Unit 13 Summary.docx

Chapter 13 Summary Gender socialization is a powerful process through which individuals learn to adopt behaviors and attitudes considered appropriate for their gender according to societal norms. Gender vs Sex: Sex is biologically determined, while gender is a social construct. For example, colors l...

Chapter 13 Summary Gender socialization is a powerful process through which individuals learn to adopt behaviors and attitudes considered appropriate for their gender according to societal norms. Gender vs Sex: Sex is biologically determined, while gender is a social construct. For example, colors like pink and blue are often associated with girls and boys, respectively. Binary Perception: Viewing gender as a binary concept excludes many who do not fit into the ‘male’ or ‘female’ categories. Stereotypes often reinforce this binary perception, which is not biologically accurate. Agents of Gender Socialization: Various agents play a role in gender socialization: Family and School: These are intentional forms of socialization. They teach children what it means to be male or female. For instance, girls might be encouraged to wear pink dresses and play delicately, while boys might be encouraged to play outdoor games like soccer. Media: This is an unintentional form of socialization. Media often portrays males as physically aggressive and emotionally reserved, while females are usually depicted as opposite. Religion: Religious leaders like Joel Osteen can influence gender perceptions. The male voice is often dominant in many religions, contributing to gender socialization. Religion often influences dress codes as part of religious socialization. For instance: Amish Women: They are expected to adhere to a specific dress code, which typically includes modest, solid-colored dresses, aprons, and bonnets. Muslim Women: Some interpretations of Islam require women to cover their bodies, including their faces, as a sign of modesty and piety. This practice varies widely among different cultures and individuals. Gender socialization involves several dominant themes based on typical gender stereotypes. These themes intersect with variables such as class, status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and single parenting. While these patterns are general, there are exceptions, and individual experiences can vary widely. It’s important to challenge these stereotypes and promote a more inclusive understanding of gender. Key themes for females: Sociability: Females are often expected to be relational, verbal, communicative, self-disclosing, sensitive, and kind. More emphasis is placed on girls being empathetic and kind than boys. Popularity: From an early age, girls may compete for popularity in social settings like classrooms. This could involve staying on top of trends, such as owning popular toys or following fashion trends. Physical Appearance: Society often values females primarily through their appearance, rather than their intelligence, skills, or character. Girls are encouraged to pay more attention to their clothing and overall appearance from a young age, which can lead to toxic beauty standards in adulthood. Role as Wife/Mother: It is often assumed that every girl will become a wife, mother, or both. This assumption is not socialized to the same extent in boys and can lead to pressure on girls to have children, even if they do not want to. Key themes for males: Independence: From an early age, boys are encouraged to be autonomous and self-motivated. Studies have shown that parents are more willing to let boy toddlers wander further away than girl toddlers, indicating a societal expectation for boys to be more independent. Emotional Suppression: Society often expects males to be fearless, tough, and able to handle any situation. Expressions of sadness or vulnerability can be seen as signs of weakness, which can lead to emotional suppression. This can have harmful psychological effects, as it can make it difficult for males to identify and manage their emotions. Achievement: Boys are expected to aspire, achieve, and be competitive. A lack of competitiveness or interest in sports can be seen as problematic. Earner/Provider: Society often expects males to be the primary earners or providers in a household. This can lead to a double standard, as males may face more pressure to secure stable, full-time employment than females. However, these expectations are slowly changing. The text discusses how societal norms and expectations shape the roles of men and women. Girls are traditionally taught empathy and communication skills, preparing them for roles as caregivers and supporters. Boys, on the other hand, are groomed for success, taught to be self-sufficient, and ambitious. These differing expectations influence their roles in relationships, with women often being the supportive caregivers and men taking the lead. However, these norms are slowly changing, with girls being encouraged to be independent and pursue careers and education. Yet, boys who exhibit traditionally 'feminine' traits or wish to support an ambitious partner are often not as accepted. This highlights the deep-rooted nature of gender stereotypes in society and the harm they cause to both genders. Gender Socialization in the Family This video discusses the profound impact of family on gender socialization, which is mostly unconscious and absorbed through parents’ actions rather than their words. For example, children may internalize gender roles by observing their mother cooking or their father not expressing emotions. These early experiences shape our self-perception, values, beliefs, and motivations. The video also highlights the class-based differences in gender expectations, and the global preference for male children, which can lead to gendercide in some cultures. This preference is often enforced through policies, as seen in China’s one-child policy, and societal pressures, such as the expectation for mothers to produce a male heir. Furthermore, the video discusses the gender stereotypes reflected in practices like gender reveal parties and baby naming. It’s noted that a boy’s gender is often revealed with an explosion, while a girl’s gender is revealed with a soft fog. This could be seen as reinforcing traditional gender norms, where boys are associated with strength, power, and loudness (symbolized by the blue explosion), and girls are associated with gentleness, delicacy, and calmness (symbolized by the soft pink fog). Boy names are often associated with strength and toughness, while girl names are associated with softness and beauty. This is evident in the harsh consonants in boys’ names and the flowing syllables in girls’ names. The text discusses the “Baby X Experiment” from the 1970s, which