Agents of Socialization

This week in sociology we talked about how different aspects of our lives can influence who we are as people, specifically the media and schools and their influence on our perception of gender. In schools, from a young age, kids separate themselves on the playground based on gender, guys go and play sports, while girls stay and play their games. Being a guy, I honestly have no idea what they would do because of the fact that it was so separated. Girls are shown by ads that they have to be perfect, and they compare themselves to something that could never anatomically exist, so they always feel like they will never be good enough. It is pretty disgusting that we as people will invent an ideal that doesn't even exist just for our own personal gain. Guys are no where near as often discriminated against, but are shown from an early age that if they are not strong, not athletic, not able to protect themselves, then they are seen as not masculine, weak, pathetic human beings. It is really sad to see the way that kids are shut out and pushed away because they don't live up to the norms that are shown to kids from such an early age.