So I read this cool article called "Is This the Best (or Only) Possible World? Oppression and Socialization" by Davita Silfen Glasberg and Deric Shannon. It discussed all different kinds of socialization and oppression in America (with a few examples from other countries, such as Afghanistan, as well.) First, here are some definitions to get us started: 1. Socialization: the general process by which members of society learn what is expected of them and what they can expect from the world around them. They learn their rights, privileges, responsibilities, and obligations. 2. Oppression Socialization: the process by which individuals develop understandings of power and political structure, particularly as these inform perceptions of identity, power, and opportunity relative to gender, racialized group membership, and sexuality.
Now, there's more to this article than just what I'm going to discuss here, so I highly recommend you guys read the actual article, but I'm only going to write about patriarchal oppression and gender socialization. According to the authors, media, family, work, schools, and the state play an important role in patriarchal oppression and gender socialization. Here are some things for each category for you guys to look at:
Media:
1. Male figures dominate on tv.
2. In news reporting, media shows a strong tendency to rely on men as the sources of stories and to treat women as objects of stories or as nonexperts.
Family:
1. Women usually do most of the childcare and household chores, even when they hold full-time jobs.
2. Even in kids, girls are taught to babysit, cook, and wash dishes, while boys are taught to take out the garbage and do yard work.
(I'd like to add to what the authors say here, and tell you guys about a project one of my sociology professors had me do for a class one time. He told everyone to go to a child's toy store of our choice and check out the types of toys that are made for boys, as opposed to the types of toys that are made for girls. I found that, there are different sections for toys. There's a boy's section, and a girl's section. For the most part, female toys are pink, yellow, and other "pretty" colors, while male toys were blue, green, orange, etc. I also found that, for the most part, the female toys were things like play kitchens, Easy Bake Ovens, dolls, play cleaning supplies, and pink Barbie cars, while male toys were monster trucks, race cars, and play electric guitars. Could we, as a society, be bringing up our children in certain gender roles? By giving our girls play kitchen sets, are we sending them subliminal messages that they are supposed to do the kitchen work as adults? This is so incredibly possible, because we are showing girls that this is what girls do, while we are NOT showing boys that this is what they are supposed to do. And think about it. What do parents usually think when they find their little boy playing with a Barbie or their little girl playing with a monster truck? They immediately think there must be something wrong with their kid. They immediately run to their psychiatrist and ask if it means that their child is gay. They think there's something wrong with it. And they think it's bad that it might mean their kid is gay, which boggles my mind. It boggles my mind why it matters if some kids turn out to be gay, and it boggles my mind why parents automatically assume their kid must be gay, just because he/she is not complying with his/her gender role. Parents, be proud if your kid is defying the natural world order! Be proud your kid expresses himself/herself in a way that makes him/her happy, no matter what the rest of the world says about it. It shows that your kid is confident in who he/she is, no matter what other people say. That, my friends, is a great quality.)
Work:
1. There are male-dominant and female-dominant jobs, thus separating the genders. Most female-dominant jobs are lower-paying than most male-dominant jobs. And most female-dominant jobs are helping jobs, which is interesting to think about.
2. Women are generally paid less than men, even when they are working the same job and have the same education. By 2008, women averaged 0.80 cents to every dollar that men earned. (Does this mean that, generally speaking, men are better at these jobs, even when they have the same education as the women they work with? Or does it mean there is some kind of prejudice going on in the work place?)
School:
1. In some countries, girls are not allowed to go to school or to study.
2. School officials, such as teachers, push children into gender roles by encouraging young girls to study things like the humanities, social sciences, and secretarial studies, while young boys are encouraged to study math, physical & life sciences, and engineering.
The State:
1. I read through what the authors of this article have to say about the state pushing people into gender roles and oppressing women, and really what they have to say about it relates to things that the government did in the past that have nothing to do with today's society, so I'm not going to write anything about that. Of course, there are ways in which government is corrupt that has to do with women, but in today's government, I think women are way better represented than they have been in the past. Although, you do have to look at things like how the political world is mostly dominated by men, especially when you look at the fact that women have yet to have seen a female president, which I'm hoping happens sometime. But hey, at least we've now ALMOST seen a female vice president. That's getting us somewhere.
Now I'd like to point out that the authors of this article did say that people nowadays are defying all of this gender role crap, slowly. Men are getting laid off, so they are doing more to help out with household chores and with childcare, while women are being pushed forward and becoming more of the bread-winners of the family unit. So good for you, ladies. Keep it up.
I know that it's difficult sometimes to tell what it is that the authors said vs. what it is that I've added to the discussion, since I added in a whole bunch of my opinions in different places. Sorry about that. If you want to know exactly what came from the authors of this article, check out the article! It's a good read. Also, I'd like to point out that this is all general. I don't at all mean to cry out that women are being oppressed, and that it's just not fair. I don't at all mean to blame any woman's inability to succeed in this world on the media, government, parents, or anything else. I just thought this article was interesting and offered a unique perspective on gender roles. And of course, they, as well as I, are speaking GENERALLY.
I'd like to say one more thing to everyone. This is particularly for parents, but it's also for teachers and anyone else it could possibly apply to. DON'T FORCE YOUR KIDS INTO GENDER ROLES. Don't discourage your little boy to play with dolls. If you ask your daughter what toy she wants at a toy store, and she insists on the race cars, buy them for her! Don't tell her no, simply because that's a "toy for boys." That's ridiculous. And don't assume that just because your daughter is a tomboy that she will be a lesbian as an adult. Children are weird. They like weird things sometimes. They do weird things sometimes. Just because your son plays with Barbies when he's little doesn't mean he won't grow up to be normal. And if your kid does grow up to be gay, who cares? Some people take life too seriously. Empower your kids. Teach them to be who they are, no matter what the rest of the world says. And when you have a baby, maybe buy neutral colors to decorate the kid's room, and let the kid decide which colors he/she likes, yeah?
If you still don't believe sexism is still alive, check out this video. It's actual in favor of the women, which is interesting. I've talked about backwards sexism in another note, "A New Perspective On Sexism." Here's the link to this jaw-dropping video: http://www.upworthy.com/know-anyone-that-thinks-racial-profiling-is-exaggerated-watch-this-and-tell-me-when-your-jaw-drops-2?g=4.
If you still don't believe sexism is still alive, check out this video. It's actual in favor of the women, which is interesting. I've talked about backwards sexism in another note, "A New Perspective On Sexism." Here's the link to this jaw-dropping video: http://www.upworthy.com/know-anyone-that-thinks-racial-profiling-is-exaggerated-watch-this-and-tell-me-when-your-jaw-drops-2?g=4.
The girl's section at a Toys R Us.
The boy's section at a Toys R Us.
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