Gender Role Socialization, Essay Example

Outline

Introduction: – Clothes Store

• Infants
• Toddlers
• Preschool
• Elementary school children
• Preteens
• Teenagers
• Analysis

Body: – Toy Store

• Boys active/ passive play
• Girls active/passive play
• Analysis

Conclusion:-Books

• Boys related
• Girls related
• Adolescent Subjects
• Analysis

Abstract

The interpretations offered in this presentation pertain to how gender is a socially constructed phenomenon. Society creates gender through roles, and philosophies pertaining to items people interact with on a daily basis. It ranges from socialization processes regarding clothes, toys and books designed for growing children.

Sociology: Option 1

Introduction: – Clothes Store

There was distinct difference between boy infant clothing and girls. First obvious difference was that girls wore pink while boys had blue clothes. Girls’ clothing was made with frills and lace while boys were plain. Even the all-in-one suits showed the color differences. When colors such as yellow, red or dark blue were used to design clothing styles showed a gender predisposing as to what the consumer may select for a girl against a boy. The texture of boys clothing tend to be firmer while girls are flimsy or lighter.

Similar variations continued when examining toddlers and preschool children clothing. While both boys and girls wear jeans first the labels indicated sections for boys garments separate from girls. Obviously, boys clothing units would not contain dresses or panties. Alternatively, the term briefs, shirts, pants were used instead of blouses or tops. The costumer was programed into defining boys clothing distinctly form girls as they enter into the awareness stages of development.

The Elementary school children clothing section of the mall contained uniforms. These were separated from other clothing such as formal and informal wear. Boys’ uniforms consisted of long sleeve sweaters with a ‘V’ cut front neck opening and semi-circle higher back. Girls’ sweaters were designed mainly with a semicircle low front neck and higher at the back. Bottoms for boys were pants while there were specially designed skirt pants for girls with minor variations in style to give girl pants a feminine interpretation. Polo shirts were short sleeved but the boys sleeves were longer than girls.

Formal and informal wear sections consisted of suits for boys and long sleeved shirts with either bowties or long ones; whereas girls were dresses made out of lace, voile, cotton or linen for informal occasions. Some girls’ outfit carried matching head wear and shoes. Colors were pink, light yellow, white, sky blue and just modest. Boys’ suits were black, brown, badge, white or cream.

Pre-teens and teenagers’ clothes styles vary with the seasons. Now that it is spring girls’ wear include short pants and brassiere tops as casual wear. Formal wear consists of sleeveless dresses either one color or patterned of flowered designed fabric. There is very little difference in pre-teen and teen wear for girls except that teens clothing seem to be more revealing even in the swim wear section. Boys are basically jeans, jerseys, shirts with sleeves and knee high short pants. For formal wear there are full suits typical of which is worn at proms or Sunday Church gathering.

An Analysis of clothes, gender and age suggests that there are sociological inter-relationships among them. The fashion industry has defined infant, toddler, pre-school; schools age as well as adult clothing and styles. Colors have also been attached to the definition of the appropriate male and female clothing. If boys begin wearing girls’ clothes and vise-versa the label of homo-sexuality is attached to that child or adult. Thus, it becomes awkward to choose a style, color or design based on a person’s conscience because society defines the appropriateness of clothes being a part of social identity.

Societies vary in their interpretations of clothing for male and female. In United States of America and neighboring Canada; there are similarities as to what constitutes appropriate male and female formal and informal wear, but this extends towards age groups since older women for example, are supposed to be modestly dressed being well covered all over their bodies. Younger girls such as teens can exposed theirs in the name of sexuality as if older women do not have any. As such, insidiously, gender, age and clothing are social constructs to satisfy a flourishing fashion industry.

Body: – Toy Store

Boys’ active /passive play encompasses an interaction with toys. A sociological visit to a toy store distinctly advertised boys’ toys in one section and girls in another. Boys’ toys included guns, battery operated cars, bi-cycles and trucks, games such as monopoly, casino gambling and cards. These were developed to meet the needs of each age group. Guns provide active play, which can be undertaken with one child practicing to shoot a gun within a certain range. Battery operated cars enforce active play as well because the child initiating the run must go after the vehicle to get it back in range. Two children can monitor the same truck or car.

