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Leslie Zuniga

Nadine Gordon

UWRT 1103-

04/16/19

Effects of females having Female Role Models

As is clear to most, everyone needs a role model, but for women who struggle in male

dominated fields and can be treated differently than men, having a role model to look up to can

be extremely beneficial. Although well acknowledged by fellow women and ignored by men,

women are treated differently. Having a role model can create inspiration for women and girls

of all ages. This paper will outline both the positive and negative effects of role models on

young girls and women and also go into contributing factors of why these role models are

important.

Even at a very young age, girls can be affected by role models, or specifically by things

that they see. A study was performed exploring the possible negative effects of Disney Princess,

they studied topics such as negative body image, and the later presence of gender-stereotypical

behavior among girls and boys. The study had no evidence of a negative effect of the girls’ body

image, which is attributed to the fact that not enough time has passed to correctly analyze

those results. It did, however, show that there was a link between playing with Disney toys,

watching Disney movies and gender-stereotypical roles such as resonation of gender roles,

through toy advertising. Role models can affect even young children learning what is right and
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what is wrong. Through only seeing girls play with certain toys, like princess dolls, and kitchen

sets, this makes it clear to them that it is what they should be doing because , “girls don’t play

with action figures”, the socialization of children when they are young is what can actually stay

with them forever.

Even toys nowadays are separated into girls toys and boys toys,

making it seem as though your gender will automatically determine

what you are able to do or what is deemed as acceptable behavior

for you. This can have a seemingly and understandably limiting

effect on the aspirations of girls, looking up to role models can

influence you but growing up but being conditioned to be

submissive is detrimental to a child’s development.

The showing of role models to young girls can be very beneficial especially when they

can identify themselves within someone who is seen as successful. As girls see themselves in

other people it can give them the motivation and strength to pursue things that they had never

seen a woman do (Watson 2018). (Examining the Cognitive Processes Used by Adolescent Girls

and Women Scientists in Identifying Science Role Models: A Feminist Approach) : Shows how

many young kids view scientists as ‘an elderly man in a white lab coat’, and how this study was

performed in a community where there was an outreach program in which young girls were

exposed to female scientists. The aim of the study was to provide inclusiveness to these young

girls that were not exposed to someone who had the same experiences or backgrounds that

they had, because they had been exposed to mostly male role models in that field. Focus

groups were formed during the experiment, split based on ethnicity/race, into three main
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groups, Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic/latinx (which is an ethnicity, I know)(Buck

688) . The change in what they perceived as role models changed over time, firstly starting out

as parents/grandparents, and their idea of scientists changed slowly from only guys to guys and

sometimes, rarely, girls. Which I would deem a somewhat accurate description, although there

are strides being made towards equality, there is still a long way to go. A big point that the

African American and Hispanic students made that they wanted and needed more

representation, stating, “they need a black scientist”(Buck 699). One thing that this study did

lack was diversity, but the study was conducted around an already existing program that had

people that had already volunteered. Just like the girls in these small focus groups needed role

models that they related to, so do all the girls around the world who are growing up wondering

what they should be when they group. I know that for me especially growing up in the united

states and going to school with a lot of Caucasian students, it was difficult for me to find

someone to identify with, and that is just essential in preventing a student from not feeling

alienated. To make a change in these male dominated fields, we need to be more inclusive,

provide more opportunities and programs for younger kids to become involved in so that their

interest can grow in these fields. In an interview with my roommate Kiara, I discovered more

about how even younger people can be bigger role models on girls than even celebrities,

creating a closer connection and an outlet for the problems and concerns of todays youth.

Many people believe that seemingly negative influences in the media can play a part in

how young girls act. Although I haven’t found any evidence to support that, it is a topic

commonly seen on social media. However, seeing something repeatedly and not measuring up

to that standard can make your self esteem drop. There was a study performed that showed
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the effects of selfies on women. Taking and saving selfies was correlated to a decreased self-

esteem, and posting a picture was linked to social hypersensitivity in relation to how people will

comment or react to the pictures they post. Approval is wanted when posting pictures. It is

mentioned that during teen years, peers are the biggest influencers, second only to, mothers.

