age students is further punctuated by evidence that females and males who were raised in one-parent families where the parent is female showcase increased masculine gender role traits (Slivkin and Stright 2000). This may be indicative of the child having to fill the gender role that’s left empty when one parent is separated.  

How exactly are gender roles developing in single-parent families? This is an important question in the understanding of family structure’s influence on gender roles. Utilising information provided from past studies done on both single and two-parent families, it can be surmised that with only one parent to emulate, gender roles become blurred for children. There is no concept of the traditional gender role if they have never witnessed these gender roles in person. However, this includes the assumption that gender roles are only expressed at home by parents. Traditional gender roles are present everywhere, whether it’s through media, music, movies, tv, the internet, video games, or at school, gender roles are impossible to escape. If this is the case, then why do children who grow up in single-parent families still express more androgynous and fluid gender roles despite outside influence on them encouraging traditional gender roles? This is because not many other factors can influence someone’s development, especially early development, more than a parent can (Morawska et al. 2021).  

CHINA GENDER ROLE STUDY  

Beyond western research, evidence of family structure affecting gender role development has also been shown in China. China much like Canada, has experienced a disrupted traditional family structure in recent years with more than 20 million one-parent families (Chen et al. 2018), this makes it a valuable resource to compare how a different culture can impact family structure’s influence on gender characteristics and roles. Research done in China reinforces past studies by showcasing an increased amount of androgynous gender role traits in children raised in one-parent households. However, there are some noticeable differences in studies done in China compared to western studies. Females raised by a single female showcased a higher amount of feminine gender role traits compared to western studies, which observed females raised in a one-female family showing a higher amount of masculine gender role traits (Slivkin and Stright 2000; Chen et al. 2018). Culture can alter family structures’ level of influence or kind of influence on gender role development, something that should be considered as Canada is a melting pot of cultures and has a population that is 23% immigrants (Statistics Canada 2022).

FUTURE

If further research is done on strictly Cis-gendered parents, then it should be done with our modern understanding of gender and use a more multifaceted look than just family structure. It should consider family structure, gender identity as well as gender expression. This is recommended due to family structure already being extensively researched. Therefore, there is a need for understanding how the family structure works alongside gender expression and gender identity within the subject.

CONCLUSION

As the traditional Canadian family become decreasingly traditional there is a need for understanding the implications of that especially as Sociologists. One of these now obvious implications is changes in the development of gender roles. There is a large amount of evidence suggesting family structure has an important and powerful role when it comes to someone’s gender role development. This is demonstrated by research that dates to the 1980s and is further reflected in more contemporary works. People raised in single-parent families are much more likely to possess androgynous or non-traditional gender roles compared to two-parent families. This has been demonstrated multiple times by research but there is still much work to be done in the field (Ellis and Russell 1991). With the understanding that family structure does indeed play an integral role in gender development, there must then be an understanding that it is not the only contributing factor. Many factors go into developing an individual’s gender role and one component is not the only determining influence, as culture, media, and socialization all have a hand in forging gender roles. To clarify this, in Western cultures there is evidence of certain links in gender role development, such as possessing more masculine gender role traits when raised by a single-parent mother (Slivkin and Stright 2000). This is not true across the globe, as evidenced by research done in China (Chen et al. 2018). The implications of family structure are far-reaching and will hopefully be further researched as time goes on to better understand gender role development and how gender characteristics arise, especially with more contemporary conceptions of gender expression and gender identity.

References
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