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Advantages And Disadvantages Of Family Socialization

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“Do you think that children should be raised without gender? How could this be done and what might be the advantages and disadvantages of this mode of socialization.”

1. Introduction

“Do you think that children should be raised without gender? How could this be done and what might be the advantages and disadvantages of this mode of socialization.”

This question rests on the assumption that individuals can be raised without developing a certain gender identity. This assumption is countered by the various theories that suggests humans are social animals and therefore the gender identity which results from socialization is unavoidable given that this process is experienced by every individual. Differing from the biological viewpoint, the sociological …show more content…

“Homophily” is the tendency for individuals to develop same-sex social connections. This is linked to social process and begins as individuals learn from surrounding family members and through experience that sex differences are permanent and personal characteristics. Homophily and the literature on family socialization explores the different ways girls and boys socialize to attach themselves to others. For example, when a father encourages his son to play sports and act tough or when a mother encourages a daughter to play with dolls, children are likely to internalize these messages and hints that promote likewise behavior later in life. These identities that emerges from the family as well as from other sources are internalized during the early stages of socialization serve to create a highly differentiated world of acceptable behavior.

The Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Gender
Another approach is the Psychoanalytic perspective, which explain how socialization that occurs at the family level serves to create differentiated gender identities. The theory’s explanation of gender differences hinges on Sigmund Freud’s findings of the notion of “internal conflict” and the idea of the “unconscious self”.
The ideas proposed by Freud is important for understanding how gender difference result from the family socialization: females learn the idea of …show more content…

This process begins at birth. Since birth, individuals are treated differently according to their sex, families begin to socialize gender roles such as dressing different individuals in colors that are symbolically represent their sex. Since the moment an individual is born, he/she comes into contact with gender symbols and language that generates the idea of gender roles and stereotypes. These treatment from family exhibit behavior patterns and boundaries which eventually become “identity standards”: the references in which contexts, settings, and interactions are used to make a comparison between the others and the self. We should therefore assume that gender-neutral approach to raising a child is

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