研究发现男女差异化在小时候已经开始了

Study Finds Beliefs About Boy and Girl Differences Start at Early Age

For VOA Learning¹ English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

No matter where they live, children get a strong message about what is expected of them as they grow up.

And, in most countries in the world, these expectations are closely² tied to gender³.

Boys learn that they have to be strong. They are encouraged to explore new things and have adventures. But, researchers say these expectations leave them with an increased risk of HIV, homicide and suicide⁴.

Girls get a message that their bodies are both assets⁵ and problems. They need to look good, but not too good. They need to stay away from boys so they do not bring dishonor to their families.

Dr. Bob Blum is the director of Global Early Adolescent Study at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He led the study. He says it is the first of its kind.

"There was no research at all, no understanding at all of young adolescents."

He said people held the belief that children are not receiving messages about gender, gender-based violence, rape⁷ and things of that nature. But the study came to a different finding⁸.

The researchers talked to 450 poor children and their parents about gender expectations. The talks took place in a total of 15 countries of mixed wealth. Children in the study were between ages 10 and 14.

The World Health Organization, or WHO, and Johns Hopkins Medicine healthcare system were partners for the study.

Poverty's effects

Dr. Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli works⁹ on adolescent health for the World Health Organization. He says poverty has a powerful effect on keeping these damaging ideas alive.

It means boys will be pulled out of school and sent to work. Girls will not be educated, or they will be removed from school as soon as they reach their early teen years. And, they will be forced to marry young.

"If I see the daughter in my house as a burden, and a burden that I need to watch over very carefully because I don't want her to have sex before marriage because, if she does, she's not marriageable. Then what do I do?... I keep her under very tight control and I get her married off as quickly as I can."

But there is a push for change. In Nigeria, study researcher Bamidele Bello found that girls do not want to be limited by their gender.

She said they want to become doctors and professors. They have big goals and do not want their gender to limit them.

In Shanghai, China girls are told they should be economically independent and should not depend on men for financial help. At the same time, girls are told their husbands will leave them if they do not do housework.

This burden does not affect men, said researcher Xiauan Zuo. He said traditional culture requires women to be obedient¹¹.

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Blum says they found that even in the most liberal¹² societies, children internalize the belief that boys are strong and independent and girls are weak and dependent¹⁰.

Children receive these messages all the time – from brothers and sisters, classmates, teachers, parents, family members, religious leaders and sports team leaders.

The researchers also found that, in most cultures, by the time girls are 10 years old, they have been taught that their main asset⁶ is their physical appearance.

Lead co-researcher Kristin Mmari said girls around the world are concerned about their bodies and other peoples' attitudes toward¹³ them. She said in New Delhi, India, the girls talked about their bodies as a big risk that needs to be covered up. And in Baltimore, Maryland, girls told researchers their main asset was their bodies and that they need to look good, but not too good.

Chandra-Mouli said violence against women is extremely common. He said one in three women experience violence from their husbands or other sexual¹⁴ partners.

But the researchers found that gender expectations put boys in danger, too. The social pressure to become strong and independent makes them more likely to be victims of physical violence or homicide. And, there is a higher chance they will have unhealthy behaviors, like tobacco, drug and alcohol¹⁵ use.

Where to go from here

The study said that societies that want healthier young adults need to make changes in gender messaging.

The WHO wants to use the study findings¹⁶ to create programs that change ideas about what is normal for each gender before children reach age 15.

Blum said the researchers will measure changes in their subjects over the next few years to see how beliefs about gender affect individuals' lives. And, they want to see whether programs change these results.

Blum and other researchers from the study discussed their findings at the National Press Club in Washington.

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.

I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

gender – n. the state of being male of female¹⁷

HIV – n. a virus that causes AIDS

homicide – n. the act of killing¹⁸ another person

asset – n. a valuable person or thing

internalize – v. to make something, such as an idea or an attitude, an important part of the kind of person you are

tobacco – n. a plant that produces leaves which are smoked in cigarettes and pipes

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

3 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

4 suicide   

n.自杀，自毁，自杀性行为

参考例句：

• The number of suicide has increased.自杀案件的数量增加了。
• The death was adjudged a suicide by sleeping pills.该死亡事件被判定为服用安眠药自杀。

5 assets   

n.财产；资产

参考例句：

• We capitalized our assets to avoid bankruptcy.我们把资产转作资金以避免破产。

6 asset   

n.有价值的资源，优点，长处；财产，资产

参考例句：

• Ability to get along with people is an asset in business.在商业界善跟别人相处是可贵的优点。
• Intelligence was her main asset.智力是她的主要财富。

7 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

8 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

9 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

10 dependent   

adj.依靠的，依赖的，依赖他人生活者

参考例句：

• He has a mother completely dependent on him.他有一个完全靠他赡养的母亲。
• The country is dependent on foreign aid.这个国家靠外援生存。

11 obedient   

adj.服从的，顺从的

参考例句：

• She is an obedient woman.她是位温顺的女人。
• We're absolutely obedient to the superior.我们绝对服从上级。

12 liberal   

adj.心胸宽阔的；自由(主义)的；慷慨的

参考例句：

• He has a liberal attitude to divorce and remarriage.他对离婚和再婚看得很开。
• This country adopts a liberal foreign policy.该国采用的是开放的外交政策。

13 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

14 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。

15 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

16 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

17 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

18 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。