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What is Gender Socialization?
Examples of Gender Socialization
An example of gender socialization is how toys are gendered, being marketed towards boys and girls.In many toy stores, there are often segregated ‘boy toys’ and ‘girl toys.’
The types of toys and activities are thought to reinforce what genders should do. For instance, the toys advertised to boys reinforce that to be male involves being adventurous, strong, and logic driven.
The toys advertised to girls reinforce that to be female means to be maternal, physically attractive, and to manage household tasks.
The advertising for these toys is also usually targeted at specific genders. The boxes for ‘girl toys’ for instance may be various shades of pink and display a young girl playing with the toy on the packaging.
Thus, if a girl sees this, she will likely understand that this toy is targeted for her, rather than packaging which is blue and displays a young boy playing with the toy.
Parent socialization
Parents are often the first socialization of gender that children experience.
The language that parents use around their child can also reflect gender socialization. Girls may be referred to as ‘pretty’ or ‘delicate’, whereas boys may be described as ‘strong’ and ‘boisterous.’ Children learn from this language how they should be according to their gender.
Often there are different expectations for children depending on their gender. Girls may be expected to help out their mother with cooking, shopping, and cleaning activities. Boys may be expected to have high job aspirations, engage in sports, and help their father with fixing things.
Children tend to be especially attentive to same-gender models (Bussey & Bandura, 1999). Therefore, when children observe their same-sex parent exhibit specific behaviors or engaging in activities which differ from other genders, the child is more likely to exhibit the same behaviors.
The way that parents behave with their child may differ depending on the child’s gender. Girls may be encouraged to play and behave in a polite and quiet manner, whereas boys may be encouraged to play louder and rougher.
Even if parents try not to reinforce gender norms, if they have their own gendered socialization from when they were younger, these parents may be inadvertently reinforcing this onto their children.
Peer socialization
An explanation for gender-segregated play is that boys and girls play very differently and seek out others whose play style is similar (Stockard, 2006).
Girls often form intimate friendships with a small number of other girls and they take turns speaking and expressing agreement. Boys often play in larger groups, engage in rougher activities, and use interruptions and boasts.
When spending time with peers, boys and girls learn what is ‘appropriate’ for their gender. They may discuss with each other what boys and girls should do.
Peers can ‘punish’ each other for engaging in activities that do not conform to their gender. Girls seem to face less pressure than boys to conform to gender norms than boys and are less likely to receive negative attention for participating in ‘cross-gender’ activities and games (Wharton, 2005).
School socialization
Teachers and other educators may place expectations on children based on their gender.
Schools may encourage boys to engage in science or mathematics whereas they may be more forgiving if girls are not succeeding in these subjects.
Teachers may also discipline students in different ways depending on their gender, which may reinforce children’s beliefs and assumptions.
Media socialization
Gender socialization through media can include through movies, television, and literature. The media can reinforce gender stereotypes so that children have ideas about what it means to be a boy or a girl.
While the media is beginning to portray males and females in non-stereotypical ways, a lot of older media shows them in traditionally gender-appropriate ways.
For instance, women are shown doing housework or as being stay-at-home mothers, whereas men are shown engaging in a wider variety of activities.
Social learning theory
Social learning theoryis most closely associated with the work of psychologist Albert Bandura. This theory relates to the behaviorist approach which defines learning in terms of stimulus and response.
Social learning theory explains that gender socialization comes as a result of children being reinforced, both positively and negatively, for gender appropriate and inappropriate behavior (Wharton, 2005).
For example, if a boy plays with a ‘gender appropriate’ toy such as a football, he may receive positive reinforcement from his father. Whereas, if the boy plays with a ‘gender inappropriate’ toy such as a doll, he may be ignored or receive negative attention from his father.
Likewise, children are not thought to be passive learners as social learning theory makes them out to be. Instead, they are more actively engaged in their socialization than the theory suggests (Wharton, 2005).
Gender codes
Traditional gender codes tend to be stronger in the working class than the middle class, but all people have access to both conservative and radical gender codes and negotiate their way through to their own balance.
