An Analysis Of Gender Socialization

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An Analysis of Gender Socialization

Socialization plays an instrumental role in establishing and assessing the manner in which communities develop. Essentially, the human interaction and the factors affecting those interactions are the building blocks of theories applied to humans. A critical aspect is to determine the gender-specific roles that are nurtured from early childhood in society. Certain things as toys and clothes are attributed to specific traits. For girls, submissiveness dominates the nature of these attributes. For boys, the courageous and authoritative message is reflected in the toys and clothes.

Personal Reflection

In my childhood, I cherished playing with female toys. My parents made me believe that I was a girl and thus inculcated in me the traits commonly found in girls. The pink color is my favorite color. There exists a potential reason behind cherishing the pink color. The toys I used to play with in the childhood were Barbie dolls and kitchen sets. These instances sound typical and commonly the society advances to engage each girl in these norms. Similar was the case with me. However, these gender-specific norms left a significant impression and later contributed to the establishment of character and personality.

In addition, the toys and girlish frocks taught me to remain submissive. I used to observe boys dressed in the attire of action heroes and playing with fancy cars and similar toys. It is a critical aspect fueling the gender-based stereotyping and gender socialization. Irrefutably, the socialization shapes the society and I can claim it because of very own experiences.

The toys and clothes sent a message of always being dressed up, taking care of babies and preventing from engaging in the materials designed for boys only. Such contentious were the manifestations and the message delivered by these toys ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"l2I77JZ0","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(\\uc0\\u8220{}The Effects of Gender Socialization on Men and Women | Penn State - Presidential Leadership Academy (PLA),\\uc0\\u8221{} n.d.)","plainCitation":"(“The Effects of Gender Socialization on Men and Women | Penn State - Presidential Leadership Academy (PLA),” n.d.)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1911,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/H8YOvGFC/items/ACIFDZHJ"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/H8YOvGFC/items/ACIFDZHJ"],"itemData":{"id":1911,"type":"webpage","title":"The Effects of Gender Socialization on Men and Women | Penn State - Presidential Leadership Academy (PLA)","URL":"https://sites.psu.edu/academy/2016/04/07/the-effects-of-gender-socialization-on-men-and-women/","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",1,29]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“The Effects of Gender Socialization on Men and Women | Penn State - Presidential Leadership Academy (PLA),” n.d.). Gender socialization nourishes on these beliefs to separate the male and female norms since the stages of early childhood ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"mTgzoTV0","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Klass & M.D, 2018)","plainCitation":"(Klass & M.D, 2018)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1910,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/H8YOvGFC/items/FRHIB5KK"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/H8YOvGFC/items/FRHIB5KK"],"itemData":{"id":1910,"type":"article-newspaper","title":"Breaking Gender Stereotypes in the Toy Box","container-title":"The New York Times","section":"Well","source":"NYTimes.com","abstract":"What toys children play with can influence the skills they learn and the possibilities they see for themselves.","URL":"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/well/family/gender-stereotypes-children-toys.html","ISSN":"0362-4331","language":"en-US","author":[{"family":"Klass","given":"Perri"},{"family":"M.D","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2018",2,19]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",1,29]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Klass & M.D, 2018). Furthermore, a critical assessment of the gender-specific toys and clothes reveals certain potential values are propagated by them. For instance, boys are taught to sit and posture in a rigid and solid manner. The mannish clothes they wear are a reflection of the deliberated value. For girls, they are taught by the parents and society to adopt feminine values and attitudes. Taking care of their dolls and keeping the kitchen-setup toy clean are the explicit illustrations of these values.

Critical Appraisal of Gender Socialization and Impact

Each culture offers distinct guidelines pertinent to the appropriate culture and values for male and female. In American society, parents who persistently strive to acquire a less gendered parenting style are also unconsciously urged to reinforce these gender roles in their life. The impacts of these gender-specific roles cultivate the larger picture of the gender culture observed in society. Since society expects the women to be nurturing in comparison to the men, giving a doll to a girl teaches the attitude of care and harnesses the values for caring other members of the society ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"mqV5aEWQ","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(\\uc0\\u8220{}(PDF) Gender Socialization and Identity Theory,\\uc0\\u8221{} n.d.)","plainCitation":"(“(PDF) Gender Socialization and Identity Theory,” n.d.)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1914,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/H8YOvGFC/items/KLPKRH9J"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/H8YOvGFC/items/KLPKRH9J"],"itemData":{"id":1914,"type":"webpage","title":"(PDF) Gender Socialization and Identity Theory","URL":"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/295398445_Gender_Socialization_and_Identity_Theory","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",1,29]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“(PDF) Gender Socialization and Identity Theory,” n.d.). When boys are gifted with dolls, they will probably be the action figures designed to fuel the alleged aggressive inclinations in boys.

