Gender Socialization From Movies

               We are all born into an assigned sex. We can be male, female, and sometimes even a little of both. We can’t choose our sex (with the exception of gender reassignment), but we can choose how we want to act regardless of our sex. We can choose our own gender. So, why then do most people act along the same set of guidelines that are set out for a particular sex? This is because of gender socialization. Gender socialization is how the society you live in guides your behaviors and attitude based on your sex. This process that teaches us how to act can come from things like family, peers, and media. I believe that one of the most influential gender socialization factors is the media.

               People are exposed to the media a lot from a very young age. This exposure to television, news, ads, video games, and movies can have a huge effect on the behaviors and attitudes of an individual. We learn how society wants us to be every time we watch our favorite character in a movie or TV show. A perfect example of media socializing us is a classic Disney movie. In the movie Pocahontas, the main male character is very strong and bold while the main female character is petite and caring. This movie is just one of many media outlets that teaches children how they’re supposed to be. 

 

 
              I wonder if it’s good that people are slowly pushed to be what society expects them to become. What would happen if people had more freedom from outside influence to act the way they chose to? Would we end up the same as we are now, or would we become completely different people?

Bibliography

Fagot, Beverly, Carie Rodgers, and Mary Lienbach. 2000. The Developmental Social Psychology of Gender. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved (http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yJ43_5tJGycC&oi=fnd&pg=PA65&dq=gender+socialization&ots=XnRfcejPNB&sig=lyWAwluDYlXVJrV-r7ByvAqnWgA#v=onepage&q=gender%20socialization&f=false).