Saturday, February 7, 2009
The Role of Pubertal Processes
I thought this chapter was unique in that it illustrates that there is not much research out there about the middle school aged child. I took a Psychology of Women class and so I was pretty familiar with most of the terms however, what I noticed that was different was the education emphasis to the article which I found to be educational. I would agree with the author that more research needs to be done about how boys are socialized into society. In addition, I believe that society needs to change their views on how each gender should behave like. Boys will become adult men and if they are being socialized that the correct way to act is non-emotional or that it is a feminine trait then it really damages their psyche. When people are boxed into these specific roles and someone who does not fit those traits people do not know how to treat the person. People are so much more complicated and layered in their personality that I feel that the socialization of genders is very harmful but at the same time I feel that if someone doesn't fit those categories it becomes a very scary thing for the person because the person doesn't feel "normal" So I guess what I am stating is that it's a double edged sword.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I have to agree with you when you say "people are so much more complicated and layered in their personality", and we have to take this into consideration when we will be working with these adolescents on a daily basis. I also have to agree with you when you said that when people are boxed into specific gender roles and someone doesn't fit those traits, people don't know how to treat them. I think a lot of people get comfortable with gender stereotypes, and therefore encourage others to act a certain way, but once they encounter someone who doesn't meet their expectations, they are caught off gaurd and end up wrongfully judging the person that is just trying to live their own life. I guess the best we can do is to put aside the stereotypes we have become familiar with (because we all have them) and become more open minded and accepting of our students (and people in general) who don't neccessarily fit the (gender) mold. But then again, who does fit the mold perfectly?
ReplyDelete