Gender Gap caused by Gender Socialization - Alex

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Script

Gender Gap caused by Gender Socialization

Alex Kim

             Despite of advanced technology or higher education standards, each society and culture has still its own inherent ‘Gender gap’, or ‘Gender differences’ in terms of income disparity, workers number gap and unbalance sex ratio. The gender gap permeates every aspect of culture and society, continues throughout the life course, and its effects are cumulative. For example, the gender gap in education has proved that males have a better educational opportunity and achievement rather than females in most societies.

             Some people believe that Socialization into expected gender roles is one of the most important lessons that young children learn. With gender socialization, young people learn to believe and do what treat with each other simply as a human being. It might be a greatest achievement to solve the gender gap. In my point of view, however, gender socialization helps to accentuate, solidify, perpetuate, and strengthen the innate differences between men and women. In other words, gender socialization is not to be a key solution to relieve the gender gap; it makes gender gap or gender differences go further.  

             If gender socialization led to gender gap, on what basis do I make such a sentence? It turns out that gender socialization begins very early in life. Society has accepted such stereotypical things as baby boy blue and baby girl pink to help identify the sex of a child. Take an example. You are born crying into a blaze of bright lights. Your first picture is taken with a little pink hairpin in your hair and you are taken home in little pink pajamas. Are you a boy or a girl? Undoubtedly, a considerable portion of people might think that baby is a girl. I’m no exception. We were taught by our society that pink is a feminine color so therefore, you are a girl.

             The situation does not improve as the children begin to grow older. In fact, it gets worse. Once the child enters school, the socialization process reaches hyper speed. Boys learn to be boys and girls learn to be girls. Little boys are expected to roll around in the dirt and explore. Girls should keep their hands clean and play with their dolls. With this process, they gradually begin to realize that man and women are different intrinsically. By the time the child has reached high school, they have already experienced so many instances of gender discrimination and inequality in general, that most take it as a "normal" part of life. Girls begin to lower their educational and occupational expectations, while boys' goals flourish. Girls apply for more secretarial type jobs, and boys look for jobs that require more active involvement.

Sounds pretty normal right? Why? The reason is that we are already affected by gender socialization. From the moment we are born, we impose this clear gender distinction which rolls over the following generations. It’s kind of never-ending cycle. Thus causes children to have the tendency to separate boys from girls, males form females, being different species.

So, do you still believe that gender socialization make a good effect on gender gap? Without the socialization of little boys and little girls into strictly defined gender roles, the result would be considerably different. Imagine what a child would be like boy or girl, who was treated simply as a human being. Imagine a child that grew up not assuming their opportunities in life were already somewhat predetermined by their sex. Imagine what a child would be like if they knew that everything in life depended on their own innate ability and motivation to succeed. And then, you will get the idea.

Wow ~you did good job :)

Alex!! 표정이 정말 정말 좋아졌네요!! 자연스러움이나 발음도 좋지만 표정을 칭찬해주고싶군요 ㅎㅎ

2차전 기대하겠습니다~^^-D