Socialization Into Gender
BARBARA J. RISMAN
(1998)
Gender Socialization
 Children are socialized to behave in gender-defined
roles
 Living in a gendered and sexist society differently
prepares boys and girls for adulthood.
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Boys are socialized to work in teams and compete.
Girls are socialized to value nurturing.
Gender Socialization
 Socialization happens in children’s play and in their
families
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Boys’ games are more likely to be outside, involve teams, and
be age-integrated.
Girls are more likely to play make-believe games with one or
two others, and to quit the game instead of working through
conflict.
 Parents participate in gender-typing by rewarding
gender-typical play and punishing gender-atypical
play.
The Pink and Blue Project
JEONGMEE YOON
Children in Fair Families
 More families are moving toward shared parenting
and more liberal gender socialization for children.
 Risman examines how children in egalitarian
families fare in a gendered society.
 Egalitarian (Fair) Families
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Gender does not dictate who does what or who has more
power
Parents share household responsibilities
Parents share child care responsibilities
The Interviews
 Risman interviewed 21 children from egalitarian
families.
 Three formats
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4- to 6-year-olds: interview questions resembling stories
7- to 10-year-olds: interview questions, poem writing, free-play
11-year-olds an up: open-ended and written questions
 Research Question: How do these children negotiate
gender, given their atypical parents?
Ideology
 16 of the 21 children entirely adopted their parents’
egalitarian views of gender
 Most of the children were true believers in the
capabilities of men and women to perform the same
jobs and family roles.
Ideology – Interview Quotes
 “I told you I think anybody can do these jobs…I think
that saying just men or women could do these jobs
isn’t being equal.” – 9-year-old boy
 “I don’t think that it is the least bit fair that in most
places males have the main power. I think that
women play an important part and should be free to
do what they want to do.” – 9-year-old girl
 “It’s probably easier being a guy. At least it is now
because of stereotypes and prejudices and
everything.” - 15-year-old boy
Experiences
 When their ideology contradicts their experiences as
boys and girls, life wins hands down.
 When family experiences collided with peer
experiences, the family influences were dwarfed.
 The children know that men and women are equal; it
is boys and girls that are totally different.
 None of the 4- to 6-year-olds have begun to believe
that boys and girls are different; this is not true for
most children in mainstream families
Experiences - Poem
If I were a girl I’d have to attract a guy
wear makeup; sometimes.
Wear the latest style of clothes and try to be
likeable.
I probably wouldn’t play any physical sports like
football or soccer.
I don’t think I would enjoy myself around men
in fear of rejection
or under the pressure of attracting them.
- 8-year-old boy
Identity
 “All-girl” girls and “All-boy” boys
 Only 6 of the children have identities that fit their stereotyped
notions about childhood gender.
 Androgynous preferences
 15 children cross gender lines in interests and interpersonal
style.
 All the girls are more feminine than masculine and all the boys
are more masculine than feminine.
Conclusion
 Three themes resulted from the interviews and
observation
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1) The parents are very successful at transferring their ideological
values to their children
2) The children’s experiences at school have taught them that boys
and girls are not similar, nor do they think they should be.
3) Identities seem more dependant on experiences with peers than
from ideology.
 The children growing up in egalitarian families are
happy, healthy, and well-adjusted.
 Changing families alone does not allow children to
escape gender socialization; effective social change
requires collective action and alliances across families,
schools, and friendship networks.
Any Comments or Questions?