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Gender Roles

The term socialization refers to the “lifelong social experience by which individuals develop their human potential and learn culture.” [Macionis et al. p 55] The concept of socialization is that our actions are driven/learned by culture. Socialization is also the foundation of personality, which we build by internalizing our surroundings. Through the lifelong process of socialization, society transmits culture from one generation to the next.
A good example of socialization is the learning of gender roles. Anthropologist Margaret Mead reasoned that if gender reflects biological facts of sex, that people everywhere in the world would define the same traits as masculine or feminine. However, she argued, that if gender is cultural, such conceptions should vary. Mead researched three societies in New Guinea and concluded that “culture is the key to how sexes differ.” [Macionis et al. p233]
In the first society, Arapesh, Mead reported that the men and women had similar ...

Posted by: Arianna Escobar

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