Meaning that self-comparison to peers is ultimately what causes the biggest drop in self-

esteem when posting these selfies on social media. This can eventually lead to the development

of eating disorders, in severe cases where someone may be comparing their size to others’,

while possibly coming across social media pages targeted at people with eating disorders

(Goodman 210). A personal experience I had was discovering a page around the time that I was

in my younger teens, which was an account of a girl who was anorexic and had a goal to lose a

certain amount of weight, it was the first time that I had been exposed to something like that,

which could have had a very negative effect on me. Luckily it did not, but it did open my eyes to

how it can be easy to be sucked into spaces that can be toxic, emphasizing the point that peers

can at times be the biggest influencers, and in this case in a negative way.

Women in male dominated fields tend to feel alienated at times. This could be

contributed to the out of place feeling that comes with being surrounded by all men and feeling

as if they do not belong. A study has shown that women in medical school that have been

exposed to successful female doctors have regained interest in their field and also have a

recorded higher feeling of belonging and security, according to (Rosenthal 465). Knowing a

adolescent woman who is interested in going into the computer science field, it is no surprise to

me that it can be discouraging and very difficult for young girls envisioning themselves in fields

in the first place, only to be discouraged from continuing in the field once they get there
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because of the sexism and career barriers that they experience because of the disproportionate

amount of men in a field compared to women.

Seeing a mother or father going through something such as domestic violence or drug

addiction can influence a girl going through adolescence. Repeated behavior eventually

becomes learned behavior. Meaning that as young children repeatedly witness abuse, it

becomes something that is deemed acceptable. If a mother is being abused it can increase the

changes of a young girl stepping into the same situation. A study was performed looking at the

possible link between witnessing domestic abuse in a household/community and the possible

repercussions it could have on a child’s life. (McKinney, B. K. (2015)). Although the study could

not specifically target what the types of violence girls who had witnessed abuse at home, would

eventually go through, it prove that simply being exposed to situations of that nature put young

girls at severe risk of undergoing the same abuse later in life, due to the normalization of it. In

most cases however, if a girl was able to adapt for the time being, she would later learn to cope

and most times, prevent herself from getting into that same situation. Another aspect to

consider is that witnessing violence, can then result in increased aggression for a child or

adolescent because of the feeling that it is okay because it happens all the time.

Through my research, I learned that there is a lot to be learned about the factors that

determine the reason that children can grow up and feel limited, or feel bad about themselves.

Although I feel that having strong role models, both as a woman and just as a black, white,

Hispanic, Asian , native American, or any ethnicity or race can greatly impact a girl/ woman in

an extremely positive manner, I also feel that even just looking up to parents or family with bad

habits can get you stuck in a place that is difficult to overcome. A big point to emphasize is that
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mothers pass on their knowledge, and parts of their upbringing to their children, in turn, if a

mother was raised to believe that a woman’s place is in the home, and she actually believes

that, then that would be an ideal that she would then instill into her child. Therefore, if we do

not begin to let girls know that they can do what they set their minds to, and actually follow

through, by ensuring that employers adhere to standards in which women are given the same

opportunities as men, the world will keep inching forward with change.
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Works Cited

Buck, Gayle A., et al. “Examining the Cognitive Processes Used by Adolescent Girls and Women

Scientists in Identifying Science Role Models: A Feminist Approach.” Science Education, vol. 92,

no. 4, July 2008, pp. 688–707, doi:10.1002/sce.20257.

Campbell, David E., and Wolbrecht, Christina. “See Jane Run: Women Politicians as Role Models

for Adolescents.” The Journal of Politics 68.2 (2006): 233–247. Web.

Coyne, S. M., Linder, J. R., Rasmussen, E. E., Nelson, D. A. and Birkbeck, V. (2016), Pretty as a

Princess: Longitudinal Effects of Engagement With Disney Princesses on Gender

Stereotypes, Body Esteem, and Prosocial Behavior in Children. Child Dev, 87: 1909-1925.

doi:10.1111/cdev.12569

Goodman, J. Robyn. “Mapping the Sea of Eating Disorders: A Structural Equation Model of How

Peers, Family, and Media Influence Body Image and Eating Disorders.” Visual Communication

Quarterly, vol. 12, no. 3–4, Dec. 2005, pp. 194–213, doi:10.1080/15551393.2005.9687457.

McKinney, B. K. (2015). Witnessing parental domestic violence and young girls' dating

relationships (Order No. 3708025). Available from ProQuest Central; ProQuest

Dissertations & Theses Global. (1696333630). Retrieved from

https://librarylink.uncc.edu/login?url=https://search-

proquestcom.librarylink.uncc.edu/docview/1696333630?accountid=14605
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