Social Norms And Values: A Social Analysis

In the article, “Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meaning of Gender,” the author, Aaron Devor, is trying to convince his audience that gender shapes how we behave and relate to one another. He does this by using an educational approach, describing gender stereotypes, and making cultural references. These rhetorical devices serve his larger goal of getting readers to reflect on how their childhoods formed their genders. “Maleness and femaleness seem “natural,” not the product of socialization.” (Devor 527) Throughout his article, he makes us wonder whether or not gender is recognized through socializing.

Sociology can be used to explain the social norms and sanctions that are associated with everything that we do. In order to examine social norms, we must use the sociological imagination to make the familiar strange. To do that, we must critically think about the social interactions that take place around us and look at them from different points of view. I observed students interacting with each other and with dining hall employees in Campus Center Dining Hall (CCDH) in order to determine the social norms and sanctions that occur there.

Gender has been traditionally defined as male or female with the allocation of stereotypes and set gender roles assigned to men and women. However, in contemporary society the definition of gender has been altered, forming a societal divide between the concepts of gender and sex with the removal of gender roles. Gender is currently defined by a person’s form of self-identification and sex is based scientifically on biological factors. Culture is an intangible collection of a wide variety of societal customs including language and traditions. An assemblage of both concepts develop an individual’s personal expression of identity.

The sociology of gender is one of the largest subfields within sociology; sociological gender studies look at the social construction of gender and how gender interacts with other social structures within society (Crossman, 2016). It Is important that one understands the difference between sex and gender to understand the sociology of gender; unlike gender, sex is biologically determined and relates to the reproductive organs a person has. In order to separate gender and sex sociologists use different pronouns; when discussing gender, sociologists use the terms man/woman and when discussing sex sociologists will use the terms male/female (Crossman, 2016). Although most people fall into wither the category of male or female, some people are born with ‘sex organs’ that do not clearly fit into either of the two specific sex categories, these people are known as intersex (Ashley Crossman, 2016). Gender is described as a social classification based on one’s identity and how one presents themselves to the world; this identity relates to the way one behaves and interacts within society. Many sociologists view gender as a learned behaviour and look at gendered identities as being culturally produced which makes gendered identities socially constructed (Crossman,

Sarah Veslany PLSC 428 Final Exam 4/28/2015 Contemporary social science asserts that there are no gender binaries that exist in nature, but rather that social institutions, history, and public pressure encourages people to conform to and display heteronormative behavior. Gender in this particular issue is referring to how an individual identifies themselves psychologically. Meaning that gender in a social science context alludes to the cultural interpretation of masculine and feminine characteristics rather that the biological foundation of gender. Gender is seen as a recurring performance of gendered behavior. The social science field rejects biological differences in gender and instead puts emphasis on how societal constructs of gender.

The concept of gender has a strong social impact on me. When I was born, I was immediately assigned to a biological sex as a female with two X chromosomes. I was then socially classified as a girl in the society with feminine gender roles. Gender is defined as a social principle which attribute to the roles and expectations of males and females through the years of different societies (Phillips, 2005). Gender can be considered as behavioural, cultural and psychological traits

According to Michael Messner, our society practices the act of gender socialization by ignoring “group and contextual factors while overemphasizing ‘the constitutional and unfolding of individuals as boys or girls’” (312). Additionally, gender socialization is defining and executing actions that are masculine versus feminine. We have seen with extensive research that, through generations, the definition of gender socialization is conformed and practiced differently. As an example, I have interviewed two people from different generations and asked questions about their experiences and beliefs about masculinity and femininity role. Although there were similar answers, it is evident that gender is socialized differently between generations. The understanding of gender socialization is manipulated differently; however, there are similar beliefs throughout different ages of life.

Gender, as a social construct has constantly intrigued me, particularly since our culture, society and who we are is formed by it. The thought that we can make something that runs our lives so tremendously is fascinating. Gender is imbued within each one of us from the beginning of our lives and is enforced in all most everything, from toys to clothes. The process of learning the social desires and expectations as well as attitudes associated with one's sex is called as Gender Socialization.

Gender socialization is defined as the process in which we learning the expected social norms and attitudes associated with being a female or male (Iwamoto, 2016). Gender socialization begins at a very young age and continues to shape our behaviors, attitudes, and personality for the rest of our lives. For example, from birth, the color pink is associated with girls and the color blue with boys. Boys and girls are often dressed and treated differently based solely on their gender. Indubitably, gender socialization has impacted not only how I think about gender, but my actions and behaviors. Reflecting on my life experiences thus far, I have come to realize my cultural background as well as my upbringing has significantly shaped my values and perspectives’ on gender.

If people, according to Durkin & Carrothers (2015) know and “understand the culture and the social system built upon it, they can potentially put the system to use.” If they do not understand the way of life of the society in which they live, their lives can be confusing and unpredictable. For society, socialization produces a measure of continuity from one generation to another. After all, society needs new participants, and socialization is a major process through which society attracts, facilitates and maintains participation. The efforts of the group to help individuals learn the system range from formal, structural programs in which the group is responsible for the outcome, to unstructured, informed processes in which the individual is responsible for the outcome. Families, for example, is the most important agent of socialization expected to teach children to speak and school is expected to teach children (nature and nurture) advance

“Gender identity is our psychological awareness or sense of being male or female, and it’s one of the most obvious and important aspects of our self-concept” (Rathus, p. 159). The main source of gender identity in our culture is physical appearance. Our culture is accustom to being able to look at a person and instantly judge their gender based on the common physical appearance and traits of being male or female. Male gender identity can typically be recognized based on having short hair, facial hair, taller and more muscular body shape, and the traditional style and color of clothing such as pants, shorts, and t-shirts. Female gender identity can typically be recognized based on having longer hair, wearing make-up, body shape including breasts, and traditional clothing for females including a colorful wardrobe, skirts, dresses, and high heels.

Socialization refers to the process by which individuals internalize the values, beliefs, and rules of society and learn to function as members within that community; they learn what society finds acceptable or normal in different situations (Conley 2013). Norms taught to individuals, are in place to maintain standards of behavior. For instance, families teach folkways or customs to children; teaching them not to burp loudly while eating at a restaurant or to not pick their boogers when they are out in public are ways to socialize them. Even though this acceptable for them to do while they are kids, these actions will not be welcomed once they are adults. Doing these things in public can cause people to look at them in disgust or can cause them to be categorized as socially deviant individuals (Conley 2013). In addition, laws put in place by a government are there for individuals to follow because theoretically individuals that live in a nation believe in that country’s values. Drunk driving is illegal in the United States, then it can be assumed that citizens will follow that law because they like the government value their lives and the lives of others.

Socialization is the activity of socializing with others and it is the process of learning to behave in the way that is acceptable in society. Socialization and crime walk hand and hand due to the social process theories that hold that criminality is a function of an individual socialization. The theory draws attention to the interactions that people have with various institutions, processes of society and different organizations. Most people are influenced by their familial relationships, interactions with authority figure, peer group associations, and educational experiences, including employers, teachers, and different agents of the justice system. People can succeed within the many rules of society is these relationships are supportive

In this paper we will discuss how sociology helps us to understand how human behavior

"'Society makes us normal,' this is what sociologist refers to when they discuss socialization" (p.73). Socialization is what has impacted our life. Our major agents are our families, our peers, and mass media this influences gender, but we are also looking at how our family, neighborhood, religion, day care, school, peer groups, and workplace influences more" (p.87). All major aspects of who we are. Which impacts you the most?