gender roles? As in, religions which imply that all men must act a certain way, and all women must act a certain way, and that men and women should not do the same things.
I'm most familiar with Christianity in this case (Baptist sect), where women are urged to take a passive role to raise a family (preferably large), while her husband works. Women are also discouraged from wearing pants, and are encouraged to only wear long skirts. Long sleeves are also suggested, but short sleeves aren't necessarily forbidden (thankfully, my Baptist family ignores this dress code teaching).
Girls are also not to play with certain toys that are 'meant' for boys, such as cars, 'masculine' action figures, and building blocks. Boys are not to play with 'feminine' action figures, have toys that can be 'dressed up', or play with cooking sets.
What do you think about this? Is it healthy to subject both adults and children to these strict gender roles? Would it change the development of young children if they were prohibited from wearing certain clothes, playing with certain toys, and not allowed to join in certain activities? If it could, then how so?
Do you think they would 'miss out' on anything growing up in an environment like this? Or do you think enforcing gender differences is necessary and vital?
I'm most familiar with Christianity in this case (Baptist sect), where women are urged to take a passive role to raise a family (preferably large), while her husband works. Women are also discouraged from wearing pants, and are encouraged to only wear long skirts. Long sleeves are also suggested, but short sleeves aren't necessarily forbidden (thankfully, my Baptist family ignores this dress code teaching).
Girls are also not to play with certain toys that are 'meant' for boys, such as cars, 'masculine' action figures, and building blocks. Boys are not to play with 'feminine' action figures, have toys that can be 'dressed up', or play with cooking sets.
What do you think about this? Is it healthy to subject both adults and children to these strict gender roles? Would it change the development of young children if they were prohibited from wearing certain clothes, playing with certain toys, and not allowed to join in certain activities? If it could, then how so?
Do you think they would 'miss out' on anything growing up in an environment like this? Or do you think enforcing gender differences is necessary and vital?