Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

This week we were asked to share views on gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation and how these ideas permeate children's development of their perception and how they see others who are different in the world. I definitely think that when we look at children's toys we give them this ascribed identity and so we pass that on to our children. For example boys play with big trucks and girls play with pink dolls. I think that young children have the ability to learn about who they are by interacting with others and interacting with their environment. I don't believe that playing with certain toys will assign them a specific gender identity. I think that parents have to be more vigilant of the meaning that they ascribe to these things and pay more attention to nurturing the kind of individual that they want their children to become.