Gender Role
Socialization
Objectives
At the end of the chapter, the students
must have:
1. Understood the meaning of socialization;
2. Explained the agents of socialization
3. Describe how agents of socialization
contribute in the development of self;
4. Explained the dynamics of gender role
socialization;
5. Understood gender issues and concerns.
Definition
Socialization refers to the lifelong process of learning to
become a member of the social world, beginning at birth and
continuing until death. It is a lifelong experience by which
individuals develop their human potential and learn culture.
Socialization is the process of internalizing society’s values in
order to adapt to one’s culture. It influences how people behave
as males and females in the society.
Gender socialization encompasses the process of learning
society’s gender roles and their advantages and limitations.
Human Development: Nature and Nurture
The Role of Nature – how much personality
is determined by our biological inheritance.
The Role of Nurture – how much
personality is determined by social-cultural
environment.
Agents of Socialization
Family
 The family is perhaps the most important agent of
socialization for children. Parents’ values and
behavior patterns profoundly influence those of
their daughters and sons.
Peer
 Our peers also help socialize us and may even
induce us to violate social norms. However, peer
groups generally only affect short term interest
unlike the family, which has long term influence.
Agents of Socialization
School
 Schools teach set of expectations about the work,
profession, or occupations they will follow when
they mature. Schools have the formal responsibility
of imparting knowledge in those disciplines which
are most central to adult functioning in our society.
Workplace
 At the workplace, a person meets people of
different age groups and belonging to different
social and cultural backgrounds.
Agents of Socialization
Mass Media
 Television shows, movies, popular music, magazines,
web sites, and other aspects of the mass media influence
our political views; our tastes in popular culture; our
views of women, people of color, and gays; and many
other beliefs and practices.
Church
Many religious institutions also uphold gender norms and
contribute to their enforcement through socialization.
Religion fosters a shared set of socialized values that are
passed on through society.
Role
Role set – a number of roles attached to a single status.
Role conflict – occurs when incompatible demands are built into a
single status that a person occupies (e.g., a woman whose roles
include fulltime employee, mother, wife, caregiver for an elderly
parent, community volunteer).
Role Strain – refers to the stress when, for any number of reasons, an
individual cannot meet the demands of their social roles (e.g., doctor
to a public clinic who is responsible for keeping expenditures down
and providing high quality patient care simultaneously).
Role exit – occurs when people disengage from social roles that have
been that have been central to their identity (e.g., divorced women and
men, retirees, ex-nuns).
Gender Role Socialization
Gender Role Socialization is the process of learning and
internalizing culturally approved ways of thinking, feeling,
and behaving according to one’s gender.
Gender Stereotypes are fixed, unquestioned beliefs, or
images we carry in the back of our minds about women
and men.
Gender Discrimination refers to any situation where a
person is denied an opportunity or misjudged solely on the
basis of their sex. Gender discrimination is when someone
is treated unequally or disadvantageously based on their
gender but not necessarily in a sexual nature.
Gender Role Socialization
Gender roles are highly resistant to change due to
continuous exposure and reinforcement of gender
differentiation.
 Once internalized, gender roles are further reinforced,
maintained, and sanctioned by the mechanism of social
control: family, language, school, church, media.
Agents of Socialization in the
Context of Gender Role
1. Family: Four Processes in Child’s Learning of Gender
Bias
1st stage: Manipulation – where people treat boys and
girls differently
2nd stage: Canalization – people will direct their attention
to gender appropriate objects exemplified by toys
3rd stage: Verbal Appellation – words used to tell children
what they are.
4th stage: Activity Exposure – children are familiarized
with gender appropriate task.
Agents of Socialization in the
Context of Gender Role
2. Education/Schools
 Schools reinforce sexist concepts e.g., textbooks depict stereotyped roles like
females as mother, housewives, sewers, or well-behaved girls, and males as
fathers, workers, or naughty adventurous little boys.
3. Language
 Language to communicate thoughts or ideas in the most pervasive institution of
socialization.
 Sexist terms, no matter how subtle, very easily maintain gender ideology e.g.
using male “man” (whether by itself or as prefix/suffix) and “he” to refer to both
sexes.
Agents of Socialization in the
Context of Gender Role
4. Churches/ Religion
 Religious teachings depicting women as martyrs, selfsacrificing and conservative, etc.
5. Mass Media
 Print and broadcast media are most effective
socializing agent; subtle and often subconscious way
plus long amount of time people expose themselves to
media.
Agents of Socialization
Context of Gender Role
Gender roles are deep-seated in the culture as well as
beliefs and value systems of the society. Pervasive social
control further reinforces, maintains, and sanctions
gender roles.
THEREFORE, ALL OF US NEEDS TO BE
CONSCIOUS
OF
OUR
BELIEFS
AND
ASSUMPTIONS AS THESE OFTEN IMPEDE THE
ATTAINMENT OF OUR FULL POTENTIAL AS
HUMAN BEINGS AND THOSE FOR WHICH WE
ARE RESPONSIBLE.
in
the
Manifestations of Gender Bias
1. Marginalization
The process which forces women out into the
periphery of economic and social life; on the
periphery of decision making, as well as
diminishing the value of the activities in which
they contribute to the national development
process.
Manifestations of Gender Bias
2. Subordination
 Is the institutionalized domination by men and
women
 Position (very few women in politics and top
positions)
 Status (weaker sex)
 Decision making (women are not included in
planning and decision-making process.)
VISION: Quality participation in decision
making, recognition of capabilities
Manifestations of Gender Bias
1. Multiple Burden
 Involvement in the three spheres of work:
reproduction, production, and community work
(parenting, housework, work in the public/private
sector).
VISION: Shared parenting, shared housework;
shared breadwinning.
1. Gender Stereotypes
 Fixed, unquestioned beliefs or images we carry in the
back of our minds about men and women
VISION: Liberation from stereotyped images: nonsexist child rearing, non-sexist language.
Manifestations of Gender Bias
1. Violence Against Women
 Acts of instilling fear and inflicting pain with the aim to
injure, or abuse a person usually women using
intimidation, emotional abuse, isolation, minimizing,
denying, and blaming, using their children, using male
privilege, using economic abuse, using coercion, and
threats.
VISION: Freedom from violence, freedom from
harassment, control over one’s body, nonthreatening behavior, respect, thrust and support,
honesty and accountability, responsible parenting,
shared responsibility, economic partnership,
negotiation and fairness.
Gender Sensitivity
 The ability to recognize gender issues
 Wo/men’s different perceptions and interests
arising from their social location and different
role
 Renaming and reimaging wo/men relationships
to bring about mutuality and partnerships.
 Not a war of sexes
 Not an anti-male stance (both women and men
are victims, although women are affected more
than men. In practically all cultures women have
lower status than men.)
How to be Gender Sensitive
Seeing women and men, what they actually do,
rather than relying on assumptions.
Hearing women and men, their needs, priorities,
and perspectives
Counting the value of women’s work
Respecting the full dignity of women and men
Caring about women and men and what happen to
them.
References
• https://archive.unescwa.org/gender-discrimination
• https://share.stanford.edu/get-informed/learntopics/gender-discrimination
• https://www.equalrights.org/issue/economicworkplace-equality/discrimination-at-work/
• https://www.unicef-irc.org/evidence-for-action/whatis-gender-socialization-and-why-does-it-matter/