Gender Socialization

Gender contributes to the initial context within which adults respond to a child Research would suggest that gender role socialization begins at the time of an infant's birth Gender Socialization

Gender stereotypes Stereotypes are representative of a society’s collective knowledge of customs, myths, ideas, religions, and sciences The socialization of gender within our schools assures that girls are made aware that they are unequal to boys

Gender stereotypes Every time students are seated or lined up by gender, teachers are affirming that girls and boys should be treated differently

Gender stereotypes When different behaviors are tolerated for boys than for girls because 'boys will be boys', schools are perpetuating the oppression of females

Gender stereotypes There is some evidence that girls are becoming more academically successful than boys, however examination of the classroom shows that girls and boys continue to be socialized in ways that work against gender equity

Gender stereotypes for males and females Teachers socialize girls towards a feminine ideal Girls are praised for being neat, quiet, and calm, whereas boys are encouraged to think independently, be active and speak up Girls are socialized in schools to recognize popularity as being important, and learn that educational performance and ability are not as important "Girls in grades six and seven rate being popular and well-liked as more important than being perceived as competent or independent” (Bailey, 1992) “Boys, on the other hand, are more likely to rank independence and competence as more important." (Bailey, 1992)

Socialization of femininity At very early ages, girls begin defining their femininities in relation to boys One study of a third grade classroom examined four self-sorted groups of girls within the classroom: the nice girls the girlies the spice girls the tomboys

Socialization of femininity The nice girls was considered a derogatory term indicating an absence of toughness and attitude The girlies were a group of girls who focused their time on flirting with and writing love letters to boys The tomboys were girls who played sports with the boys The spice girls espoused girl-power and played 'rate- the-boy' on the playground Reay's research shows that each of the groups of girls defined their own femininities in relation to boys (2001)

Socialization of femininity The Reay study further demonstrates how the school tolerates different behaviors from boys than from girls Assertive behavior from girls is often seen as disruptive and may be viewed more negatively by adults The spice girls asserted themselves in ways contrary to traditional femininity caused them to be labeled by teachers as "real bitches".

Gender Bias Gender bias is also taught implicitly through the resources chosen for classroom use Using texts that omit contributions of women, that tokenize the experiences of women, or that stereotype gender roles, further compounds gender bias in schools' curriculum

While research shows that the use of gender-equitable materials allows students to have more gender- balanced knowledge, to develop more flexible attitudes towards gender roles, and to imitate role behaviors contained in the materials schools continue to use gender-biased texts

Early gender socialization Most parents are extremely interested in learning whether their newborn infant is a boy or a girl, and intentionally or not, this knowledge elicits in them a set of expectations consistent with beliefs about gender-role-appropriate traits

Early gender socialization The category-based beliefs about gender- appropriate traits are called gender-role stereotypes Adults' stereotypes of young children include personality traits as well as interests, and few characteristics are not gender-typed

Lego for boys

Lego for girls

Early gender socialization Parents generally prefer that their children adhere to traditional gender-roles, and are concerned when they do not (Martin, 1990) The extent to which cross-gender behavior in children is discouraged has been found to be dependent upon the sex of the child Studies have shown that boys who engage in traditionally feminine activities are viewed more negatively than girls who engage in masculine activities (Feinman, 1974, 1981; Martin, 1990) Women have been found to be more accepting of children's cross-gender behavior than men (Martin, 1990).

Studies One way to study whether parents’ differing treatment of boys and girls depends on the child’s gender is to present adults with children mislabeled as the other sex

Results Knowledge of an infant’s gender is a consistent determinant of adults' reactions Parents tended to rate male-labeled infants to be “bigger”, “stronger”, “noisier”, “faster”, “meaner” and “harder” than female-labeled infants

Other research questions How do parents respond when their children do not behave consistently with their gender? In one study preschool children were instructed (unbeknown to their parents) to play with opposite sex toys Their parents were brought in to watch their kids

Inappropriate behavior Parents were please to observe their daughters play with girls’ toys, and they were tolerant when their daughters played with boys’ toys Mothers were not pleased to observe their sons play with girls’ toys, however, fathers criticized their sons when they played wit so-called girls’ toys One father physically moved his son away from the cooking toys he was happily playing with

Gender Policing One study found that many preschool boys reported that their fathers believed that playing with girls’ toys is “bad” and “harmful” In short, parents engage in “gender” policing when their children engage in cross-sex activities Fathers tend to police more than mothers, and everyone policies boys more than girls.

Assigning chores to children Finally, when discussing parents’ influences on children, it is important to know how parents assign chores to their children Research shown that parents assign their daughters to do household chores and to care for other children Boys are assigned to outside maintenance and heavy lifting

Help with homework Parents offer more help to daughters than sons, when they work on school problems and intellectual tasks Although it seems to favor girls on the surface, it may train girls to be more passive and dependent than boys

Gender messages Such behaviors send clear gender messages to children and set the stage for sex differences in the family, education, and work roles later in life. They also foster the development of different cognitive abilities and social skills in girls and boys.

Peer influences Children’s play activities (especially boys’) may be molded more by peers than adults

Mass media Children learn a lot about gender from the mass media Males and females are portrayed differently Female characters are sexualized, even when they are portrayed in serious roles such police officers, nurses, doctors, and lawyers Men on TV are portrayed as heroes and problem solvers

Mass Media

Quiz # 4 Using Mead’s theory, distinguish between I and Me. Discuss how “play” and “games” help in the development of the Me (according to Mead).