Social Scientists Examine How Parents Create

1conventionally Social Scientists Examine How Parents Create Gender

Conventional social science research explores how parents shape gender roles for children from birth through adolescence. However, Lawrence Ganong and Marilyn Coleman’s study reveals that children can also influence their parents’ gender roles. By administering the Bem Sex Role Inventory to 306 parents, they found that fathers with sons displayed lower “femininity” scores, whereas mothers with sons were more “feminine” compared to parents with only daughters. This challenges the typical assumption that parents socialize children into gender roles in a one-way process. Instead, the results suggest a reciprocal relationship where children influence parental gender roles: parents become more sex-typed in response to their children’s gender, reinforcing traditional gender stereotypes. Interestingly, daughters did not significantly affect parental gender roles, possibly because societal concern for rigid female roles is less emphasized. These findings support an interactionist view, emphasizing that parent-child dynamics are mutually influential. Consequently, gender roles are not solely imposed by parents but are shaped through ongoing social interactions within the family, illustrating the fluid and reciprocal nature of gender socialization and challenging deterministic views of gender development.

Paper For Above instruction

In understanding how gender roles are constructed and influenced within society, the role of family dynamics and social interaction cannot be overlooked. The study by Ganong and Coleman (1987) offers valuable insights into the reciprocal influence between children and parents regarding gender roles. Traditionally, social scientists have viewed parental socialization as the primary force in instilling gendered behaviors and expectations in children. This perspective suggests a unidirectional process where parents teach children what it means to be male or female, thereby reproducing societal gender norms (Michael & Bean, 1987). However, Ganong and Coleman's research complicates this notion by demonstrating that children also impact their parents’ gender orientations. Specifically, parents tend to respond to their children’s gender by reinforcing traditional expectations—fathers become more masculine when they have sons, and mothers more feminine when they have sons—highlighting a bidirectional process of gender socialization.

This dynamic aligns with the interactionist perspective, which emphasizes that social behaviors and roles are shaped through ongoing interactions rather than solely innate or imposed factors (Blumer, 1969). In the context of gender roles, this perspective suggests that identities are continually negotiated through familial interactions, with both children and parents influencing each other's behaviors and perceptions. Moreover, the lesser effect of daughters on parental gender roles might reflect societal biases that assign less importance to rigid female gender roles, hinting at broader cultural influences on socialization processes (West & Zimmerman, 1987). The interplay depicted in Ganong and Coleman's study underscores that gender is a fluid social construct, shaped through reciprocal relationships within families, rather than a fixed attribute solely transmitted from parent to child.

The implications of these findings extend beyond individual families, indicating that gender socialization is an ongoing, interactive process that can reproduce or challenge societal expectations. For example, as gender norms become more fluid and inclusive, family dynamics may shift accordingly, fostering more egalitarian gender relationships (Connell, 2002). Thus, understanding the mutual influence between parents and children is essential to comprehending how gender roles are maintained or transformed over time.

It is also vital to consider how other sociological perspectives further illuminate this process. From a functionalist viewpoint, gender roles serve specific societal functions, maintaining social order and continuity (Parsons & Bales, 1955). Conversely, conflict theory would argue that the reinforcement of traditional gender roles perpetuates gender inequalities and power dynamics favoring males (Marx & Engels, 1848). The interactionist perspective, therefore, offers a nuanced understanding that recognizes the fluidity and ongoing negotiation of gender in social relationships, illustrating that gender is constructed through daily interactions rather than predetermined by biological or societal necessity.

In conclusion, Ganong and Coleman's study advances our understanding of gender socialization by highlighting the mutual influences within the family. It challenges simplistic notions of gender as a fixed trait and underscores the importance of social interaction in shaping gender identities. Recognizing these reciprocal influences opens pathways for fostering gender equality and challenging societal norms that constrain individual expression and identity.

References

• Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. University of California Press.
• Connell, R. W. (2002). Gender: In World Perspective. Polity Press.
• Ganong, L. H., & Coleman, M. (1987). Effects of Children on Parental Sex-Role Orientation. Journal of Family Issues, 8(3), 278–290.
• Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1848). The Communist Manifesto. Penguin Classics.
• Michael, R. T., & Bean, F. D. (1987). Gender Socialization and Family Dynamics. Routledge.
• Parsons, T., & Bales, R. F. (1955). Family, Socialization and Interaction Processes. Free Press.
• West, C., & Zimmerman, D. H. (1987). Doing gender. Gender & Society, 1(2), 125-151.