Games offer completion because it involves a number of players. It can be considered both active and passive depending on the level of concentration is required for a comprehensive win and the length of time it takes for the game to end. Most of the games designed for smaller children like toddlers involve a battery operated speaker whereby the person interacting with the child speaks words when a button is pressed indicating the next move to take. These can be considered passive educational games whereby ther child interacts with the speaker in a conversational tone while learning to count speak sentences and repeat letters from the alphabet.

Girls’ active/passive play toys were mostly pink and related to dolls, doll houses, tea sets, dinette sets, sofa suits, mini clothing doll clothing and games. Active toys could be classified as games inclusive of puzzles, which have to be put together. Depending on how many of them are in a room or environment puzzles could be fixed as a team building team spirit. Children can also fix them when alone. The speaker games are passively operated. When alone they can play with buttons, hear words and learn to apply the appropriate responses. Dolls and doll houses are active play since these dolls are often accompanied by a stroller, or crib to be put to bed.

An Analysis of the role toys play in socialization shows where the description of boys as it relates to toys is that they must be the killers. Therefore, boy toys must be guns, police cars with sirens, trucks, soldiers and money games pertaining to gambling. In essence they must be tough. Seldom are there toys showing how to become inaugurated as a president or promotion to a management position. In the same way girls are limited to ther kitchen, home and making babies so they need doll houses, dolls strollers and a few educational games to keep them at home with the basics.

Hence, with this socialization influences from childhood, one still wonders how shooting is so prevalent in the society apart from so many people having access to guns. Obviously, guns are communicated very early to children as useful devices. There were more gun toys and siren cars in the toys sections than any other educational toys found in stores on the mall that were visited. Therefore, toys portray a social identity and have great impact on a child’s development.

Conclusion:-Books

The book store that was visited did not carry a separate section of books for boys or girls. Therefore, a search for boys’ related topics was conducted. Based on the culture advanced by this society, boys would be expected to read books pertaining to science and technology especially, computer science, aero science and agricultural engineering. Novels with fiction characters playing roles of geniuses would attract a boy audience when the socialization influence is taken into consideration.

Girls’ related literature could emerge from sections dealing with fiction life episodes of famous people who made history, especially, women. Girls who have that scientific urge would research biology and botany subjects since reproduction may interest them during pre-adolescence. These subject areas were the dominant ones found in the book store visited, but they were arranged as one. They were a few cook books with recipes as well.

Adolescent subjects pertaining to puberty was sparse. The ones which were found contained pictures of the reproductive organs for both male and female as if in a biological representation. The process of reproduction was fully explained in the sample selected for review. However, in a few texts there was no discussion about sex even though the process of fertilization was referenced. Two books elaborated on dating, intimacy, sexual intercourse, marriage and children in a family relationship. A notable omission was any literature exclusively accounting for differences in sexual orientation as in homosexuality.

An analysis of gender as it relates to clothes, toys and books, inevitably, highlights the theoretical assumption that gender interactions are created in response to society rather than facts pertaining to its emergence as psychological or biological differences. Various elements influence gender development as being highlighted in the sociological shopping research. Inevitably, the environment plays a major role in shaping gender related activities into ‘socially acceptable normal behavior. As such, from a socio-psychological perspective many gender orientation dysfunctions can arise from conflict between society’s expectation and personal awareness of gender (Fenstermaker & West, 2002).

Importantly, while gender is acquired from social construction it varies among cultures, time factors, space evolution and social interaction. Therefore, in analyzing this exercise it must be approached from the basis of being dependent upon the subjects’ age, culture, and interaction between genders. Boys/girls; men women interact sexually, which is a biological procreation process defining gender. When sexual activity does not occur between male and female some societies condemn it as dysfunctional since the belief is that sexual intercourse must be only between a man and woman.

Similarly, if a boy is found dressed in a skirt or blouse he may be stoned in some societies whereas tolerance and rights are given in other parts of the world to people who feel that the gender definition ascribed to them. Likewise if a mother expecting a boy baby purchases pink clothing he would be considered out of context. Consequently, just think if society did not define gender as it is, through clothes people wear; toys children play with and books considered being for boys’ socialization or girls what a different world it would have been?

Reference

Fenstermaker, S. & West, C. (2002). Doing gender, doing difference: Inequality, power, and Institutional change.’ New York, NY; Routledge; p. 8