A SEMINAR ON

“GENDER SOCIALISATION AND ITS ROLE IN

CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT”
PAPER- SOC.C.523

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. Saswat Ch. Pujari Suman Agrawal
Asst.Professor Rollno.18S19SO20
Dept. of Sociology PG 4th semester
Sambalpur University

PG DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
SAMBALPUR UNIVERSITY
CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

SOCIALISATION

GENDER SOCIALISATION

AGENTS OF GENDER SOCIALISATION

GENDER ACQUISITION IN CHILDHOOD

GENDER ROLES TAUGHT DURING CHILDHOOD

SOCIAL IMPACT OF GENDER SOCIALISATION ON CHILDREN

CONCLUSION

REFFERENCES
INTRODUCTION
Every society is faced with the necessity of making a responsible member out of each child born
into it. The child must learn the expectation of the society so that his behavior can be relied upon.
Socialization is a process with the help of which a living organism is changed into a social being.
It is a process through which the younger generation learns the adult role which it has to play
subsequently. Human beings that belong to different societies have varied perceptions, opinions,
and manners towards socialising with the same or opposite sex. Categorized in the main gender
types, male and female are known to react in different ways when given and exposed in the same
situation. The process of socialization is not equal for all; as girls and boys are socialize
differently. Regardless of the cultural norms and mores of any society in particular, interaction
with peers, family, classmates, and other people depend on the male’s and female’s orientation in
gender socialisation and gender roles. During childhood when an infant is born they are
socialised regarding their gender, they have different roles to play in society according to their
gender. This gender stereotypical behaviour further leads to gender discrimination in every
sphere of life. So from infancy children should taught about gender neutrality by not promoting
gender stereotype behaviour.

SOCIALISATION

In a society, the way of an individual’s thinking, activities and behaviour, etc. are influenced
mainly by the process of socialisation. Socialization processes are fundamental to the life of
community. Socialization tries to explain mental stimuli learnt, learnt by association with
different rewards and punishments. The society moulds the individual from the time of their birth
in the way it wants the individual to be. Socialization refers to the lifelong process of inheriting
and disseminating norms, customs and ideology, providing an individual with the skill and habits
necessary for participating with in his or her own society. Socialization is a process of cultural
learning whereby a new person acquires necessary skills and education to play a regular part in a
social system. It is the process of fitting individuals into particular forms of group life,
transforming human organism into social being and transmitting established cultural traditions. It
has been noticed that children, with the growth of age, develop a sense about themselves and
their expected roles in the society through the process of socialisation. It is the process of social
learning. Through this process an individual is inducted into the social world. Through this
process, a child becomes an individual respecting their environment, law, norms and customs.
Socialization takes places at different stages such as primary and secondary. The primary stages
involve the socialization of young child in family. The secondary stage involves the school, peer,
mass media, religion etc.

GENDER SOCIALISATION

The concept of gender is considered as a set of social practices which influence the life of both
male and female in the society. According to Greenglass, ‘sex’ refers to person biological status,
whereas, ‘gender’ represent a person’s learned or cultural status. It has also been stated by
Anthony Giddens and Sutton (2014) that sex refers to physical reference of the body and gender
refers to the psychological, social and cultural aspects of the male and female. Gender refers to
the behavioural characteristics of an individual regarding an individual’s essence of womanhood
or manhood, masculinity or femininity. Gender describes the different social practices,
expectations and idea that are associated with masculinity and femininity. Gender socialization is
the process by which individuals are informed about the norms and behaviours associated with
their assigned sex, usually during childhood development. Gender socialization is the process of
learning the social expectations and attitudes associated with one’s sex. Sociologists explain
through gender socialization why human males and females behave in different ways: they learn
different social roles.

Hensley contends that “an important part of socialization is the learning of culturally defined
gender roles.” Gender socialization refers to the learning of behavior and attitudes considered
appropriate for a given sex. Boys learn to be boys and girls learn to be girls. Gender socialization
is a “process by which individuals develop, refine and learn to ‘do’ gender through internalizing
gender norms and roles as they interact with key agents of socialization, such as their family,
social networks and other social institutions”. The behaviour that is seen to be appropriate for
each gender is largely determined by societal, cultural and economic values in a given society.

