Friday, October 15, 2010

From Strollers to Workplaces

From the very beginning, we've all met our own "social agent". Agents of socializations are found within families, daycares, jobs, schools, or any other organized group. These agents contribute to the way we think as we grow up. They influence our take on gender roles as well as our likes and dislikes. As for gender roles, our parents act as agents as soon as our infancy. It is common for the father to either hold the child while the mother pushes the the empty stroller or to push the stroller himself while the baby is in it. I never realized that that was a gender role gesture. It demonstrates the security that the father is trying to provide for the family. It implies that the dad is the one who leads the family. When I was younger, this is how it was. I remember my parent behaving in this manner on numerous occasions. As for likes and dislikes, educational institutions such as daycares and basic schools provide kids with a set of rules in regards to their gender. For example, boys tend to have more affiliation with violence, even at a young age. It is very common for a 3 or 4 year-old boy to talk about fighting than to talk about something more neutral and less violent. The same goes for girls but it's more that they have softer likes and dislikes; they have the common "ew bugs are gross" and "gross blood". These types of influences are present in daycares which affect children as young as 3.

Who would have known?

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