Intro to Women’s Studies
Soc 200
The Impact of Childhood Gender Socialization on Adult
Personalities and Perspectives
Professor Wonser
Final project
Due: Monday December 5, 2010
Length: 5-6 pages
Part I: Gathering Information: Interviews/Your Own Experiences
The first thing you need to do for this assignment is gather and record some
information. This information will come from 2 primary sources:
(1) your own life experiences; and
(2) an interview with a college student or friend whose sex category differs from your
own. Record your responses and then conduct personal interviews, using the same
questions, with the other person. Each question should be answered fully—i.e., no
simply “yes” or “no” responses. You will need to provide enough personal details and
gather enough information from your respondent to draw interesting comparisons
between yourself and the other person. (NOTE: You must turn in your interview
notes as an appendix to your paper.)
First, think back to when you were in grade school, in 4th, 5th, or 6th grade, for
example. With these images in mind, respond to the following questions:
• What sorts of things contributed most to a person’s level of status among the kids
at your school?
• Did the criteria for popularity apply equally to boys and girls? Explain.
• Describe and give an example of some of the criteria that helped determine levels
of popularity for girls. Describe and give an example of some of the criteria that
helped determine levels of popularity for boys. Which of these criteria were you able
to live up to? Did your ability to live up to these criteria affect how you felt about
yourself? Explain.
Now think back to when you were in junior high and high school. With this time
period in mind, please respond to the next set of questions.
• In what ways, if any, did the criteria for popularity in your social group change when
you went to junior high and high school?
• To what extent, if any, were the criteria for popularity the same as criteria for
“appropriate”
masculinity and/or femininity?
• In what ways were you affected personally by your abilities and inabilities to live up
to
prevailing standards of popularity throughout high school? For example, did these
experiences influence your self-confidence, your gender identity, or your goals?
• How important to you is your ability to live up to prevailing norms and stereotypes
of
masculinity or femininity? In what ways did the experiences you described earlier
influence the importance you place on conformity to gender stereotypes today?
• Do you think that a person’s ability to “fit” gender stereotypes (femininity for women
and
masculinity for men) affects a person’s level of popularity in college? Explain.
PART II: TELLING SOCIOLOGICAL STORIES: GENDER SOCIALIZATION, EXPECTATIONS, AND
PERSONAL OUTCOMES
A. Introduction: Write a brief introduction in which you tell the reader
(1) about the importance of gender socialization processes to the formation of
gender identity;
(2) about the two stories you are going to tell (NOTE: no names are required
here, except your own; make up a name for your respondent. Just include
general background information, like, age, hometown, and/or home state;
sex, race, ethnic backgound, etc.); and
(3) a statement regarding something you think your reader will find interesting
about the similarities and/or differences in your experiences vs. those of your
respondent).
B. The Stories: Based on the information you’ve gathered, tell 2 stories (in any order)
about how early social relationships with peers shape the kind of person one
becomes and what one
thinks about gender later in life.
C. Discussion and Conclusion: In this section you will need to note interesting
similarities and differences between your experiences and those of your respondent.
You will also use your sociological imagination and knowledge to speculate about
why you and your respondent view gender the way you do today. Finally, conclude
the paper with some parting words of wisdom or some “take home lesson” for your
reader.
OTHER DETAILS:
The end product (i.e., the paper you will turn in) will be a well-written, interesting,
typed, double-spaced, grammatically correct, 5-6 page paper. Though you are not
required to use additional reference materials, if you decide to include information
from other sources (e.g., your text, library books, etc.) don’t forget to correctly
reference those materials. This assignment is due Monday December 7, 2009.