Introduction
People’s upbringing and assimilation in society mainly depend on their genders and the roles a particular social environment assigns to genders. While socialization as a process of acquiring a set of values and rules of behavior in a given society is essential for all groups, gender defines what specific expectations are implied for either male or female individuals. The influences that form one’s directions in gender socialization are rooted in the social domain’s essential elements, namely family, peers, school, and media. The attitudes, expectations, beliefs, and behavioral patterns concerning each of these elements will differ for males and females. Therefore, this paper is aimed at exploring and analyzing how a male individual experiences socialization processes under the influence of gender-assigned social norms.
Main body
From a sociological perspective, gender socialization is a complex phenomenon. According to Hoominfar, it is a process “by which individuals develop, refine and learn to ‘do’ gender through internalizing gender norms and roles as they interact with key agents of socialization” (1). Men at the stage of forming their social gender identity are exposed to influences that shape the ways in which they are expected to perform their gender roles. At an early age, the family environment and upbringing approaches introduce a boy to his expected masculinity. When a boy cries, his parents often say that boys do not cry and do not express their emotions very vividly. Similarly, family members might teach a boy to work physically, develop his body, and become strong, as well as express his strength. Parents buy toy cars, robots, and guns and choose blue, green, and dark colors for clothes, which form a masculine image of a boy from a young age. In response to such influences, boys tend to express their masculinity, control their emotions, and comply with expectations.
Although the family plays a decisive role in shaping an individual’s social identity, the school also functions as an important agent in gender socialization. Through educational activities and interaction with teachers, boys are taught the values and behavioral patterns that are dominant in a given society. Teachers’ expectations toward boys’ diligence and high learning outcomes are not as high as toward girls because boys are commonly perceived as more reluctant to study. In addition, textbooks illustrate how the world functions and assigns gender roles to boys. Their behavior is shaped by introducing professions such as driver, builder, fireman, and other masculine occupations through textbooks and class activities.
In addition, peers with whom boys interact contribute to their gender socialization since they represent a group of individuals with similar features. Therefore, friends and classmates interact with each other using the dominant roles depending on the gender-related behavioral patterns they observe in others. The observation of gender roles also occurs through media. Boys watch films, programs, and advertisements, in which men are portrayed as strong, confident, and dominant in the world. Importantly, media forms gender roles in all ages, which is why men are encouraged to function to the imposed standards of masculinity throughout their lives.
Conclusion
In conclusion, socialization is an important aspect of human life, which predetermines people’s integration in society and the ability to function as social beings. Gender plays a pivotal role in this process since the norms, beliefs, and expectations about male and female roles significantly differ from one another. Boys at the early stage of gender socialization are typically assigned with the characteristics of masculinity through family, peers, school, and media. Thus, socially formed gender is formed under the influence of disseminated values and gender role expectations.
Work Cited
Hoominfar, Elham. “Gender Socialization.” Gender Equality, Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, edited by W. Leal Filho et al., Springer, 2019, pp. 1-10.