AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION IN GENDER EXPRESSION
SOCIALIZATION is the process of transferring norms, values, beliefs, and behaviors to group
members. It is the process of learning one’s culture and how to live within it. It influences how
people behave as males and females in society.
Social norms pertaining to gender are developed through socialization, the lifelong process of
inheriting, interpreting, and disseminating norms, customs, and [Link] process of
socialization continues throughout one’s life and is constantly renegotiated, but socialization
begins as soon as one is born.
SOCIAL GROUP AGENTS
FAMILY
Gender is instilled through socialization immediately from birth. Consider the gender norms with
which society imbues infants: The most archetypal example is the notion that male babies like
blue things while female babies like pink things. When a boy gets a football for his birthday and
a girl receives a doll, this also socializes children to accept gender norms. The example set by
an individual’s family is also important for socialization; children who grow up in a family with the
husband a breadwinner and the wife a homemaker will tend to accept this as the social norm,
while those who grow up in families with female breadwinners, single parents, or same-sex
couples will develop different ideas of gender norms.
PEER GROUP
A peer group is a social group whose members have interests, social positions, and age in
common. This is where children can escape supervision and learn to form relationships on their
own. The influence of the peer group typically peaks during adolescence. However, peer groups
generally only affect short term interests unlike the family, which has long term influence.
Peer groups are especially important during adolescence, a period of development
characterized by a dramatic increase in time spent with peers and a decrease in adult
supervision. Adolescents also associate with friends of the opposite sex much more than in
childhood and tend to identify with larger groups of peers based on shared characteristics. Peer
groups offer members the opportunity to develop various social skills like empathy, sharing and
leadership.
The term “peer pressure” is often used to describe instances where an individual feels indirectly
pressured into changing their behavior to match that of their peers.
INSTITUTIONAL AGENTS
School
Education is the process by which society transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills,
customs and values from one generation to another.
Schools socialize children in several ways. First, students learn a formal curriculum,
informally called the “three Rs”: reading, writing, and arithmetic. This phase of their
socialization is necessary for them to become productive members of their society.
Second, because students interact every day at school with their peers, they ideally
strengthen their social interaction skills. Third, they interact with authority figures,
their teachers, who are not their parents. For children who have not had any
preschooling, their teachers are often the first authority figures they have had other
than their parents. The learning they gain in relating to these authority figures is yet
another important component of their socialization.
School and classroom rituals, led by teachers serving as role models and leaders, regularly reinforce what
society expects from children. Sociologists describe this aspect of schools as the hidden curriculum, the
informal teaching done by schools.
The Workplace
At the workplace, a person meets people of different age groups and
belonging to different social and cultural backgrounds. This makes him come
in close contact with different thought processes, belief systems, etc. The
interaction that then happens, helps a person to broaden his/her horizons in
terms of social acceptance and tolerance towards the others.
Also called networking, relationship building involves an employee’s efforts to develop
camaraderie with co-workers and supervisors.
RELIGION
It is powerful social institution that shape gender identity in society. There are norms
defined by which only men can perform certain duties or obligations pertaining to religious
activities but also reinforce and legitimize gender roles assigned to men and women in
society.
GOVERNMENT
Government or state is an indirect agent of socialization. This means, though
we do not come in contact with the institution directly, it does have an impact
on our social life and well-being. The government sets rules and regulations
(most of which often become laws), which the people of the state/country
need to follow, and breach of them often becomes not only a moral wrong
but a social wrong as well.
MASS MEDIA
The mass media are another agent of socialization. Television shows, movies,
popular music, magazines, Web sites, and other aspects of the mass media influence
our political views; our tastes in popular culture; our views of women, people of
color, and gays; and many other beliefs and practices. Since mass media has enormous
effects on our attitudes and behavior, it contributes to the socialization process.