Gender Socialization

Gender Socialization describes a process where people are pushed into what appears to be appropriate masculine or feminine behaviors.  This process follows people throughout their lives from the toys they play with as children to the career they choose in adulthood. Some of the most notable ways people are exposed to this gender socialization fis through parents, peers and media. Gender socialization forces people to act in a certain manner that they otherwise wouldn't and because of this, many people feel trapped or limited by their gender.  Isabella Crepsi, a professor at the University of Milan, Italy, describes gender socialization as, "...the process through which the child becomes an individual respecting his or her environment laws, norms and customs." (Crespi).

This article writes a brief overview of gender socialization of the contrast of gender vs sex.

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Beginning at a young age, children learn that certain genders are expected to like things related to that stereotype. Little girls are taught to enjoy the color pink, play with barbie dolls and love princesses, while young boys are expected to like the color blue, play with action figures and engage in more physical activities.  Parents even dress their children according to their gender and give them chores that are gender distinctive. There is a very obvious segregation between genders and children learn from an early age how to reach the expectations given by their nature. A video by Study.com briefly overviews the topics discussed here. 

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From birth, people are taught how to behave with statements like, "It isn't ladylike!" and "Suck it up and be a man!". It is this kind of upbringing that stunts a person's individuality. Many people feel disturbed when they see people acting without regards to their labeled gender, which leads to people feeling lonely, or misunderstood. The extent to which we force children into their gender stereotypical behavior is at an extreme. In this video by Buzzfeed it shows what life would be like if the amount of stress we place on children and their gender follows them into adulthood. 

As stressed in the video, it seems very controlling to force people into what society deems as 'socially correct'. Even though in adulthood we do not experience this, we do however see it everyday. Media plays a large role in the world today and it impacts our opinions greatly. Television shows, magazines and advertisements are now a part of everyday life and they all have a very similar view on gender. In this article written by Huffington Post writes about the media's effects on gender socialization. 

Media often depicts the "perfect American family" as consisting of a mother, father, and 2 or more children. The father will be the main discipliner and provider of the family, while the mother is shown to be much more loving and be the care-taker for the family. For years the advertising world has depicted that "perfect family" and shaped what should be considered the appropriate behavior of each member. A mother should stay home to clean the house and cook while the father goes off to work. The children are expected to play with their gender specific toys and work on their gender distinctive chores, this idea is what shaped the basic American families for generations. This article contains a timeline of gender stereotyping and its effect on society. "History of Gender Stereotypes in Advertising"

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There is a lot of criticism that comes with breaking the status quo and deciding to follow what they want instead of what is expected of them. Today we see a much larger group that decide to not let their gender define them; more men are joining in once female-dominant fields such as teachers, nurses and social workers. Women have begun to take control of their education and their lives and because of this children are beginning to learn that individuality is not to be feared. Although there is still a lot of gender stereotyping in today's society there is a noticeable change to a more modern way of thinking. 

Citation:

Blumenfeld, W. (2013, August 8). Examining Media's Socialization of Gender Roles. Retrieved September 29, 2015.

McSorely, B. (2014, May 12). Gender Socialization. Retrieved September 29, 2015.

Early Childhood: Early Gender Socialization. (2009, August 7). Retrieved October 3, 2015.