PT3

• An “AGENT” of gender socialization is any person or group that plays a role in the childhood gender socialization process.
• GENDER Roles assigned by society to males and females
• GActivities deemed by society as appropriate for males and females
• Behaviors expected of males and females • Characteristics expected of males and females
• MAJORITY OF BEHAVIORAL SCIENTISTS AGREE: GENDER ROLES ARE NOT INBORN. THEY ARE LEARNED.
• The most important agent of gender socialization is parents (especially mothers).
• • Gender roles in our society are acquired via the process of socialization rather than biologically determined.
• SOCIALIZATION HAPPENS IN "SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS" These institutions: • Perpetuate the assignment of characteristics associated with women and men • influence gender roles socialization • provide a mechanism of social control that maintains gender roles
• SOCIALIZATION • The process by which an individual learns to conform to the norms of the group where one: ✓ is born with ✓ internalizes these norms ✓ acquire status ✓ plan corresponding roles
• parents are typically a child’s first source of information about gender. Starting at birth, parents communicate different expectations to their children depending on their sex.
• Even parents who emphasize gender equality may inadvertently reinforce some stereotypes due to their own gender socialization.
• FAMILY • Primary force of socialization • Has the most influence because the formative years of every individual is almost always spent with and developed by the family
• 1. MANIPULATION Refers to ways by which parents deter or encourage behavior on the basis of appropriateness as regards gender. Parents encourage "normal" behavior through praise and rewards, and discourage "abnormal" behavior through punishment or disapprova
• B. CANALIZATION Refers to the way by which parents channel the child's interests in activities in conjunction with gender as deemed appropriate.
• C. VERBAL APPELLATIONS • Use of language to label children in a way that reinforces appropriate gender identification. • Telling children what they are and what expectations we have of them
• D. ACTIVITY EXPOSURE • Boys and girls are encouraged to do different activities to familiarize them with gender-appropriate tasks • Activities' conformity to norms and practices reinforces appropriate gender identification
• Media, including movies, TV, and books, teaches children about what it means to be a boy or a girl. Media conveys information about the role of gender in people’s lives and can reinforce gender stereotypes
• MASS MEDIA Reinforces gender stereotypes and sex-based discrimination through media portrayal of men and women. • Men’s Magazine • Women’s Magazine • Advertising MediA
• III. SCHOOL Teachers and school administrators model gender roles and sometimes demonstrate gender stereotypes by responding to male and female students in different ways. For example, separating students by gender for activities or disciplining students differently depending on their gender may reinforce children’s developing beliefs and assumptions.
• EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS The formal school system promotes and encourages the different gender roles between men and women in many ways
• IV. WORKPLACE Organizational cultures shape and reinforce socially appropriate roles for men and women. Drawing on a performativity framework, which assumes that gender is socially constructed through gendered “performances,
• V. PEER GROUP Peer interactions also contribute to gender socialization. Children tend to play with same-gender peers. Through these interactions, they learn what their peers expect of them as boys or girls. These lessons may be direct, such as when a peer tells the child that a certain behavior is or is not “appropriate” for their gender. They can also be indirect, as the child observes same-and other- gendered peers’ behavior over time.
• In Western societies, peer groups are an important agent of socialization.
• Many religious institutions also uphold gender norms and contribute to their enforcement through socialization. From ceremonial rites of passage that reinforce the family unit to power dynamics that reinforce gender roles, organized religion fosters a shared set of socialized values that are passed on through society.
• RELIGION • Reinforces gender stereotypes through religious symbols, teachings, doctrines and their interpretations
• Similar with Religion, is what governs the people and sets laws that dictate what is and what is not, what should and should not be. STATE • Creates laws and policies that ensure the maintenance of the system
• STATE AS A PARTICIPANT The State reinforces and regulates appropriate behavior through the use of rewards and sanctions.