Define and explain what is meant by gender socialization

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Gender socialization is the aspect of socialization that contains specific messages and practices concerning the nature of being female or male in a specific group or society. O n e o f t h e p r i m a r y a g e n t s o f g e n d e r s o c i a l i z a t i o n i s t h e

f a m i l y . In some families, gender socialization starts before the child's birth. Parents who learn the sex of the fetus often purchase color-coded and gender-typed clothes, toys, and nursery decorations in anticipation of their daughter's or son's arrival. After the child has been born, parents may respond differently toward male and female infants; they often play more roughly with boys and talk more lovingly to girls. Throughout childhood and adolescence, boys and girls are typically assigned different household chores and given different. Like the family, schools, peer groups, and the media contribute to our gender socialization. From kindergarten through college, teachers and peers reward gender-appropriate attitudes and behavior. Sports reinforce traditional gender roles through a rigid division of events into male and female categories. The media are also a powerful source of gender socialization? starting very early in childhood, children's books, television programs, movies, and music provide subtle and not-so-subtle messages about how boys and girls should act.