Agents of Gender Socialization: Institutions and Agencies

Foundations of Gender and Cultural Socialization

It is now widely accepted within the academic community that gender and culture are social constructions. A fundamental distinction is made between sex and gender, where gender is viewed not as an innate trait but as something that all individuals "do" through their actions and interactions. Culture, in this context, is defined as a matter of meaning and information that individuals navigate and internalize. Socially constructed socialization involves values or norms that are invented or "constructed" within a specific culture. This is the process of internalizing society’s values in order to adapt to one’s culture effectively.

There is a distinction between cultural socialization and gender socialization. Cultural socialization is defined as the manner of communicating or transmitting cultural values, beliefs, customs, and behaviors and the subsequent internalizing of these messages by the individual. In contrast, gender socialization is a specific social learning process that involves teaching the cultural norms associated with being male or female.

Mechanisms of Gender Socialization

Gender socialization occurs through both conscious and unconscious means. Conscious gender socialization involves explicit instructions or corrections regarding behavior. For example, a teacher might criticize a young girl for being rowdy and "unladylike" in the classroom, or a parent might scold a young boy for displaying his emotions by telling him that "big boys don’t cry." Unconscious gender socialization occurs through more subtle, often unintentional, actions. An example of this is when parents provide different toys for their children based on sex, such as giving dress-up clothes to their daughters and war toys to their sons.

Several terms are used to describe how gender is performed and perceived in society. Gender display refers to the conventionalized portrayals of social correlates of gender, including behaviors, appearances, mannerisms, and other cues. Gender attribution is the process of reading people’s genders by learning which traits culturally signify each gender and using learned rules to classify individuals. Gender rebellion suggests that if gender is a product of interaction, then it can be changed if one changes their performance. Gender misattribution occurs when an incongruity exists between an individual's gender self-identity and the gender that others perceive. Finally, gender benders are individuals whose performance of gender seeks to disrupt traditional expectations of gender through their performance.

The Family and Toys as Primary Agents

Social institutions and agencies serve as the primary teachers of gendered and cultural expectations. The family is considered to have the primary responsibility for introducing gendered norms and expectations. Differential treatment by parents and other family members often continues throughout childhood, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that persists far beyond any true existing biological differences. Furthermore, parental practices are essential in teaching children about the positive aspects of their race and culture.

Toys and children's games are also significantly differentiated based on sex. The toys children play with are often distinctive and reinforce traditional stereotypes. Children’s books contribute to this by providing a lopsided view of the world and reinforcing traditional gendered stereotypes. Toys are not mere playthings; they embody the values set forth by adults within a specific community, presented through the lens of the child’s perspective. They teach both implicit and explicit messages about gendered and cultural expectations.

Education and Peer Groups

Schools are critical arenas for gender and cultural socialization. Beyond the formal curriculum, a "hidden curriculum" exists, which is reinforced by specific gender roles that are played out culturally. Education draws students into different activities and achievements based on gender. Because culture is socially constructed, the fact that it is learned in schools highlights the institution's role in creating and maintaining cultural standards.

Peer groups also play a significant role. Young children are socialized by their same-sex or same-culture peers to conform to traditional expectations. As children reach adolescence, peer groups provide the necessary support for teens as they assimilate into adult society. For racial or ethnic minority youth, there is often the experience of being "caught between two worlds," describing the tension of living between their heritage culture and the mainstream culture.

Mass Media, Religion, and Other Structural Agents

Mass media serves as a means for delivering impersonal communications to a vast audience. Mediums such as television and video games are increasingly important mechanisms for socializing children. Within media content, male characters are still more likely than female characters to answer questions, boss or order others, show ingenuity, and achieve specific goals. This reinforces traditional power dynamics and gender roles.

Religion is a powerful social institution that shapes gender and cultural identities. It makes it less likely for individuals to break from their religious affiliations, and even the belief in God is informed by the discussions of socialization. The effects of socialization can differ across various religious traditions.

Other structural agents include the government, the workplace, and race. The government influences socialization through laws and policies associated with an increasingly complex division of labor. The world of work continues to replicate occupational gender segregation. Additionally, the socialization process is not uniform; variations exist based on people's different experiences, particularly concerning race and the distinct cultural frameworks associated with it.

Questions & Discussion

Question # 1: What are some other examples of conscious and unconscious means by which society contributes to gender and cultural socialization?

Question # 2: What are major agents of gender and cultural socialization in the Philippine context? Why so?

Question # 3: Has the family as an agent of socialization changed in the last couple of years? How so?

Question # 4: How can parents avoid negative gender and cultural stereotypes attributed by toys and play in children?

Question # 5: What other negative stereotypes do you observe within the hidden curriculum of our education system?