Gender Stereotypes Activity
Objective
The goal of this activity is to make students more aware of how their childhood experiences have affected their current beliefs about gender roles.
Estimated time
15-20 minutes
Group Size
This activity works best with a class size of 30 or fewer, but it could be modified for larger classes by having the instructor rotate among the groups while they discuss the topic or by having teaching assistants facilitate discussion in the smaller groups.
Instructions
Have students shop online at a website such as amazon.com for a child who is celebrating her or his 5th birthday. Students should be assigned to shop for a girl, a boy, and or a nonbinary child. Ask the students to search for toys they thought of themselves (and not just to search for boys, girls, or nonbinary toys). In 5-7 minutes, they should choose a toy in the $10-20 range. After they have chosen the toy, each student should individually answer the discussion questions. The entire class can then discuss their answers.
Materials:
