Sociology 1301 Chapter 12:2

Family is the first agent of socialization.

There is considerable evidence that parents socialize sons and daughters differently. 2. Generally speaking, girls are given more latitude to step outside of their prescribed gender role (Coltrane and Adams 2004; Kimmel 2000; Raffaelli and Ontai 2004).

Scripts

are generally learned through a process known as socialization, which teaches people to behave according to social norms.

differential socialization

results in greater privileges afforded to sons. 2. boys are allowed more autonomy and independence at an earlier age than daughters 3. hey may be given fewer restrictions on appropriate clothing, dating habits, or curfew. 4. Sons are also often free from performing domestic duties such as cleaning or cooking and other household tasks that are considered feminine. 5. Daughters are limited by their expectation to be passive and nurturing, generally obedient, and to assume many of the domestic responsibilities.

underlying indications of inequality.

1. Even when parents set gender equality as a goal, there may be underlying indications of inequality. 2. For example, boys may be asked to take out the garbage or perform other tasks that require strength or toughness, 3. while girls may be asked to fold laundry or perform duties that require neatness and care. 4. It has been found that fathers are firmer in their expectations for gender conformity than are mothers, and their expectations are stronger for sons than they are for daughters (Kimmel 2000). 5. 5. This is true in many types of activities, including preference for toys, play styles, discipline, chores, and personal achievements. 6. As a result, boys tend to be particularly attuned to their father's disapproval when engaging in an activity that might be considered feminine, like dancing or singing (Coltraine and Adams 2008). .

Sexism

1. Gender stereotypes form the basis of sexism 2. refers to prejudiced beliefs that value one sex over another. 3. It varies in its level of severity. In parts of the world where women are strongly undervalued, young girls may not be given the same access to nutrition, healthcare, and education as boys. 4. They will grow up believing they deserve to be treated differently from boys (UNICEF 2011; Thorne 1993). 5. It is illegal in the United States when practiced as discrimination, unequal treatment of women continues to pervade social life. 6. It should be noted that discrimination based on sex occurs at both the micro- and macro-levels. 7. Many sociologists focus on

abolishing some of the most blatant forms of gender inequality

Before 1809—Women could not execute a will Before 1840—Women were not allowed to own or control property Before 1920—Women were not permitted to vote Before 1963—Employers could legally pay a woman less than a man for the same work Before 1973—Women did not have the right to a safe and legal abortion (Imbornoni 2009

Summary

Children become aware of gender roles in their earliest years, and they come to understand and perform these roles through socialization, which occurs through four major agents: family, education, peer groups, and mass media. Socialization into narrowly prescribed gender roles results in the stratification of males and females. Each sociological perspective offers a valuable view for understanding how and why gender inequality occurs in our society.

Socialization

Children learn at a young age that there are distinct expectations for boys and girls 2. Cross-cultural studies reveal that children are aware of gender roles by age two or three. 3. At four or five, most children are firmly entrenched in culturally appropriate gender roles (Kane 1996). 4. Children acquire these roles through socialization, a process in which people learn to behave in a particular way as dictated by societal values, beliefs, and attitudes. 5. For example, society often views riding a motorcycle as a masculine activity and, therefore, considers it to be part of the male gender role. 6. Attitudes such as this are typically based on stereotypes, oversimplified notions about members of a group. involves overgeneralizing about the attitudes, traits, or behavior patterns of women or men. For example,

Social Stratification and Inequality

Stratification refers to a system in which groups of people experience unequal access to basic, yet highly valuable, social resources. 2. The United States is characterized by gender stratification (as well as stratification of race, income, occupation, and the like). Evidence of gender stratification is especially keen within the economic realm. Despite making up nearly half (49.8 percent) of payroll employment, men vastly outnumber women in authoritative, powerful, and, therefore, high-earning jobs (U.S. Census Bureau 2010). Even when a woman's employment status is equal to a man's, she will generally make only 77 cents for every dollar made by her male counterpart (U.S. Census Bureau 2010). Women in the paid labor force also still do the majority of the unpaid work at home. On an average day, 84 percent of women (compared to 67 percent of men) spend time doing household management activities (U.S. Census Bureau 2011). This double duty keeps working women in a subordinate role in the family structure (Hochschild and Machung 1989). Gender stratification through the division of labor is not exclusive to the United States. According to George Murdock's classic work, Outline of World Cultures (1954), all societies classify work by gender. When a pattern appears in all societies, it is called a cultural universal. While the phenomenon of assigning work by gender is universal, its specifics are not. The same task is not assigned to either men or women worldwide. But the way each task's associated gender is valued is notable. In Murdock's examination of the division of labor among 324 societies around the world, he found that in nearly all cases the jobs assigned to men were given greater prestige (Murdock and White 1968). Even if the job types were very similar and the differences slight, men's work was still considered more vital. There is a long history of gender stratification in the United States.

Institutional discrimination (Pincus 2008).

Type of discrimination that is built into the social structure;

male dominance

When looking to the past, it would appear that but underlying effects of male dominance still permeate many aspects of society.

Parental socializationand normative expectations

also vary along lines of social class, race, and ethnicity 2. African American families, for instance, are more likely than Caucasians to model an egalitarian role structure for their children (Staples and Boulin Johnson 2004).

boys will be boys"

is often used to justify behavior such as pushing, shoving, or other forms of aggression from young boys.young boys. 2. The phrase implies that such behavior is unchangeable and something that is part of a boy's nature. 3. Aggressive behavior, when it does not inflict significant harm, is often accepted from boys and men because it is congruent with the cultural script for masculinity. T 4. The "script" written by society is in some ways similar to a script written by a playwright. 5. Just as a playwright expects actors to adhere to a prescribed script, society expects women and men to behave according to the expectations of their respective gender roles.

Gender socialization

occurs through four major agents of socialization: a. family, b. education, c. peer groups, d. mass media. Each agent reinforces gender roles by creating and maintaining normative expectations for gender-specific behavior. 2. Exposure also occurs through secondary agents such as religion and the workplace. 3. Repeated exposure to these agents over time leads men and women into a false sense that they are acting naturally rather than following a socially constructed role.

Gender stereotyping

women may be thought of as too timid or weak to ride a motorcycle.