Gender Socialization PDF

Gender  Clarifying the Difference Gender Refers to the social categories of male and female Sex Refers to the biological status of being male or female  Traditional Cultures From Boy to Man Boys typically have less contact with their families and more contac...

Gender  Clarifying the Difference Gender Refers to the social categories of male and female Sex Refers to the biological status of being male or female  Traditional Cultures From Boy to Man Boys typically have less contact with their families and more contact with peers During adolescence the ‘world expands for boys’ Boys enjoy new privileges reserved for men For boys, manhood is something that has to be achieved  ‘Achieving’ Manhood For boys the attainment of manhood is often fraught with peril and carries a definite and formidable possibility of failure In most cultures an adolescent boy must demonstrate three capacities before he is considered a man: 1. Provide – show skills that are economically useful 2. Protect – show he can contribute to protecting his family, kinship group, tribe, or other group 3. Procreate – must gain some degree of sexual experience before marriage Three Manhood Transformations (Rotundo, 1993) 1. Communal Manhood (17th and 18th centuries) – The focus on gender expectations for adolescent boys was on preparing to assume adult role responsibilities in work and marriage 2. Self-Made Manhood (19th century) – Males were increasingly expected to become independent from their families in adolescence and emerging adulthood 3. Passionate Manhood (20th century) – Passionate emotions such as anger and sexual desire became regarded more favorably as part of the manhood ideal – Self-expression and self-enjoyment replaced self-control and self-denial as the paramount virtues  Traditional Cultures From Girl to Woman – Girls typically work alongside their mothers from an early age 6 or 7 – Girls typically maintain a close relationship with their mothers – During adolescence the ‘world contracts for girls’ – Girls endure new restrictions observed for women – Girls have narrower socialization at adolescence because their budding sexuality is more likely to be tightly restricted  Girls in American History Four areas where the lives of adolescent girls were narrowly constricted: 1. Occupational Roles 2. Cultural perceptions of females 3. Sexuality 4. Physical Appearance Gender Intensification Hypothesis Psychological and behavioral difference between males and females become more pronounced at adolescence because of the intensified socialization pressures to conform to culturally prescribed roles Gender intensification occurs especially for adolescents who are exposed to socialization pressures to conform to traditional gender roles  Family, Peers, and School Differential Gender Socialization – Socializing boys and girls according to different expectations – Creates an understanding of ‘appropriate’ behaviors for males and females – Differential socialization most often results from how parents and teachers were socialized – Reflects a culture’s beliefs about gender – Parents and teachers may do this without even thinking consciously about what they are doing One study found that 90% of all infants observed at an American shopping mall were wearing clothing that was gender specific in color or style (Shakin et al. 1985).  Magazines… a special issue Magazines, more than any other medium, display the most obvious focus on gender socialization, especially for adolescent girls Physical appearance is stressed as being of ultimate importance There is also an intense focus on how to be appealing to boys Boy magazines are not clearly gender focused  Differential Socialization… Based on your experience, give examples of differential gender socialization in childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood. In which period do you think the “difference” was most pronounced? How do you think this impacts youth today?  Cognitive Developmental Theory of Gender Gender is a fundamental way of organizing ideas about the world Age 3 Age 4 or 5 Age 6 to 10 Age 12 to 16 Understand Identify things Perceptions of Perceptions of themselves as as appropriate gender gender become being either for either males become less more rigid – male or female or females rigid gender intensification As adolescents become more capable of reflecting on these issues, they become more concerned with compliance to gender norms for themselves and others. Masculinity, Femininity, & Androgyny The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974) – Describes traits regarded by most members of the American majority culture as being masculine or feminine – Most widely used measure of gender role perception – A cross-national study of young people in 30 countries found similar gender role perceptions with remarkable consistency (Williams & Best, 1990) 1. Self-Reliant 11. Affectionate 2. Compassionate 12. Independent 3. Shy 13. Aggressive 4. Analytical 14. Sympathetic 5. Dominant 15. Athletic 6. Ambitious 16. Child-Like 7. Loyal 17. Tender 8. Understanding 18. Individualistic 9. Assertive 19. Competitive 10. Cheerful 20. Gullible  Bem Sex Role Inventory … the answers! 1. Self-Reliant – Masculine 11. Affectionate – Feminine 2. Compassionate – Feminine 12. Independent – Masculine 3. Shy – Feminine 13. Aggressive – Masculine 4. Analytical – Masculine 14. Sympathetic – Feminine 5. Dominant – Masculine 15. Athletic – Masculine 6. Ambitious – Masculine 16. Child-Like – Feminine 7. Loyal – Feminine 17. Tender – Feminine 8. Understanding – Feminine 18. Individualistic – Masculine 9. Assertive – Masculine 19. Competitive – Masculine 10. Cheerful – Feminine 20. Gullible – Feminine  Androgyny The term used for the combination of masculine and feminine traits in one person Advocates of androgyny have argued that being androgynous is better than being either masculine or feminine because an androgynous person has a greater repertoire of traits to draw on in their daily lives Advocates point to research that show androgynous children are more flexible and creative than other children (Hemmer and Klieber, 1981) Androgynous women are better at saying “no” to unreasonable requests (Kelly et al., 1981) But what about adolescents? Is androgyny best for them?  Gender Stereotypes in Emerging Adulthood Stereotype – Occurs when people believe others possess certain characteristics simply as a result of being a member of a particular group Gender Stereotypes – Attributing certain characteristics to others simply on the basis of whether they are male or female (Kite et al., 2008) Example: Dresses are female Example: Football is male  Persistence of Beliefs about Gender Differences Even when there is a statistically significant difference between males and females, for most characteristics there is nevertheless more similarity than difference between genders Most human characteristics fall into a NORMAL DISTRIBUTION where a small proportion of people rate much higher; a small proportion rate much lower; but most people fall somewhere in the middle  The Bell Curve: looking at math and gender Figure 5.4 – Benbow & Stanley, 1980 Even when gender difference exist between males and females the portion of the two bell curves that overlap is much greater than the portion that is distinctive to either gender Benbow & Staley 1980; Sex Differences In Mathematical Ability, Factor or Artifact? Science Persistence of Gender Differences 1. Gender schemas tend to shape the way we notice, interpret, and remember information according to our expectations about genders 2. Social roles for males and females enhance or suppress different capabilities (social roles theory) 3. Differential gender socialization leads males and females to develop different skills and attitudes which leads to different behaviors – the differences in behavior seem to confirm the appropriateness of the different roles  Gender and Globalization Adolescent girls today have opportunities that were unknown to women in previous eras of Western history The proportion of females in fields such as medicine, business, and law are considerably higher than 20 years ago However, women tend to earn less money than men even when they are doing similar work Gender equality still has a long way to go!  Gender and Globalization In countries outside the West, adolescent girls have much less in the way of educational and occupational opportunities In most developing countries, adolescent girls are considerably less likely than boys to go to a secondary school (United Nations, 2011) As traditional cultures proceed toward economic development, they may offer more opportunities for girls As economies become more developed and complex, brain matters more than brawn and men’s physical advantage ceases to matter in work – women may have more opportunity for different gender roles