The Political Socialization of Women in Childhood of America - Thesis Example

HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE, THESIS Module The Political Socialization of Women in Childhood A human being receives information from external factors right from birth. This is how a child is able to start forming opinions as well as personal views about different things. Most of the time children get their views from parents as well as other adults around them. These views are acquired both subconsciously and consciously. Children develop views about the authority in their early years. By the time they are five years, they have a general concept of what political parties are and who is the president. They also have a clear understanding of political icons such as the national flag. Children will also identify with the political ideologies that are supported by their parents.1 It has been proven that the children of educated parents tend to support ambitious characters. Since children at this stage tend to identify with their families, it is this support that can inspire a female child to harbor dreams of being an achiever in later life. In addition, parents from higher socioeconomic settings are usually more concerned with political developments. They also expose their children to political systems and encourage them to develop opinions about various political aspects. The daughters of parents who dynamically speak about politics with their offspring tend to be more assertive in stating their views about various political functions. Family discussion patterns that include parents cheering their children when they express their personal political opinions are frequently better oriented toward participation in public affairs. Conversely, there are parents that do not encourage their children to develop political and other views that are in any way different from their own. These parents emphasize on the significance of being respectful and promoting social harmony by maintaining that their children have to avoid any deep arguments or give in immediately they sense that the person they are arguing with is unfriendly. Daughters from such families are usually more likely to embrace traditional roles that call for them to be accepting of other’s opinion. Daughters from socio-oriented family units are usually less critical of facts, and experience few arguments in the home. Such realities encourage them, from a young age, to value social harmony over exploring new fields which may bring considerable challenges and conflicts.2 Moreover, the daughters from families that support open communication and the development of distinctive ideas are encouraged to be more daring and to engage in critical thinking and discussions that may not necessarily gain them the acceptance of everyone they meet. The daughters of most families, even in developed nations, are socialized to want to gain the love and admiration of everyone they meet. Therefore, choosing to pursue interests that will force them to be in uncomfortable positions where they disagree with complete strangers is a daring choice made by daughters that have been encouraged from their childhood to feel comfortable with being different. Gender Socialization and the U.S. Congress for Women When children are young, they usually speak of grandiose plans for their futures without feeling embarrassed for these assertions. They will readily speak to their parents as well as other adults about how they feel that they are fated to have the best or be the best. However, as the children grow older, there are obvious changes between the genders in how they express their ambitions, if they do at all. It is a recognized fact that girls begin to shy away from speaking about what they wish to accomplish. Boys, though, continue to get a lot of recognition when they state that they are meant to be special. When girls speak with such surety, in many instances they are not discouraged, but merely ignored. Girls will receive the level of recognition that boys enjoy when they speak of their grandiose plans when they express or show interest in tasks that society views as being a more suitable province for women, such as teaching or nursing. This is a trend that affects girls and their ambitions for occupying higher offices. Most girls are discouraged by the fact that the society is not over eager to hear them expressing such plans. They choose to accept the views of society about where they fit best in order to benefit from the esteem of the society. As grow older and start attending schools, girls who come first in their classes receive less praise than boys who score the best marks. These are realities send subtle messages to girls about what position they are meant to occupy in society. According to a research study conducted recently, nursery schools are the structural foundations in which this trend is started, in that boys usually get more direction, attention, and instruction than do the female pupils from the teachers.3 This fact remains true even in grammar and colleges. This type of socialization discourages women from participating or vying for leadership positions even in their schools. Only the most determined girls will ignore the views of the teachers as well as the students, who will view them as anomalies, in order to realize their ambitions. All through college, both female as well as male teachers permit and promote male dominance where classroom contribution is concerned. This happens even though there are more female than male students in most universities. In the workplace, as well as the