Gender socialization

Gender socialization is the process by which people learn to behave in a certain way, as dictated by societal beliefs, values, attitudes and examples.  Gender socialization begins as early as when a woman becomes pregnant and people start making judgments about the value of males over females.  These stereotypes are perpetuated by family members, teachers and others by having different expectations for males and females.

Imagine the following scenario: a young pregnant woman is about to have her first child.  When asked whether she wishes to have a girl or boy, she replies that it doesn’t matter.  But, sitting next to her is an older relative who says “Oh, hopefully it will be a boy.”  In small, but meaningful ways such as this, gender socialization starts even before birth. 

Early gender socialization starts at birth and it is a process of learning cultural roles according to one's sex. Right from the beginning, boys and girls are treated differently by the members of their own environment, and learn the differences between boys and girls, women and men. Parental and societal expectations from boys and girls, their selection of gender-specific toys, and/or giving gender based assignments seem to define a differentiating socialization process that can be termed as "gender socialization".  There are numerous examples from varied parts of the world confirming that gender socialization is intertwined with the ethnic, cultural, and religious values of a given society. And gender socialization continues throughout the life cycle.

Children start facing norms that define “masculine” and “feminine” from an early age.  Boys are told not to cry, not to fear, not to be forgiving and instead to be assertive, and strong.  Girls on the other hand are asked not to be demanding, to be forgiving and accommodating and “ladylike”.  These gender roles and expectations have large scale ramifications.  In many parts of the world, girls face discrimination in the care they receive in terms of their access to nutritious foods and health care, leading them to believe that they deserve to be treated differently than boys.  The degree of gender differences observed varies in all cultures in respect to infant, toddler and young child health, nutrition, care developmental activities, education, hygiene and protection.

1. Influence of the Family on Gender Socialization

• Parental Behaviour toward Girls and Boys

• Modelling Parents' Characteristics

• Parental Absence or Unavailability

• Books and Television

• Peers, Gender Roles, and Self-Esteem

Parents' Influence on Children's Gender-Typed Choices

Families actively play a role in gender-role socialization by the ways in which they organize the environment for the child. Boys and girls are dressed differently, receive different toys to play with, and sleep in bedrooms that are furnished differently.

In addition, girls and boys are viewed and treated differently by their parents, particularly their fathers. Boys are thought to be stronger and are treated more roughly and played with more actively than girls as early as birth. As children get older, girls are protected more and allowed less autonomy than boys, and are not expected to achieve as much in the areas of mathematics and careers as are boys.

As predicted by Cognitive Social Learning Theory, parental characteristics influence gender typing in terms of the role models that are available for the child to imitate. Parental power has a great impact on sex typing in boys, but not in girls. Femininity in girls is related to the father's masculinity, his approval of the mother as a role model, and his reinforcement of participation in feminine activities.

Because the father plays such a critical role in the development of children's gender roles, his absence has been related to disruptions in gender typing in pre-adolescent boys and to problems in relationships with peers of the opposite sex for adolescent females. Studies have shown that the effects of a father's absence on his daughter's interactions with men are long-lasting, extending even to marital choices.

2. Extra - Familial Influences on Gender Roles

Many extra-familial influences affect gender-role typing. Male and female roles are portrayed in gender-stereotypic ways in television and in many children's books. Males are more likely  than females to be portrayed as aggressive, competent, rational, and powerful in the workforce. Females are more often portrayed as involved primarily in housework or caring for children.

 Children who are heavy TV viewers hold more stereotyped views; however, this may be due to their interpretations of what they see based on previously held stereotypes. A few attempts to use television to change gender stereotypes have been successful, but the effects typically have been modest and short-lived.

 Children who have masculine or androgynous characteristics are likely to have higher self-esteem than those who have traditionally feminine characteristics.Children are likely to react when other children violate gender-typical behaviours, and boys' cross-gender behaviours are more likely to meet with negative reactions from peers. Reactions from peers typically result in changes in behaviour, particularly if the feedback is from a child of the same sex. This pattern of responsiveness may lead to gender segregation, which, in turn, provides opportunities to learn gender-typical roles. In self-socialization, children often spontaneously adopt gender-appropriate behaviour.

3. Schools and Teachers

Teachers also treat girls and boys differently. Due to the emphasis in school on typically feminine characteristics such as quietness, obedience, and passivity, girls tend to like school better and perform better than boys in the early grades. Even in pre-school, boys receive more criticism from teachers, who often react to children in gender-stereotypic ways. The implication of young boys' perceptions of school as gender-inappropriate may be lowered motivation and interest in school activities, leading to the higher rate of learning problems found in boys during the early grades.