Cognitive development theory
Cognitive development theories for gender socialization build on the research of psychologist Jean Piaget.
These theories emphasize how the socialization process is developmental in nature. It also argues that children have an active role to play in the development of their gender identity (Stockard, 2006).
Psychologists Lawrence Kohlberg was one of the first to apply cognitive development theories to gender identity. He argued that ‘children’s views of appropriate gender roles… change as they grow older, reflecting their changing cognitive development’.
It is thought that younger children have the most rigid definitions of gender and are more likely to punish others for violating gender norms. As they get older and gain more cognitive flexibility, gender stereotypes and gender roles become more flexible for them.
Kohlberg believed that once children develop gender constancy – the recognition that their gender is stable and unchanging – they become more motivated to demonstrate gender appropriate behavior (Wharton, 2005).
Cognitive development theories expand on social learning theory as they acknowledge that children play an active role in the socialization process and suggest that ideas about gender change and develop over time.
However, the fact that children can demonstrate gendered behavior as young as two or three years old, long before gender constancy, discredits Kohlberg’s theory (Martin & Ruble, 2004).
Gender schema theory
Gender schemas are thought to help children organize information and maintain a sense of consistency and predictability (Stockard, 2006). These schemas tend to be polarized so children come to understand what they believe is acceptable and appropriate for different genders.
Gender schemas provide an efficient way to hold new information and make new situations more predictable. Children develop more elaborate gender schemas as they develop their gender identity and their understanding of gender roles.
This theory suggests that the gender schemas are internalized in a way that males and masculinity are the norm and are more highly valued than females and femininity (Wharton. 2005).
A limitation of gender schema theory is the issue of individual differences. The theory does not account for why children with much of the same environmental influences respond differently to gender appropriate behavior.
Psychoanalytic theory
The theory suggests that some aspects of gender identity result from unconscious psychological processes and not from conscious processes such as modeling or schemas.
A key factor of gender socialization according to psychoanalytic theory is the role of the mother as the primary caregiver. Chodorow argues that children’s first identification is with the feminine since they spend more time with their mothers early in life.
Eventually, children need to develop a sense of themselves and their own gender identity. For girls, this process is easier since they have already identified with the mother. For boys, however, they must first reject their feminine identification and develop masculinity.
This masculinity is defined as being ‘not feminine’. During this process, boys also learn to often devalue femininity.
How Does Gender Socialization Affect Society?
Women are devalued
In many societies, tasks and behaviors that are associated with femininity and being female are often devalued.
Inequalities in the workplace
Since women are often devalued, many employers may have the gender bias that women will be weaker workers, especially if they have extra labor to do at home.
Women can still experience a wage gap for completing the same work as men. Women-dominated jobs such as those in healthcare are often underpaid in comparison to male-dominated roles.
Women who have children also find they may experience a ‘penalty’ in the workforce and are not afforded the same opportunities as men who have children.
Negative attitudes about different genders
Children often favor their own gender in their attitudes and show gender discriminatory behaviors to other genders.
Children may find that they are not able to effectively relate with other genders which can further separate them and enhance differences.
Thus, girls can often develop negative feelings and attitudes towards their own gender and their own abilities.
Moreover, suppose society has very strict ideas about gender. In that case, this can negatively affect individuals who identify as non-binary, transgender, or anyone who does not subscribe to their assigned gender at birth. It can be hard for these individuals to be their true selves in a society that sees gender as being on a strict binary.
Limitations for men
Gender socialization is limited to both men and women in society. Boys and men can experience gender role conflict and pressure to succeed and dominate in their careers. They may feel like a failure if this is not what they want to or cannot do.
Men and boys may also intentionally avoid expressions of affection with their peers, believing that anger is the only appropriate expression of emotion for them. They often view more vulnerable emotions and crying as being feminine and would not be comfortable displaying these in front of others.
If a boy were to express typically ‘feminine’ traits, they would be at risk of being bullied, so they learn not to display these traits.
