GEN 010 – GENDER SOCIALIZATION

Modules 10-11
GENDER SOCIALIZATION
• Gender socialization is the process by which people adopt socially acceptable behaviors, gender norms,
beliefs, and attitudes linked with their biological sex.
• Individuals watch and mimic what is modeled before them in terms of how the genders should act.
Women are trained to act in ways that reflect idealized femininity, while men are socially rewarded for
adhering to hegemonic masculine values.
• Gender socialization begins in early infancy and is influenced by the school system, the family unit, peer
socialization, authoritative figures, and mass media consumption.
• Social Learning Theory – states that learning happens through observation, imitation, and modeling and
is impacted by elements such as attention, motivation, attitudes, and emotions. The idea considers the
combination of environmental and cognitive factors that influence how people learn.

PROCESS OF GENDERED SOCIALIZATION EXAMPLES

1. Manipulation – handling girls and boys • Gendered toys
differently. • Gendered hobbies
2. Canalization – directing children’s attention • Gendered career paths
through gender-appropriate objects. • Gendered roles in media
3. Verbal Appellation – telling children what
expectations others have of them.
4. Activity Exposure – familiarizing children with
gender-appropriate tasks.

GENDER SOCIALIZATION AROUND THE WORLD

Asian Families. For Asian American children, gender roles emphasize female subordination to all males and
older females in a highly patriarchal family structure. This is especially true for Indian American families where
traditional ethnic and religious values about gender persist even with highly educated professional parents.
Children expect their parents to arrange meetings with prospective marriage partners.

Latino Families. There is a great deal of diversity within Latino subcultures in the United States, but they share
a Catholic heritage that has a powerful impact on gender roles. Religious socialization fosters women’s
subservience to men and teaches girls to value motherhood above all other roles. Women are expected to be chaste
before marriage and dependent after marriage. Latino parents, especially mothers, are stricter with messages
related to sexual risk for girls than for boys (Raffaelli and Ontai, 2004; Killoren and Deutsch, 2013).

African American Families. Compared to other racial and ethnic groups, research on gender socialization in
African American families is more extensive as well as more inconsistent. Compared to children of other races,
African American children are socialized into views of gender that are less rigid and less stereotyped. African
American girls from homes with nontraditional gender roles have high achievement motivation and self-esteem.
Compared to white males, African American males—both older children and adults—participate more in
housework and childcare.