Gender Stereotyping Starts As Early As Three Months

A new study finds that adults show signs of gender stereotyping on babies as young as three months. Adults typically characterize babies' cries as feminine or masculine in these early stages.

Low Pitched Vs High Pitched

Researchers from the University of Sussex, University of Lyon/Saint-Etienne and Hunter College City University of New York observed 15 boys and 13 girls who were around four months old, Parents reported. Medical Daily added the cries were played back to parents and nonparents for assessments.

Babies with higher pitch are thought to be girls while those with lower pitch were thought to be boys. Adults make these gender assumptions even though there was no actual difference in pitch between girls and boys before puberty, Eureka added. The findings were published in the journal BMC Psychology

"There is already widespread evidence that gender stereotypes influence parental behaviour but this is the first time we have seen it occur in relation to babies' cries," Dr. David Reby from the Psychology School at the University of Sussex explains.

Baby girls with lower pitch cries were considered less feminine according to the study. This also goes true with boys: baby boys with higher pitch cries were considered masculine. While in general high pitch cries indicate great distress, baby boys who exhibit this are thought of by men as feeling more discomfort than girls.

"The finding that men assume that boy babies are in more discomfort than girl babies with the same pitched cry may indicate that this sort of gender stereotyping is more ingrained in men," senior author and professor Nicolas Mathevon said.

As a result, girls with the same high-pitched cry may be overlooked compared to boys with the same pitch. While the assumptions are hypothetical, the researchers would like to stress the possible bias when parents or caregivers assess discomfort based on babies' pitch.

While the findings are preliminary, the researchers are going to conduct further studies to determine how such stereotyping can affect the ways babies are treated. Are you guilty of this stereotyping? Let us know by leaving your comments below.

 Bonus clip: check out these tips on how to calm your crying baby. This video has gone viral in various social media platforms.