For very young children parents and family play the central role in shaping gender socialization.
They determine how the family interacts with a boy as well as the types of toys and clothes that
the baby is given. Gender identity is established by age of two years. Its central component is the
notion – I am male or I am female. Sigmund Freud theorized that identification and imitation of
same-sex parents lead to effective gender –identity formation. In the latency period males and
females tend to aggregate themselves from each other. This may be considered part of the
socialization process and further solidifies gender identification and role-specific behavior.
Schools and families continue to influence gender socialization throughout adolescence. During
adolescence, peer influence becomes the strongest agent of gender socialization as teens form
together in small social groups to facilitate their transition into adulthood and into the larger
society. The socializing effects of the mass media also become powerful in formative years.

Gender socialization can therefore very considerably among societies with different values. The
importance of understanding gender socialization is in addressing gender inequality and gender
discrimination which have harmful consequences for people in the society.

Gender socialization is a “process by

which indi-
viduals develop, refine and learn to
‘do’ gender
through internalizing gender norms
and roles as
they interact with key agents of
socialization, such
as their family, social networks and
other social
institutions”
AGENTS OF GENDER SOCIALIZATION

The main agents of gender socialization include family, the media, school, and peers. These
factors form a child’s self-concept and gender identity and teach gender roles to children, making
them the main factors in the processes of gender socialization in different societies.

 Family: Family is considered to be the first and one of the most important agents of
gender socialization. Some scholars believe that girls and boys take on different identities
as feminine and masculine beings because parents treat girls and boys differently. Parents
have different behavioral patterns for their girls and boys. Also, they have different
behavioral expectations of their children based on children’s gender. Parents create a
gendered world through purchasing different toys, clothes, different decorations for
children rooms, and even selecting different sports for their children. Parents have
different languages, tolerance levels, and behaviors toward girls and boys and teach
different values to their children based on their gender roles. The parents’ gender
attitudes are very important to form gender identity and gender roles for children.
Because it is the base for children to recognize themselves as a girl or boy and also
distinguish appropriate behaviors for being a boy or girl. Studies show significant
correlation between parents’ gender attitudes and children’s gender patterns. In fact, if
parents have a strong gender attitude perspective in their children’s training, children are
more dependent on gender roles and gender specific behaviors. Studies in different fields
show that parent’s behavior and attitude influence a child’s self-concept and children in
the first step learn about their identity through parents’ perspective. It is believe that
many but not all parents treat their children according to gender stereotypes and lead their
children to gender roles. Also, according to these gender roles, parents have different
expectations for their boys and girls in masculine and feminine ways which lead children
to internalize these attitudes and expectations. So, the family is the first and most
important institution that teaches children to be in different roles as a woman or a man.
Also, in this institution they learn to have different expectations from women and men in
their communication.
 Peers: Peers have strong impacts on forming gender self-concepts and gender
stereotypes through interactions, friendships, and group norms. Among peer groups,
children can show and develop their social self in a different environment than family,
and this is the second step for them to recognize their identities in a social group.
However, the games, toys, activities, roles, and norms in peer groups came from a society
and culture which are highly gendered. So, girls and boys might be encouraged to join
different games and take part in different activities and roles. They may be prohibited for
some games and roles based on their gender. One study demonstrated that boys tend to
show more dominance in their activities, while girls were observed to do something that
was coded as intimate friendship. Moreover, boys and girls tend to segregate as they
grow older after preschool years, and they further develop gender identity. This
segregation reinforces gender roles and stereotypes.

