Gender Socialization

Janice Z. Morales
 Becoming Gendered
SOCIALIZATION
‘The process by which
society’s values and norms,
including those pertaining to
gender, are taught and
learned.’ (Renzetti & Curan,
1992: 57)
 Becoming Gendered
O “Gender socialization is the
process by which individuals learn
the cultural behavior of femininity
or masculinity that is associated
with the biological sex of female
or male” (Linsey,2016, p.65).
 Becoming Gendered
O Cultures are organized through social
institutions that ensure that the basic needs of
society are met in established, predictable
ways. Although it is the social institution of
the family that sets the standards for the
emergence of gender roles in children, the
family itself is shaped by overall cultural
values regarding gender.
 Becoming Gendered
O Intersectionality- It is important
to understand that gender intersect
with race and social class.
O There are different agents of
socialization that shape our gender
indetity.
 Becoming Gendered
O Agents of Socialization- these are
the people, groups, and social
institutions that provide the critical
information needed for children to
become fully functioning members
of society.
 Becoming Gendered
O Agents of Socialization
O 1. FAMILY- the most significant
among institutions particularly in the
child’s primary socialization.
O Our gender is learned first in the family
and reinforced by other institutions.
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 Becoming Gendered
O Agents of Socialization
O 2. Peers- With family gender role
models as a foundation, peer
influence on children’s gender
socialization is even more
powerful.
 Becoming Gendered
O Agents of Socialization
O 3. School- Schools provide
experiences that offer technical
competence as well as the learning
of values and norms appropriate to
the culture.
 Becoming Gendered
O Agents of Socialization
O 4. Media- People today are the most
media-saturated and media-engaged in
history (Kung-Shankleman, Towse, &
Picard, 2007). American teens typically
spend up to 50% of their waking hours
engaging some form of media
(Mastronardi, 2003) .C:\Users\admin\Videos\Media
and Gender_Global Sociology.mp4
 Becoming Gendered
O Agents of Socialization
O 5. Religion- our personal values on
gender is also greatly shaped by the
religious beliefs and the religious
community we belong.
 Becoming Gendered
O In his book, The Male Experience (1997) James
Doyle identified five themes of Masculinity in
the U.S. which include:
O 1. Don’t Be Female- most boys learn they must
not think, act, or feel girls/women.
O - Peer groups pressure males to be tough and
aggressive.
O When a young boy wants to hurt another boy, he
is likely to call him by a name associated with
femininity directly (girlie) or indirectly (sissy)
 Becoming Gendered
O In his book, The Male Experience (1997)
James Doyle identified five themes of
Masculinity in the U.S. which include:
O 2. Be Successful- boys are required to be
successful in sport and other activities.
O “Many men today, like Aaron, say that being a
good provider —an internalized requirement
that appears to cut across lines of race and
economic class (Eagly, 1996; Ranson, 2001 as
cited in Wood, 2007).
 Becoming Gendered
O In his book, The Male Experience (1997) James
Doyle identified five themes of Masculinity in the
U.S. which include:
O 3. Be Aggressive- “The masculine code tells men
to fight, defeat others, endure pain stoically
themselves,andwin,win, win. Dr. Michael Miller
(2003 as cited in Wood, 2007) says that many men
don’t seek help when they are depressed because
their gender identity is “tied up with strength,
independence, efficiency, and self-control” (p.
71).”
 Becoming Gendered
O In his book, The Male Experience (1997) James
Doyle identified five themes of Masculinity in the
U.S. which include:
O 4. Be Sexual- “Men should be interested in
sex—all the time, any time. They are expected to
have a number of sexual partners; the more
partners a man has, the more of a stud he is (Jhally
& Katz, 2001 as cited in Wood, 2007).
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 Becoming Gendered
O In his book, The Male Experience
(1997) James Doyle identified
five themes of Masculinity in the
U.S. which include:
O 5. Be Self-Reliant- Autonomy is
central to social views of
manliness.
The Construction of ‘Pagkalalaki’
• Traits we commonly attribute to males:
1. Macho (manly)
2. Lalaking –lalaki
3. May katawang pangromansa (hunk)
4. Binyagan (had a sexual experience)
5. Hindi pundido (potent)
6. Dominante (domineering)
The Construction of ‘Pagkalalaki’
• De Castro (n.d.) differentiates
notions of ‘pagiging lalaki’ and
‘pagkalalaki’ saying that the
former refers to the
biological/physical sex and the
process of becoming a man
while the latter is a sociological
and a personal concept.
The Construction of ‘Pagkalalaki’
• In the Philippines, some study
(Santiago, 1975;
Aguiling-Dalisay, et.al., 1995b)
would differentiate ‘tunay na
lalaki’ from ‘ganap na lalaki.’
The Construction of ‘Pagkalalaki’
• TUNAY NA LALAKI (real man) are
‘ma-prinsipyo’ (principled) while GANAP
NA LALAKI (actualized man) refers to a
concept of being a ‘family man.’
• Lalaking-lalaki (very manly) describes
the kind of comportment that men should
have.
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4.flv
 Becoming Gendered
O Five themes in current views of femininity:
O 1. Appearance still counts- To be desirable,
women are urged to be pretty, slim, and well
dressed.
O 2. Be Sensitive and Caring-” They feel
pressure to be nice, deferential, and helpful in
general, whereas men are not held to the same
requirements (Simmons, 2002 as cited in
Wood, 2007)
 Becoming Gendered
O Five themes in current views of femininity:
O 3. Negative Treatment by others-
O In the United States, sons are preferred,
although the preference is less strong than in
former eras (Starling-Lyons, 2003).
O In some cultures the preference for males is so
strong that female fetuses are often aborted,
and female infants are sometimes killed after
birth (Hegde, 1999a, 1999b; Parrot &
Cummings, 2006; Pollitt, 2000).
 Becoming Gendered
O Five themes in current views of femininity:

O 4. Be Superwoman- “It’s not

enough to be just a homemaker
and mother or to just have a
career—young women seem to
feel they are expected to do it
all.”(Wood, 2007)
 Becoming Gendered
O Five themes in current views of femininity:

O 5. There is no single meaning of

feminine anymore- definitions of
femininity are diverse, sometimes
confusing and conflicting.
The Construction of ‘Pagkababae’
• In a lot of literatures, pagkababae
(femininity) is usually defined in
relation to masculinity.
• The descriptions are most often than
not stereotypical.

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The Construction of ‘Pagkababae’
• Even as early as the Spanish period,
tied with ‘pagkababae’ are concepts
such as ‘being delicate, fragile,
emotional, reserved, chaste, etc.’
• The burden of the woman is that she
serves as the gatekeeper of sexuality
(e.g. ‘tukso’ sa lalaki)
O Society, through the different
agents of socialization organized
the individual’s life and
continuously construct gender.
O How we see ourselves is part and
parcel a product of our
socialization