political field, the qualities that are commonly associated with men, such as assertiveness, are more esteemed than those associated with women, such as kindness. It is also vital to reflect on the role of mastery and ambition. The development of ambition is supported by constant guidance and support. Mastery is totally dependent on receiving acclamation for particular skills. However, girls at younger ages, as well as women in the workplace, benefit from lower levels of these qualities, thereby increasing the possibility that women will not get the acknowledgment they deserve. Even in the films women are given supporting roles. They are never portrayed as the protagonists, but the beneficiaries of the glory that is cast by a male protagonist. All these cultural factors serve to discourage women from pursuing an office like being a senator or a member of the House of Representatives.4 How do societys roles and norms hinder a womens view of the political environment? Society views women and men differently, in terms of the attributes that both genders are meant to have. Women are valued or judged on the basis of their beauty, homemaking skills, or married status more often than the public would like to believe. Men, on the other hand, are judged on their capabilities and characters. In a recent survey, it was established that both female and male voters are much more critical about the physical appearance and dressing style of a female political candidate than is the case with a male candidate. Even though all political candidates are judged on these characteristics to some extent, women have a greater challenge in persuading voters to assess them on their intrinsic qualities instead of their appearance outward appearance. In addition, it was found that unmarried female politicians suffer from having to prove themselves to a greater extent than married women. Unmarried women are viewed as being naïve by both female as well as male voters. Female politicians also tend to experience doubts within their own political support groups. It has been established that female politicians regularly get ‘advice’ from fellow women to step down in favour of male candidates. They also sometimes have to work through the pessimistic viewpoints of their own party officials. How do stereotypes create inequality in womens decision to run for the U.S. Congress? Cul­tural stereo­types assert that real women are com­mu­nal beings. Society views them as being warm, sensitive, and caring. — “They are sen­si­tive, warm, car­ing, and con­cerned about oth­ers”.5 Conversely, men are viewed as being assertive, dom­i­nant, and com­pet­i­tive. Fe­male politi­cians are also counted as ‘good women’ and are ex­pected to live up to a basic com­mu­nal­ity. When they fail to live up to society’s expectations of them, they experience a backlash. They start to be depicted by elements of the media as ‘selfish’ women who are sacrificing their children and husbands to experience the thrill of ruling over others. Vot­ers usually reject those can­di­dates that are labeled by the respected institutions of the media as being “pow­er hun­gry.”6 This, however, only occurs when the political candidate being described is fe­ma­le. How does gender socialization differentiate opportunities for women in the political process? A discernment of proficiency in female candidates is usually not sufficient to give women the necessary support in political contests. A well spoken and competent male political candidate will win a political contest immediately. However, a female politician who is presented with the same opportunities may not really win the contest. She will not just be judged on how skilled or proficient she is, but also on how pretty she is. For both male and female voters, female politicians have to be perceived as being beautiful as well as knowledgeable to win their votes. This is because both genders are socialized from birth to value different things in men and women. In the case of women, their socialization, though detrimental to their development in this case, is something that they are introduced in childhood; a time when they are unable to reject it. What constraints do women face in running for the U.S. Congress? The 2008 U. S. presidential election in which there was a competent female political candidate highlighted a problem that is frequently faced by female politicians—the issue of being seen as a likeable or competent president. Both characteristics are vital for any political candidate. However, the clash of society’s accepted female roles (caring, unselfish) with qualities that are viewed as being essential for professional success such as assertiveness, means that female politicians are viewed as being either likeable, but inept, or as proficient, but unkind. The American political scenery in the last five years has provided a startling revelation as far as this concept is concerned. Hillary Clinton, a viable presidential candidate in the 2008 election, was viewed as being proficient but rude and insufferable.7 Some media sources went as far as hinting that her spouse had extramarital affairs because of her ‘roughness.’8 Sarah Palin, a recent vice-presidential candidate, was viewed as being beautiful but inept, and received more affection from the public than Hillary Clinton did even though her co-runner lost the presidential race. A powerful as well as assertive female candidate whose personal qualities breach expectations formed by the main female stereotype challenges societal principles about of how women should conduct themselves. Women always have to choose