Likewise, if men are pushing down their vulnerable emotions, this can eventually damage their mental health and they could be less likely to reach out for help if they were struggling.
Finally, if men are socialized into being more aggressive, they may be more likely to commit crimes and specifically display acts of violence against women.
Frequently Asked Questions
People are thought to be socialized to have gender stereotypes.
If society has specific ideas about what each gender should be, and these are socialized to children, this can lead to them having stereotypes about other genders or adhering to their own gender stereotypes.
Although gender stereotypes tend to become more flexible later in childhood with the development of cognitive flexibility, in many instances, they can persist throughout life and continue to influence behavior (Solbes-Canales et al., 2020).
Interestingly, gender stereotyping is less restrictive for female stereotypes than for male stereotypes, meaning that females are less scrutinized for not adhering to gender stereotypes, but males are.
The persistence of traditional gender roles exacerbates gender inequalities, encourages rigid behaviors, and maintains unbalanced power relations within societies in favor of men (Marcus, 2018).
With society having the attitude that women are weaker or less competent than men at the same work, this can lead to discriminatory behavior towards women.
The roots of prejudices, discrimination, and violence against women can be traced back to widespread gender stereotypes, which come from gender socialization (McCarthy et al., 2018).
Gender socialization is thought to be important since it helps individuals to develop their gender identity – deeply held internal perception of one’s gender.
Being aware of gender socialization and gender roles means that individuals can choose what they most identify with and develop their own identities.
Although a lot of gender socialization occurs during childhood, it is a lifelong process. The beliefs about gender that are acquired in childhood can affect people throughout their lives.
Many new ideas about gender can be learnt well into adulthood, meaning that new expectations can be learnt.Through gender socialization, people have shaped ideas about what they believe they can achieve.
For instance, a man may believe he is capable of being successful in his career compared to a woman who may think she will have less success due to being a woman.
It can be useful to become more aware of how individuals have been socialized based on their assigned gender. In this way, people can consider whether they behave or make decisions based on how they have been socialized, or whether it is because it is their own choice.
They can use gender neutral terms when speaking to the children, ensuring that boys and girls are being spoken to in similar ways.
Parents can encourage children to play with a wide range of toys and activities during early childhood and can help to create playful environments where children interact with a mix of genders.
Also, parents and teachers can discuss and challenge gender stereotypes with children and not put so much emphasis on gender differences. In this way, children should have an understanding that they do not need to be stuck in their traditional gender roles.
References
Bhattacharjee, N. (2021). Through the looking glass: Gender socialisation in a primary school.In Gender and Education in India A Reader(pp. 40-52). Routledge.
Bian, L., Leslie, S. J., & Cimpian, A. (2017). Gender stereotypes about intellectual ability emerge early and influence children’s interests.Science, 355(6323), 389-391.
Burn, S. M. (1996).The social psychology of gender. McGraw-Hill.
Bussey, K., & Bandura, A. (1999). Social cognitive theory of gender development and differentiation.Psychological review, 106(4), 676.
Kretchmar, J. (2011). Gender socialization. of Salem Press. Sociology reference guide.Gender roles & equality, 41-52.
Marcus, R. (2018).The norms factor: recent research on gender, social norms, and women”s economic empowerment.
Martin, C. L., & Ruble, D. (2004). Children”s search for gender cues: Cognitive perspectives on gender development.Current directions in psychological science, 13(2), 67-70.
McCarthy, K. J., Mehta, R., & Haberland, N. A. (2018). Gender, power, and violence: A systematic review of measures and their association with male perpetration of IPV.PloS one, 13(11), e0207091.
Solbes-Canales, I., Valverde-Montesino, S., & Herranz-Hernández, P. (2020). Socialization of gender stereotypes related to attributes and professions among young Spanish school-aged children.Frontiers in psychology, 11, 609.
Stockard, J. (2006). Gender socialization.In Handbook of the Sociology of Gender(pp. 215-227). Springer, Boston, MA.
Wharton, A. S. (2005).The sociology of gender: An introduction to theory and research. John Wiley & Sons.
Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