studied how people interact with babies based on their perceived gender. In the experiment, subjects were unknowingly given a baby to hold and told its gender. The subjects tended to cuddle and use affectionate language with a baby they believed was a girl, while they treated a baby, they believed was a boy as tough and strong. When given a baby without a specified gender, the subjects were unsure how to interact, indicating that societal scripts for interacting with male and female babies are deeply ingrained. This experiment highlights the unconscious biases and gender stereotypes that influence our behavior from a very early age. The video emphasizes the pervasive and often unconscious nature of gender socialization, starting from prenatal contexts and continuing through childhood: Body Language and Communication: Boys generally experience more physical contact and movement but less eye contact, which is crucial for recognition and psychological development. Boys tend to develop advanced motor skills, while girls develop more verbal and interactive skills. Perception of Emotions: A study showed that the same infant’s reactions were interpreted differently based on the assumed gender, with ‘fear’ attributed to girls and ‘anger’ to boys. These daily interactions shape their self-perception, emphasizing the role of nurture over nature. Room Decor: Girls’ rooms often have soft colors and focus on appearance with accessories, while boys’ rooms have bold colors and toys promoting active play. This creates different environments that encourage girls to focus on appearance and boys to engage with the world. Childhood Emotional Scripts: Boys are encouraged to express anger but not sadness or fear, while girls are allowed to express and identify their emotions but are judged more harshly for anger. Boys are encouraged to ‘tough it out’ and girls to ‘talk it out’. Behavior Reinforcement: Aggressive behavior in boys is encouraged, while girls are rewarded for gentleness, empathy, and compliance. Natural traits are directed in ways that may be harmful if they don’t align with the child’s true self. Family Chores: There is still a gendered division of labor in homes, with women typically doing cooking and cleaning and men doing outdoor and technical maintenance. This limits the life skills children acquire, with some men wishing they’d learned to cook and women wishing they’d learned car maintenance. Children’s Toys: Boys’ toys often encourage spatial and visual manipulation, development of gross motor skills, aggression, and competition. They are usually portable and relate to the outside world. Girls’ toys, on the other hand, encourage more placid play and focus on nurturance and physical attractiveness, which can lead to underdeveloped motor skills. Many girls’ toys are about dressing and undressing dolls, inviting them to think about appearance. Some are already highly sexualized. To prevent harm from gender stereotypes, toys need to be less gender specific. Children’s Books: A study of first day-of-school books at a public library found that 80% had boys as protagonists, with girls in the background. To stop reinforcing gender stereotypes, the stories read to children need to change, although such books are hard to find. Children’s Clothing: In the 1900s, all children, including boys, wore dresses. Around the 1920s, blue/red and pink/purple were assigned to boys and girls respectively, a trend reinforced by the capitalist market to increase sales. Girls’ clothing tends to be more decorative and restrictive, affecting how they sit, run, and play, and potentially making them more vulnerable. It may invite inappropriate attention, and some girls learn to “pose sexy” at an early age. Girls’ clothing is becoming increasingly sexualized, with lingerie and thongs marketed to younger ages. This video discusses the role of peer groups in gender socialization. It highlights the differences in how boys and girls interact within their peer groups and the activities they engage in. Key points include: Boys’ peer groups often value athletic prowess and coolness, with a focus on toughness and defiance. As they grow older, success with girls becomes a marker of masculinity. Boys’ peer networks are typically larger and centered around sports and automobiles. Girls’ peer groups are usually smaller, with a focus on interpersonal interaction, empathy, and sharing feelings. They tend to show higher levels of indirect aggression, and there is a greater emphasis on physical appearance and socioeconomic status. Female subcultures have expanded to include traditionally male values such as autonomy, achievement, initiative, and sports. However, the same cannot be said for boys’ subcultures, which have not expanded to include traditionally female values. In the realm of play and sports, boys’ activities are often large, rule-bound, and competitive, while girls’ activities are more relational and cooperative. Sports were originally used to shape boys’ character and prepare them for public life, but this is increasingly becoming part of female sports as well. Despite the increasing participation of women in sports, media coverage is still heavily skewed towards male-dominated sports, which contributes to the difficulty of achieving equal pay in sports for women. According to Stats Canada, a higher percentage of males participate in sports compared to females, with the gap being wider among the immigrant population. Even successful female athletes are often portrayed differently than their male counterparts. For instance, male athletes are often shown with their medals in strong poses, while female athletes are frequently sexualized in their media portrayals. The text concludes with the observation that in sports, men are often the focus of attention, acting and competing, while women are often relegated to the sidelines, appearing as cheerleaders or other decorative roles. This reflects broader societal norms where men are often seen as actors, while women are seen as objects of appearance. When children are young, they are encouraged to play together regardless of gender. However, as they grow older, they increasingly play in same-sex peer groups due to societal norms and expectations. Interactions between boys and girls are often labeled as romantic from an early age, leading to misconceptions and stereotypes. This can cause issues in adulthood, such as suspicion in relationships when one partner has friends of the opposite sex. The text notes a positive shift in younger generations, who are encouraging non-romantic relationships between genders. This is seen as a way to combat gender stereotypes and promote understanding and bonding between genders, recognizing shared humanity despite different experiences.