 Schools: School has a significant role in the process of gender socialization. Formal
education systems are designed to transfer the values, behavior patterns, and standards to
children through interaction with teachers, peer groups, textbooks, and curriculum.
Teachers contribute to the formation of gender roles and identities when they use
different toys and activities for girls and boys. Moreover, teachers have different
behaviors and attitudes to their students based on their gender, which are the result of
their stereotyped expectations about abilities and needs of girls and boys. Therefore,
teachers, as leaders in classrooms, can create a completely gendered environment based
on gender stereotypes and gender roles. In addition to teachers, textbooks include
gendered texts, symbols, and characters and teach gender stereotypes and roles that are
embedded in these books. In fact, textbooks “represent the everyday life for children. .
.the hidden curriculum has an identity forming role, since it mediates the gender specific
expectations, norms, and behaviors, and therefore it contributes to the reproduction of
social inequalities in the society. Thus, as part of the hidden curriculum textbooks might
transform, strengthen or diminish the developed and developing power relations both in
the classroom and in the society. Moreover, textbooks offer different identities and
attitudes to children. Textbook analysis which focus on gender representation shows that
 students learn different roles for girls and boys because femininity and masculinity are
represented differently and with traditional gender stereotypes in these books. In general,
learning gender roles and gender stereotypes are a part of official education through
schools.

 Social Mass Media: Media as an agent of socialization develops and internalizes

gender stereotypes. Media misrepresents women’s social life and also women from
different races and ethnicities, sexual ordinations, abilities, and nations, among other
identity categories, and reinforces other stereotypes for women in other minorities such
as black women, immigrants, etc. Media plays a significant role in teaching behaviors
and attitudes of specific social categories and has a strong effect on the process of
socialization. Media transfers gender stereotypes and gender roles to people in different
ages and social groups. In general, media affects gender socialization in different ways.
Content analysis of media shows that women are underrepresented in media. It is
important because when people do not see women in media, they could not imagine
social roles for them in real life. Women in media are shown in gender roles and it
reproduces gender stereotypes for society. For example, women are as “sex objects” or
doing a traditional domestic role such as housekeepers. This is a main factor in the
process of gender socialization, because “Children’s gender schemas may guide what
they watch and read, in turn, what children watch and read may shape their gender
schemas”. In the media, women often are offered scripts with traditional gender roles,
such as housewives or in vulnerable and powerless situations. In a content analysis of
media including games, TV shows, movies, and advertisements, women were more likely
to be portrayed as sexual objects than men. This kind of portrayals of women in mass
media is a factor for gender socialization and reinforces gender stereotypes, because
people’s gender attitudes are shaped through these shows, games, and movies. Also, it
can increase sexual abuse and violence against women, because women are presented as
sex objects in these mass media, and it is a factor for increasing gender violence against
women. Therefore, media is a strong factor to teach gender stereotypes and attitudes
through the characters which reflect traditional gender identities.
GENDER ACQUISITION IN CHILDHOOD

Gender socialization, or the process of learning gender roles, begins at the onset of human life
and occurs through cultural, structural, and cognitive avenues. The first statements at the birth of
a child include references to the sex of the infant. Parents and friends alike agonize over the
purchase of blue or pink gift items according to the sex of the newborn. Beyond the acquisition
of items that are “blue for boys” and “pink for girls” and the inherent information presented by
these items, infants encounter different treatment based on their sex. Adults, whether knowingly
or not, handle infant girls more gently than infant boys, and comment upon the delicate features
of girls but on the strong features of male infants. For example, as soon as 24 hours following the
birth of a child, mothers and fathers describe female infants as finer featured, softer, smaller, and
more inattentive as compared to male infants. This occurs despite the lack of significant
differences between female and male infants in both birth length and weight. This difference in
treatment occurs even prior to children’s acquisition of language and before they become
cognitively aware of gender-appropriate behavior.

The acquisition of gender identity becomes apparent in children by the age of three. Social
learning theory offers an explanation for the development of gender roles and gender-typed
preferences at such an early age. It suggests that children learn gender-appropriate behavior
through the observation of others. This occurs through observational learning in which the child
watches the behavior of others, parents and other adults alike, and mimics their behavior. In
addition, adults reinforce children for acceptable gendered behavior and punish them for
violating gendered expectations. For example, if a young boy begins to play with his sister’s doll,
his parents may look at him disapprovingly or even remove the doll from his play area.

