It seems that what happens to girls at this age is a self-preservation
mechanism. Since it is the case with most text books and materials in
elementary school and up that men are the dominant players in the history
of our world, girls don't have many opportunities to see their own gender
modeling future possibilities outside of the stereotypical ones found in
the media. Since they would rather not see themselves in these roles,
they can more easily identify with those who they are learning about. It
is a huge shame, and while I am aware that publishers are making an effort
to present a more gender balanced view of history and social studies, we
are very far from a non sexist school environment.
Marc