Socialization as the Most Important Aspect of Human Life - Essay Example

Socialization is the most important aspect of human life through which an individual learns about himself and recognizes his gender. According to sociologists, there is a very basic difference between the two terminologies; gender refers to the learned social norms and expected social behavior by the society such as masculine and feminine whereas sex refers to the biological classification of a person as male or female (Anderson & Taylor 2012).
As soon as the sex is assigned to a child his/her gender construction starts immediately even before birth. For instance, as soon as parents came to know about the sex of their child in the mother’s womb they start buying the newborn stuff in accordance with the characteristics that are associated with that sex hence giving rise to gender formation. It is the sex category of a person that later transforms into a specific gender because society wants to mark a difference in male and female therefore they build up certain expectations that being a girl I should act in this way and being a boy he should act in that way. Gender construction is done to distribute jobs, responsibilities, resources, etc.
Judith Lorber in "Night to His Day" explains gender construction and its socialization. In her essay, she says that after categorizing a child as male or female sex does not play any role until maturity but in the meantime, gender construction takes place which teaches an individual the expected behavior by the society from his/her sex. She further says that once the gender of a child is developed through naming, dressing, or any other gender identification then the child responds in a similar way referring him/herself as a member of that particular gender. Hence at puberty, they represent their sexual and social behavior as embedded by their genders. Gender is socially constructed by one’s experiences, consciousness, relationships, and the specific ways that we associate with males and females i.e. masculinity and femininity. One thing that is quite noticeable today is that the gender roles are changing, men are seen spending more time in child care as compared to the past and women are seen more in the corporate and professional fields. Yet there are still some societies existing in the world that are maintaining the association of males with masculinity and females with femininity. The process of gendering is highly influenced by religion, values, social norms, etc. (Lorber 2012).
It is purely defined by the nature that whether you are a man or woman however the distinction and expectations attached to it are defined by the society, its culture and values. Imagine that suddenly you have got a chance to change your gender how will you react then? You would have to change if not all then ‘almost’ all of your personality traits such as your dressing style, communication style, hairstyle, etc. at the same time you will face drastic changes in your social and economic conditions. If you have turned to a male from the female so now you can enjoy the increased salary, power and more respect, if you have turned to a female from male then you would have to face harassment, emotional and financial instability and a lot more because all of these things have a very close association with your gender rather than your biological sex.
CONCLUSION
I am a girl and I am often sensitively treated by my parents. I wonder if they had a boy instead of me how they would have treated him. Surely they would have treated him according to the expectations of the society that is associated with the masculine gender. It is not the female sexuality that needs protection rather it is the femininity that people provide shelter. It is a matter of perception that we have about genders such that this gender must perform these responsibilities and the other should not.
This gender stereotyping does not end here but it moves on with life in all the relationships, tasks performance, division of responsibilities, promotions and careers, recognition in society and independence as a whole depends upon one’s gender rather than the abilities and qualifications. Read More