The process of gender socialization also takes place bidirectional, with children participating in
their own socialization. Children cognitively categorize the information they actively learn
through the reinforcement and modeling of gender-appropriate behavior. Cognitive-
developmental theory suggests that children desire to display prescribed gender-appropriate
behaviors. While reward contingencies shape some gendered behavior, children also form their
own preferences regarding toys, activities, and same-sex individuals. In a cyclical fashion, social
and cognitive processes maintain these gender preferences, and both encourage the
reinforcement and performance of gender-consistent behavior. In turn, the performance of
appropriate gendered behaviors increases the reinforcement of gendered activities and
cognitions.

Children often prefer to wear gender-appropriate clothing and play with same-sex peers. Often
this occurs due to children’s’ own inability to remember or categorize same-sex behaviors and
traits correctly. Therefore, children use general in-group (individuals perceived as belonging to
the child’s own group) and out-group (individuals perceived as not belonging to the child’s own
group) favoritisms to guide their own behaviors. For example, a girl may express the belief that
her same-sex peers are more friendly, honest, and humorous than the same-sex boys group.
However, the boys feel the same way toward their same-sex peers and feel negatively toward the
opposing group of girls.

Child peer preference also occurs due to the propensity of parents and child-care facilities to
segregate children into same-sex play groups based on gender-typed activities. These activities
(such as sports or group projects) encourage bonding among their participants and the formation
of in-group and out-group stereotyping and grants children a venue for developing more same-
sex relationships. In addition, children, like adults, pay attention to and remember behavior
consistent with their gender stereotypes. Conversely, gender-inconsistent behavior passes
unnoticed and unassimilated into the child’s general gender schema. As a result, children learn
that boys and girls normally spend time apart and in different activities.

GENDER ROLES TAUGHT DURING CHILDHOOD

A gender role is a set of behaviors, attitudes, and personality characteristics expected and
encouraged of a person based on his or her sex. During childhood, children learn various gender
roles based on their gender either through directly taught by the agents of socialization or
through imitating others and observing their roles. Some most common roles learned by children
during their childhood are:
 Cooking: A woman’s place is in the kitchen. This is the most common gender norm a
children can learn from their very childhood. From a young age, girls are taught that it is
their responsibility to learn how to cook for their future families. A woman who cannot
cook will find that a part of society is quickly going to look down at her. Children are
taught that cooking is the only responsibility of a women and it’s not the role of a men.

 Working: Men work outside, women at home, it is the most common phrase a children
learn during their socialization process. Gender roles dictate that a man should be the one
working while the woman stays home. This is one of the most important male gender
roles. Due to this gender roles the career of a girl is not given much importance as man
are considered as the bread owners of the family.

 Care taking: This gender role comes naturally to women. Nursing and caretaking is
another “responsibility” that is placed upon women. This entails seeing to the non-
financial needs of the household, like cleaning, babysitting etc. Women are expected to
consider the needs and desires of others before they can think about themselves. . This
gender role actively oppresses women and teaches them that their needs will always be
second.

 Childhood behavior: Boys play outside girls play at home with dolls. Boys are
expected to play sports and do well in school. If either of these criteria aren’t met, that
little child will be a target for bullying. On the other hand, little girls are expected to stay
indoors and partake in the household activities such as cooking and cleaning.

 Sensitivity: The ability to perceive and show emotion is generally associated with
women, while men are supposed to be stoic. This one is detrimental to both genders.
Women are expected to be more sensitive and emotional, their opinions or concerns are
not taken seriously. Her views are dismissed and if she gets angry, she is said to be
overreacting. On the other hand, men are expected to not show emotion. This means that
if a man does show an emotion like sadness, he is presumed to be weak. As from
childhood boys are taught that “men don’t cry’’.
  Marriage: Among a married couple a man is always considered as the provider and
protector. In a marriage, traditional gender roles are strictly defined. The husband is
supposed to be the provider, he is supposed to be the one who always makes sure that the
bills are paid and the family has all that it needs. The wife needs to take care of the
domestic part of the household. It is her job to make sure that there is food on the table
and that the house is clean.

