Download Gender Roles and Gender Role Socialization

SEX, GENDER, AND GENDER
ROLE SOCIALIZATION
Women’s Studies 101
Sex
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Sex refers to the physical and biological attributes of
men and women
Sex includes the chromosomal, hormonal, and
anatomical components of males and females.
Gender and Gender Identity
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Gender refers to the social, psychological and cultural
attributes of masculinity and femininity, many of which are
based on biological distinctions
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Gender includes people’s self image and expectations for behavior
among other things
Gender describes societal attitudes and behaviors expected of
and associated with the two sexes.
Gender identity refers to the degree to which an individual
sees herself or himself as feminine or masculine based on
society’s definitions of appropriate gender roles.
Gender Characteristics?
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Generally, sex is considered to be an ascribed status
while gender is an achieved status
Examples of gender characteristics? What physical,
emotional, or other characteristics are considered
“masculine” or “Feminine”?
The Social Construction
of Gender
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Gender Roles
– Expectations regarding proper behavior,
attitudes, and activities of males and
females
– Gender roles evident in work and in how
we react to others
Gender Role Socialization
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Gender role socialization is “...a lifelong process
whereby people learn the values, attitudes,
motivations, and behavior considered appropriate to
each sex by their culture”
Gender role socialization takes place from earliest
childhood through adolescence and throughout all
social interactions in which we participate
Gender Role Socialization
Socialization approach emphasizes conscious social
learning
 ‘Proper’ behavior is reinforced through rewards
while inappropriate behavior is punished
- children modify behavior in order to maximize
rewards and minimize sanctions
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Gender Role Socialization
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Children learn proper behavior for girls and boys
through parents, the media, peer groups, and other
sources of socialization
At an early age, children develop stereotypical
conceptions of both genders, and begin to use these
conceptions to organize their knowledge and
behavior
Masculine Scripts
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2.
3.
4.
No sissy-stuff - men are expected to distance
themselves from anything feminine.
Big wheel - men should be occupationally or
financially successful.
Sturdy oak - men should be confident and selfreliant.
Give ‘em hell -men should do what is necessary to
“make it”
Feminine Scripts
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Women should offer emotional support.
Ideal woman is attractive, not too competitive, a
good listener and adaptable.
Women are expected to be good mothers and put
the needs of others first.
Superwoman - successful at a career and a good
wife/mother.
Theories on Gender Inequality
Table 7-1 Sociological Perspectives on Gender
Functionalist Theory on Gender Inequality
(Structural Functionalist Perspective)
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Functionalists suggest that since women give birth and
nurse a child, it is natural that they will take care of it in
other ways
These duties lead to a natural division of labor, in which
women are more involved in domestic activities such as
preparing meals and maintaining a home
Men, therefore are left to engage in breadwinning
activities and other economically dominant roles
Functionalist Theory on Gender Inequality
(Structural Functionalist Perspective)
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Parsons and Bales refer to the roles of men and
women as instrumental roles and expressive roles
respectively
Pre-industrial society required a division of labor
based on gender.
Women nursed and cared for children.
 Men were responsible for material needs.
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Industrialization made traditional division of labor
less functional, belief system remains.
Conflict Theory on Gender Inequality
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Focuses on why gender inequality persists, even though men and
women are not tied to traditional roles as might have been the case in
earlier times
Suggests that men continue to dominate women because of their
greater control over economic, political and social resources
Because there is no incentive for those in power to give up this control,
these arrangements persist far beyond their functional necessity
Continued domination by males requires a belief system that supports
gender inequality.
Two beliefs
 Women are inferior outside the home.
 Women are more valuable in the home.
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Gender and gender roles are learned through
socialization process.
Women are socialized into expressive roles; men are
socialized into instrumental roles.
Rubin, Provenzano, and Luria, 1974
- in the first 24 hours after birth, parents described
girls and boys differently, though there were no actual
differences between them
 Jacklin, 1984
- parents give sons toys that encourage invention and
manipulation, while girls receive toys that emphasize
caring and imitation
 McHale et al., 1990
- parents assign boys maintenance chores, and give
girls domestic tasks
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Media Influences
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Messages about gendered behavior and interactions are also
conveyed through television, movies, magazines, and books
On average, each day a 4-year-old watches 2 hours of
television and a 12-year-old watches 4 hours (Comstock and
Scharrer, 2001)
Some European nations ban ads before, during, and after
children’s television programming