In addition, gender socialization techniques often manifest impediments for different genders. Men who work in the traditionally female workplaces as social work, nursing or elementary school are often viewed as qualified than women. However, an absolute opposite experience is witnessed by women. I myself believe that women who work in a traditionally male occupied place hit a glass ceiling in their path. It must be deemed an invisible barrier which keeps women from achieving top ranks in business and career settings. Such occurrence lies at the very heart of gender socialization.

Assessing the Sources

The outside source as an article published in The New York Times comprehensively underpins the adverse ramifications of the gender socialization ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"icjcg6QE","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Klass & M.D, 2018)","plainCitation":"(Klass & M.D, 2018)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1910,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/H8YOvGFC/items/FRHIB5KK"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/H8YOvGFC/items/FRHIB5KK"],"itemData":{"id":1910,"type":"article-newspaper","title":"Breaking Gender Stereotypes in the Toy Box","container-title":"The New York Times","section":"Well","source":"NYTimes.com","abstract":"What toys children play with can influence the skills they learn and the possibilities they see for themselves.","URL":"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/well/family/gender-stereotypes-children-toys.html","ISSN":"0362-4331","language":"en-US","author":[{"family":"Klass","given":"Perri"},{"family":"M.D","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2018",2,19]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",1,29]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Klass & M.D, 2018). It highlights the widespread menace of stereotyping existing in the society. A critical aspect is noteworthy to be mentioned here. It states that children struggle to nourish and potentially in the presence of gender socialization. A girl being made habitual to playing with Barbie by the parents may never experience the joy of playing with trains and superheroes. Similar is the case with boys. Thus, parents ought not to be restricting the students from experiencing diversity, especially related to toys and clothes. Between 2-3 years of age, children begin to learn psychological changes. If they are restricted by handing toys and clothes with specific attributes, it may impede their growth. The bottom line is that a boy will remain a boy and the girl will stay to be a girl, irrespective of the toys given to them.

The other source is the primary source of a report published by the United Nation’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in 2017 to deliberate the causes, manifestations and implications of gender socialization ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"oBcpAINZ","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(\\uc0\\u8220{}What is gender socialization and why does it matter?,\\uc0\\u8221{} 2017)","plainCitation":"(“What is gender socialization and why does it matter?,” 2017)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1908,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/H8YOvGFC/items/GDFZ2GIK"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/H8YOvGFC/items/GDFZ2GIK"],"itemData":{"id":1908,"type":"webpage","title":"What is gender socialization and why does it matter?","container-title":"Evidence for Action","abstract":"Gender socialization during adolescence is a critical period new gender roles emerge and negative outcomes of some gender norms begin to manifest","URL":"https://blogs.unicef.org/evidence-for-action/what-is-gender-socialization-and-why-does-it-matter/","language":"en-US","issued":{"date-parts":[["2017",8,18]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",1,29]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“What is gender socialization and why does it matter?,” 2017). The report stipulates the pervasive menace of gender socialization in backward and least educated areas. Girls in such areas are taught to remain obedient while the boys are taught to remain aggressive and far ahead than girls in social and economic status. The paper further makes pivotal recommendations to make policies at the structural level to encourage the communities to achieve gender equality and abrogate the radical and widespread culture of gender inequality.

References

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Klass, P., & M.D. (2018, February 19). Breaking Gender Stereotypes in the Toy Box. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/well/family/gender-stereotypes-children-toys.html

(PDF) Gender Socialization and Identity Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2019, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/295398445_Gender_Socialization_and_Identity_Theory

The Effects of Gender Socialization on Men and Women | Penn State - Presidential Leadership Academy (PLA). (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2019, from https://sites.psu.edu/academy/2016/04/07/the-effects-of-gender-socialization-on-men-and-women/

What is gender socialization and why does it matter? (2017, August 18). Retrieved January 29, 2019, from https://blogs.unicef.org/evidence-for-action/what-is-gender-socialization-and-why-does-it-matter/