GENDER SOCIALIZATION

Gender Socialization

Definition:

Socialization refers to a life long learning process through which individuals develop selfhood and acquire knowledge, skills, and motivations required for participation in social life.

Each Society has its gender scripts for masculinity and femininity.

However gender socialization may also be more subtle and implicit through children clothing, toys, and decorating their rooms.

Through socialization we also learn what is appropriate and improper for both genders.

It is very difficult for a child to grow to adult without experiencing.

Parental Influence

Parents treat sons and daughters differently and expecting different behaviour from boys and girls. (Thorne, 1993)

One study indicates that parents have differential expectations from sons and daughters as early 24 hours after birth. (Rubin, Provenzano, & Luria 1974)

Most parents prefer male children instead of female children throughout the world, to carry on the family name and to be a companion to the husband.

Parents encourage their sons and daughters to participate in sex-typed activities, including doll playing and engage in house keeping activities for girls and playing with trucks and engaging in sports activities for boys. (Eccles, jacobs & Harold,1990)

Because socialization is a two-way interaction, and each persons in the interaction influences the others.

“A study of children rooms has shown that girls room have more pink, dolls and manipulate toys.

Boys room have more blue, sports equipments tools and vehicles.

So parents are primary influence on gender role development during the early age of life.

Clothing

It is observed that ninety percent infants are dressed in sex typed clothes.

The vast majority of girls wore pink or yellow while most boys are dressed in blue and read.

So clothing plays a significant role in gender socialization into two ways.

First by informing others about the sex of the child clothing and sends implicit message how child should be treated.

Second cretin types of clothing encourage or discourage particular behaviours or attitudes.

Gender Specific Environment

- Clothing

- Bedroom

- Books

Bed rooms

Parents furnish their children bedrooms and play rooms with gender specific orientations.

The contents of boys rooms are contained with animal motifs and filled with military toys and athletic equipments, musical instruments and models for buildings.

Where as girls bedrooms are decorated with dolls and related items.

So toys not only entertain children but they also play a major role in gender socialization.

Books

Although books plays a significant role in gender socialization.

Peer groups

Parents are not only socialize young children, however the peer groups play a cogent role in socialization.

Socialization is a two way processes socializer (parents, peer groups, school teachers, institution and mass media).

Socialize (children, new entrants)

Role of Mass media in gender socialization:

1. Linguistic sexism

2. The print media

3. Television

Linguistic sexism

Language is a medium of socialization. A child learns the language of his or her culture and shapes his / her behavior in accordance with that culture.

The research studies indicates that men and women speak different gender lets.

Women’s conversation have a cooperative character, where as men’s conversation’s are move competitive, less social and more individualistic.

The print Media

The print media plays a significant role in gender socialization.whereas most magazines concentrate on finance, business, sports, technology, hobbies and sex, women's as well as man’s magazines.

Television

Television is the most popular form of electronic media and it is the most important agent of gender socialization.

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