Gender Roles and Socialization

Social Construction of Gender

  • Definition of Gender Roles:
    • Expectations about behaviors, attitudes, and activities deemed appropriate for males and females.
    • Most individuals express a mix of masculine and feminine qualities.

Gender Roles in the United States

  • Socialization into Gender Roles:
    • Boys: Expected to be -
    • Active
    • Aggressive
    • Tough
    • Daring
    • Dominant
    • Girls: Expected to be -
    • Soft
    • Emotional
    • Sweet
    • Submissive

Experiences Linked to Gender

  • Importance of recalling early gender-related experiences in family, peer groups, and schools.

Traditional and Evolving Gender Roles

  • Women’s Gender Roles:
    • Traditionally more restricted compared to males.
  • Men’s Gender Roles:
    • Changing attitudes towards parenting.
    • Boys following traditional masculinity may grow to suppress emotions.

Gender Messages in Education

  • Dick and Jane Readers (1940s-1950s):
    • Reinforced gender roles through narratives portraying housework as women’s work and outdoor labor as men’s work.

Gender and Human Sexuality

  • Distinction between sex and gender despite their interconnectedness.
  • Social norms regarding sexual behavior have evolved, with increased acceptance of different identities and relationships (e.g., Metrosexuals, same-sex couples).

Homophobia and Socialization

  • Homophobia: Fear and prejudice against homosexuality.
  • Parents: Key agents in socializing gender roles and attitudes towards sexuality.

Cross-Cultural Perspectives

  • Anthropological View: Various constructions of gender exist.
    • No inherent biological determination of gender roles.
    • Gender stratification links to socialization and institutional effects.

Sociological Perspectives on Gender

  • Functionalist View:
    • Gender differentiation contributes to social stability through division of labor (instrumental and expressive tasks).
  • Conflict Theory:
    • Highlights the power imbalance in male-female relationships.
  • Feminist Perspective:
    • Women’s subjugation linked to rise of private property.
  • Interactionist Approach:
    • Gender as a social construct, emphasized in daily interactions ("doing gender").

Discussion Points on Military and Gender

  • Removal of ban on women in combat roles by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.
    • Potential impacts on military strength and dynamics of combat roles.

Sexism and Discrimination

  • Sexism: Ideological belief in one sex's superiority over another.
  • Institutional Discrimination: Structures upholding gender inequality in society.

Women in the Workforce

  • Steady increase in women participating in paid labor throughout the 20th century.
  • Glass Ceiling: Represents barriers preventing qualified women from promotions due to gender.
  • Worldwide statistics reveal low representation of women in corporate leadership roles.

Pay Disparities

  • Disparity in pay persists between men and women, not fully explained by different career choices.
  • Glass Escalator: Advantage men receive in female-dominated occupations.

Global Gender Gap Index

  • 2020 report listed U.S. ranked 53rd in gender equality.
  • Research compiled for 153 nations based on health, education, economics, and politics.

Trends in Women’s Labor Force Participation

  • Documented shifts in women's participation from 1890 to 2009, indicating increasing involvement.

Women in Various Occupations

  • Statistics show underrepresentation of women in certain fields (e.g., firefighting, engineering) and overrepresentation in others (e.g., teaching, nursing).

Collective Consciousness and Feminism

  • Definition: Belief in social, economic, and political equality, emerging prominently since the first wave in the mid-19th century and continuing through the second wave in the 1960s-1970s.
  • Many endorse feminist principles without labeling themselves as feminists.

Questions for Reflection

  • Examining advantages from different gendered perspectives, specifically in contexts like veiling or Western beauty standards.