Where does a boy learn to be a man and a girl to be a woman? It is impossible to pinpoint the exact moment they learned what it means to be a boy or a girl. The reason? Gender roles are the result of constant exposure to gender socialization. From birth, we become sensitive to society's opinion of what a man or woman should be. The way we dress, the way we act, the choices we make, and the way we interact with others can all be linked in one way or another to the gender roles present in our lives. Although it may not seem like such a bad thing, gender roles can be very detrimental to a child's growth and development. This is because gender roles provide strict guidelines that one feels obligated to conform to, leaving little choice or autonomy for a child growing up in our society. In order to explore the origins of how gender roles are learned, a robust definition of gender in relation to sex must be developed. Sex is completely biological and the physical sex organs one is born with are determined by nature. Gender, on the other hand, is in no way biological: it is actually something that is decided and dictated by societal and parental influence. What it means to be a man or a woman is something we are taught. Contrary to popular belief, it is clearly not something pre-programmed into our brain. The American Psychological Association defines gender as “…the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for boys and men or for girls and women.” These influence the way people act, interact and perceive themselves. This definition confirms that gender is learned rather than hereditary. As a psych...... middle of paper ......Web. November 13, 2011.Bruner, Jerome S. and Helen Haste. Giving meaning: the child's construction of the world. Hoboken: Routledge, 2011. “Childhood Gender Identity” e-book. YouTube - Broadcast yourself. TVO Parents, April 30, 2009. Web. November 13, 2011. “Gender Identity and Gender Confusion in Children.” Healthy children. American Academy of Pediatrics, May 11, 2011. Web. November 13, 2011. Hoffman, January. “Boys will be boys?” Not in these families. » New York Times June 10, 2011, n. page. Internet. November 30, 2011. Maes, Cheryl. Email interview. November 16, 2011. McDaniel, Sarah, Kelsi Caywood and Natalie Wahl. "Should Children Be Raised Neutral? (Our Tour Column)." Local Michigan news, breaking news, sports & weather - MLive.com. Kalamazoo Gazette. Internet. November 7, 2011. Ya-Lun, Tsao. “Gender Issues in Young Children’s Literature.” Improved reading. (2009): 108-14. Internet. November 6. 2011.