between being viewed as being competent or likeable, but not as both. How do cultural expectations continue to socialize womens identity of self within the political structure? Women, inarguably, are still penalized for failing to stick to gender norms by being ‘not appropriately feminine’ or being ’too manlike’. In her captivating article about "Hating Hillary," the writer, Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, detailed the way Hillary Clinton was constantly pillaged for speaking like an attorney, or, in other words, "like a man."9 Women’s journals and magazines, newspapers, and talk shows maligned the personal qualities of Hillary all through her campaign for the presidency. The former first lady drew more attention for her looks, clothes, moods, and faltering relationship with the president than for her policies and hard work in various sectors. This shows that if Hillary had been a man, she may have received more recognition for her tough stance on many issues under her docket.10 Methodology Research Questions Do female politicians suffer from gender stereotypes from members of their own parties? Do the elements of the media treat female candidates in the same way that they treat male candidates? Has women’s participation in politics increased in the last decade? Aims This research aims at discovering whether women’s participation in politics increased in the last decade. It also aims at discovering how perceptions of female and male candidates are shaped by gender stereotypes resulting in considerable drawbacks for female politicians. Another objective is to establish if the media’s assessment methods of female politicians has been transformed in response to the developing political functions of women in society. Timetable Task April May June July August September Literature review and planning             Deeper evaluation of literature review             Locating of secondary sources             Interviews and questionnaires             Preparation of the first draft             Preparation of the final draft             Data Collection Type of research This will be a descriptive research. The descriptive research method aims at collecting facts about the present scenario. The reason for using this method is to illustrate the reality of a situation, as it is at the moment of research. This study will be partially based on the quantitative method of research. This permits an investigation of significant new subjects that may arise. In addition, this research will also make use of the partly qualitative method of research. The qualitative elements to be assessed include attitudes, behavior, beliefs, and opinions. Research Strategy For this study information will be collected through published studies from numerous journals, article, and books. Afterwards, there will be a content examination of the gathered literary texts. The research will then condense all the important statistics and document an appropriate conclusion from all the assessed information. The research will make use of interviews as well as questionnaires to gather the important information. People who have in the past worked as members of the political campaigns of female political candidates in America will make up the majority of those who are surveyed. The research will also seek to establish the views of other political officials through interviews or past recorded information. The research will make use of previous studies to measure against the present information prior to offering informed recommendations as well as conclusions. Data analysis The information gathered will be assessed by means of frequency distributions. These will give way to evaluating the information categories as well as the total of referrals within category. As concerns data analysis, the factors that will be used to examine the study include the social status, respondent’s age, party affiliation, occupational post in the party, and educational attainment. Bibliography Clinton, Hillary. Living history. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003. Fox, Richard, and Jennifer Lawless. “Men Rule: The Continued Under-Representation of Women in U.S. Politics.” Loyola Marymount University and American University, 2012. Fox, Richard, and Jennifer Lawless. “If Only They’d Ask: Gender, Recruitment, and Political Ambition.” Loyola Marymount University and American University, 2009. Fulton, Sarah, Cherie D. Maestas, L. Sandy Maisel and Walter J. Stone. “The Sense of a Woman: Gender, Ambition, and the Decision to Run for Congress.” Political Research Quarterly (2006): 59, 235-248. Palmer, Barbara, and Dennis Simon. “Political Ambition and Women in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1916-2000.” Political Research Quarterly (2003): 56, 127-138. Sanbonmatsu, Kira, and Susan J. Carroll. “Gender and the Decision to Run for the State Legislature, Center for American Women and Politics.” Rutgers University, 2009. Sanbonmatsu, Kira, and Susan J. Carroll. “Can More Women Run? Reevaluating Women’s Election to the State Legislatures, Center for American Women and Politics.” Rutgers University, 2009. Sanbonmatsu, Kira, Debbie Walsh, and Susan J. Carroll. “Poised to run. Women’s pathways to state legislatures, Center for American Women and Politics.” Rutgers University, 2009. Sanbonmatsu, Kira, and Susan Carroll. “Gender and Election to the State Legislatures: Then and Now, Center for American Women and Politics.” Rutgers University, 2009. Ulrich, Laurel. Well-Behaved women seldom make history. Chicago: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Read More