Female Gender Role Socialization: The Role of Biology and Socialization

Introduction

The concept of female gender role socialization is attributed to biology, culture, and society. The biological process of creating the gender of an individual starts during conception when sex is determined by a set of chromosomes, known as sex chromosomes. During conception X chromosome from the mother's egg and X chromosome from the father's sperm fuse to form XX gamete which grows and develops forming the male fetus. On the other hand, X chromosome from the mother's egg and Y chromosome from the father's sperm fuse to form XY gamete which grows and develops forming the male fetus.

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Once the sex of the child has been biologically determined, the gender identity (man or woman) is socially constructed through the socialization process. For instance, after parents have known whether the child is a boy or a girl, even before being born, they usually start buying gifts that reflect different gendered images. Also, baby rooms may be decorated differently based on whether the child is a boy or a girl. Moreover, parents are more likely to buy dolls for girls and action figures for boys. As the child grows, different agents of socialization encourage or discourages different attitudes and behaviours. For example, a teenage boy is expected to be more aggressive than a teenage girl due to higher testosterone level in the former than the later.

As a child grows and attends school, the society further shapes his or her gender identity through educational choices. For example, boys are highly likely to be encouraged by parents to pursue STEM-related courses than their female counterparts. On the other hands, parents encourage girls to pursue arts courses as they are perceived to be feminine.

Language and Construction of Gender

Gender construction is also influenced in everyday life through the way people speak. The use of a sexist language in day to day communication emboldens stereotypes and also produces changes in the society. For example, in the recent past, women were addressed as either Miss or Mrs In this regard, the society addressed women depending on their marital status as it was the most vital feature used to identify a woman. Also, gender construction can be seen in women's adoption of their husbands' names once they are married. This is a reflection that women are men's property. Women's changing of name following marriage is also an indicator that her identity is less important compared to that of a man, the husband. Moreover, the use of the word guy to refer to all individuals regardless of gender. Furthermore, construction of gender is manifested in the demeaning language used to refer to women such as chicks, babes, and hottie.

Language use is contextual, e.g. a woman can refer to her female friend as a gal without sounding demeaning but rather appearing affirming. However, the use of the same term by a male is demeaning and is meant to depict that the man has a higher status in the relationship and is intended to trivialize the status of women. Overall, it is worth noting that the contextual use of language depict power differences between men and women whereby the former are considered to be more powerful while the later are looked down upon and demeaned.

Media and Construction of Gender

Popular culture has been found to have a strong influence on the social construction of gender. In the popular media and culture, gender images of men and women depict what is supposed to be the ideal shape, form, or size of each of both genders. In the 1890s, ads portrayed ideal women as those with perfect curves. More specifically, a beautiful woman was one with wide hips and a full bosom (Lamkin, 2015). In the 1920s, the concept of a beautiful woman changed, and the slimness of the body was associated with beauty. Consequently, Lamkin (2015) noted that the curvaceous and fleshy bodies of women were seen as undesirable. Thus women strove for slim bodies.

The 1930s body figure was curvaceous but differed from the 1890s in "in the relationship of curves to straight lines" (Berman, 2015). Over the years, a perfect body of women changed from hourglass-shaped in the 1950s (Cohen, 2007) to non-curvy in the 1960s (Wade & Tavris, 1987), to slim and softly curvy in 1970s and 1980s (Markula-Denison & Pringle, 2007), to narrow-hipped athletic idea in the 1990s and hourglass figure in 2000s (Worell, 2001).

Women's need to attain perfect body size and shape has resulted in eating disorders. According to the National Eating Disorders Association (2018), body dissatisfaction is associated with the development of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (Stice, 2002). Individuals with anorexia nervosa binge eat, purge, exercise compulsively, and restrict the number of calories they consume (Swain, 2006). Conversely, individuals with bulimia nervosa consume abnormally large quantities of food in a short period and later purge what he or she has consumed to reduce weight (Swain, 2006).

References

Berman, E. (2015). This is what the ideal woman looked like in the 1930s. Retrieved from http://time.com/3860561/ideal-woman-1930s/Cohen, D. (2007). Body language: what you need to know. Sheldon Publishers.

Lamkin, K.D. (2015). The desperate drive for perfection: changing beauty ideals and women's fashion in the 1920s. Retrieved from http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/999/the-desperate-drive-for-perfection-changing-beauty-ideals-and-womens-fashion-in-the-1920s

Markula-Denison, P., & Pringle, R. (2007). Foucault, sport and exercise: power, knowledge and transforming the self. Routledge.

National Eating Disorders Association (2018). What are eating disorders? Retrieved from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/what-are-eating-disorders

Stice, E. (2002). Risk and maintenance factors for eating pathology: a meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 128(5), 825-848.

Swain, P. I. (2006). Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa: new research. Nova Publishers.

Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (1987). Psychology. Harper & Row Publishers.

Worell, J. (2001). Encyclopaedia of women and gender, two-volume set: sex similarities and differences and the impact of society on gender. Academic Press.