GENDER ROLE AND

SOCIALIZATION
CHRISTOPHER S. SICAT, MAEd
DMC GAD FOCAL PERSON

National GAD Resource Program

Philippine Commission on Women
 SESSION OBJECTIVES
1. To deepen understanding and appreciation of Gender

2. To look further into the different social structures that

influence gender beliefs and practices

National GAD Resource Program

Philippine Commission on Women
SOCIALIZATION AND
SOCIAL CONTROL
MECHANISMS

National GAD Resource Program

Philippine Commission on Women
 MECHANISM 1: FAMILY
• socialization starts when baby is born

• influential in formative years

National GAD Resource Program

Philippine Commission on Women
 Stages of Socialization in the Family
Stage Description
1: Manipulation • people treat boys and girls differently
• Manifested in the ways infants are
handled differently

2: Canalization • people direct children’s attention to

gender-appropriate objects
• exemplified by choice of TOYS
• Association teaches them prescribed
roles in life in the future
National GAD Resource Program
Philippine Commission on Women
 Stages of Socialization in the Family
Stage Description
3: Verbal • Words used to tell children what they are:
Appellation “brave boy”, “pretty girl”
• Words used in what are expected of them:
“boys don’t cry”, “girls do not climb trees”
4: Activity • children familiarized with gender appropriate
Exposure TASKS
 Girls expected and encouraged to help
mother in household tasks, take care of
younger siblings
 Boys allowed and encouraged to play or work
outside the home
National GAD Resource Program
Philippine Commission on Women
MECHANISM 2: SCHOOL
• enforces sexist concepts
• Teachers are unaware of their own gender-
stereotyped behavior
• Instructional materials portraying gender
stereotypes
• Young males may reject academic work
because of equating learning with
femininity
National GAD Resource Program
Philippine Commission on Women
National GAD Resource Program
Philippine Commission on Women
 MECHANISM 3: LANGUAGE
• to communicate thoughts or ideas is the most pervasive
institution of socialization
• Sexist terms, no matter how subtle, very easily maintain
gender ideology
- Using male “man” (whether by itself or as prefix/suffix)
- “He” to refer to both sexes
- Typecasting women in certain roles/occupations e.g.
“housewife”
- Associating women in certain derogatory terms
- Treating women as appendages of men (e.g. President
Ramos and wife Ming)
National GAD Resource Program
Philippine Commission on Women
 MECHANISM 4:
CHURCH/RELIGION
• Religious teachings depict women as
 Martyrs
 Self-sacrificing and conservative
 Prevent them from fully discovering themselves
& their other characteristics
 Reinforces the belief that “women’s place is in
the home” & women’s primary obligation is to be
good mothers and wives

Thus, limiting women’s rights to shape their destiny

National GAD Resource Program
Philippine Commission on Women
 MECHANISM 5: MEDIA
• Most effective socializing
agent
• Subtle & often subconscious
way
• Long amount of time people
expose themselves to media
National GAD Resource Program
Philippine Commission on Women
 MECHANISM 5: MEDIA
Stereotype images in Advertising/Soap Opera
Women:
1. as “housewife” who has to buy products
to lighten her burden
2. as loving mother and wife who serves
her husband and children
3. as a beautiful woman who has to attract
the attention of men or hold her
husband’s attention through the use of
advertised products
4. as Sex Objects whose body is used as a
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come-on for men to buy products
Philippine Commission on Women
 MECHANISM 5: MEDIA
Stereotype images in
Advertising/Soap Opera
Men:
1. courageous, principled,
determined, and assertive
2. also portrayed as violent,
engaged in sports, professions,
wars
3. camaraderie with other men
4. the conquest of women
National GAD Resource Program
Philippine Commission on Women
 MECHANISM 6: WORK
• Gender discrimination in
relation to occupation and
pay
• Balance of family life and
work
• Question of power
relations as well access and
control to resources
National GAD Resource Program
Philippine Commission on Women
 MECHANISM 7: THE STATE
• Creates laws and policies
that ensure the
maintenance of the system
• Instrumental in passing
laws that are
discriminatory to women
and other sexual
orientations

National GAD Resource Program

Philippine Commission on Women
 Maraming
salamat
po!
National GAD Resource Program
Philippine Commission on Women