Agents of socialization

From the video and PowerPoint presentation, I realized that the media played an essential part in my socialization. Since I was a kid, I have always enjoyed watching television, movies and reading newspapers. The kind of music played in the local channels influenced my sense of style and fashion. For example, rap music shaped my dressing style of wearing baggy jeans and big t-shirts. The movies watched helped to shape my view of the world. Most of them often depicted women as the weaker sex who always need help from men in times of trouble. In a sense, they helped to promote gender stereotypes about the position of males and females in the society. The numerous commercials aired on television greatly influenced my taste in various products (Grusec and Hastings 276). I would demand my parents to buy me the latest shoes or clothes advertised on television like many other children.

Children mostly grow up with their parents and guardians. Families play such a critical role in the socialization of children. In my case, my parents played an important role in prescribing my gender roles from a young age. They always bought toys and clothes associated with my gender and encouraged me to pursue sports and games typical of my sex. They used language associated with my gender and urged me to embrace the gender roles prevalent at the time. From a young age, my parents also instilled the values of honesty and respect. They did so by spanking me when I was guilty of dishonesty and disrespect towards older members of the household and the society (Grusec and Hastings 35).

The actions undertaken by my parents shaped my respect for authority.The schools I attended also played a central role in my socialization. First, the schools offered a curriculum that taught about reading, writing and mathematics. The three form the basis of socialization as reading helps in accessing written information while writing aids in social expression. At school, I got to meet many other children from different backgrounds. Interactions with the other children helped to build my social skills. Preschool had teachers as the authority figures. The relations with the teachers helped to strengthen the respect for authority figures which forms an essential aspect of socialization (Grusec and Hastings 251). Lastly, the schools I attended as a child encouraged us to accept the cultural values of our society such as being obedient, patient, and neat.

In my teenage years, I associated more with my peers. Interaction with one another helped to shape our taste in music, fashion, and many other aspects of life. I would shift from one genre of music to another depending on what my peers prescribed as “cool.” My peers dictated the choice of words that I could use in specific situations. I adopted the sports and games that my friends enjoyed playing and shunned some of the games they considered insignificant. When I was young, we used to play with children of either sex, but in my adolescent years, I started receiving positive reinforcement from my same gender peers to engage in gender-specific activities. The more interactions with my peers strengthened my belief in traditional gender role behaviours (Grusec and Hastings 228). That continuous association with friends of my gender encouraged me to seek same-sex friends because of the need to create a gender identity.

Works Cited

Grusec, Joan E., and Paul David Hastings, eds. Handbook of socialization: Theory and research. Guilford Publications, 2014.