For example, a baby's sex is first determined by checking out whether he or she has a penis or a vagina. For example, a traditional gender role for men is to be competitive, athletic and aggressive. A traditional gender role for women is to want to have and take care of children. Gender roles have expanded in recent years for both men and women. Gender identity is the gender you feel yourself to be.
Most children grow up with a gender identity that is the same as their sex.
Explain to participants that they will create gender lifelines. These lifelines will document memorable events in their lives that brought about awareness of their particular gender. The lifelines will help them see what and who has contributed to how they feel about being male or female, or their gender identity. Have Participants Work on Individual Lifelines Pass out adding machine tape and pens. Explain to participants that the left side of the tape represents the day they were born, and the right side of the tape represents today.