SOCIAL IMPACT OF GENDER SOCIALISATION ON

CHILDREN

The social impacts of imposing gender roles on children become evident very early in life and
usually follow the child as they continue their development. It is most observable when they
interact with other members of their age group. A child's peers serve as both an archetype and a
sounding board for the proper way to express themselves. Alice Eagly affirms the idea that
gender roles are a direct result of one's social interactions. She calls social behavior "gender-
stereotypic" and says that most of the expectations of gender roles come from the stereotypes
associated with them, such as a woman to be kind and compassionate and a man to be in control
and independent. This implicates conformity to gender-role expectations as a major source of the
sexes' differing behavior. As a child explores those things in life that they may enjoy, the
acceptance or criticism or their peers is crucial in whether or not they will continue to perform an
activity.

Children are especially apt at noticing when one of their peers violates their established gender
role. As Fagot (1990) found, children had a pronounced response when one of their peers
violated their established gender role. Same-sex peers acted as the distributors of both rewards
for proper gender role behavior and punishments for improper gender role behavior. Boys who
preferred to play with dolls rather than trucks were five to six times more likely to be harassed by
their peers than those who conformed to the norm. Girls who preferred to play firefighter rather
than nurse were ignored rather than criticized. Most importantly, Fagot's study shows the effect
of gender segregation on children; boys tended to respond more readily to feedback from other
boys while girls likewise responded to feedback from other girls. By surrounding themselves
with members of the same sex, children are placing themselves in a situation where they more
readily accept and conform to accepted gender roles.

A study by Carol Martin (1990) shows that cross-sex behavior is generally discouraged in both
sexes, though more so in males. Those that do exhibit cross-sex behavior are branded as either a
sissy or a tomboy. Gender roles place constraints upon what a child is allowed to do, based upon
what their peers deem is acceptable.

As children grow older and are more able to grasp the concept of gender and gender roles, they
begin to spend more time with children of the same sex, further exacerbating the proliferation of
gender roles. Martin and Fabes observed that by the age of two, children were already beginning
to show a preference for interacting with children of the same sex. By the time a child is three or
four, the vast majority of their peer interactions are with members of the same sex. As Maccoby
observed, by the age of four and a half, children spend three times as much time with same-sex
play partners; by six and a half, that amount increases to eleven times. Martin and Fabes
observed that as the children began to segregate themselves by gender, the activities they
performed also aligned with their chosen play partners; boys tended to choose playmates who
were more active and rowdy while girls chose playmates that were more calm and cooperative.

Children generally fall into these patterns with little guidance from either parents or teachers;
they are encouraged to interact with members of the same sex and begin to adopt behavior that is
considered gender appropriate. This phenomenon is known as self-socialization and drives the
interaction between children throughout their young lives. This instinctive segregation
encourages the gap between males and females and helps to reinforce gender roles as the child
continues to grow.

CONCLUSION
Gender socialization is a lifelong process to provide women and men with social roles that
society has considered based on sex. Most societies have different role expectations for women
and men. Although sex refers to biological differences between girls and boys, gender is a social
and psychological identity that society determines for men and women. Gender socialization is
the process of teaching and transferring gender roles to subsequent generations. Girls and boys
learn different values, skills, behavior patterns, and standards through gender socialization. So,
this is a social process and is based on nurture, not nature. This process requires the factors to be
transferred to the next generation. Family, peer groups, schools, and mass media have been
presented above as most important agents which internalize and reinforce gender roles in
different ways. In general, the key argument in gender socialization is in internalizing gender
norms through different agencies. This process reproduces gender inequality because it was
formed based on gender stereotypes causing the development of gender discrimination. Gender
socialization is teaching gender roles and specifying different places and functions for women
and men in society. Gender discrimination and gender inequality are not something that women
or men were born with, and it is not natural phenomena; it is a social discrimination that is
controllable through improving awareness and having a neutral socialization.

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