The salient question for our society is, how can parents cope with this when stereotypical gendering is deeply inculcated into the broader society, and meets resistance even from those who intellectually know the benefits of breaking with a given mode of instruction, yet can’t or won’t break with the way they were socialized as children? And, more grippingly, what if this conflict is present within the home when parents disagree about the value of gender neutral upbringing and concomitant issues of discipline?
The daunting nature of changing the gendered norm is exemplified in the continued prevalence of corporal punishment in our society. Study after study finds that, “almost all children in the United States are spanked by their parents at some point in their lives.” (Sims 170) Though the number of parents who frequently use corporal punishment has diminished in previous decades, the decline is negligible relative to the evidence of its psychological harm on children, its contraindication for changing behavior, and its outlaw in schools and the like. More intriguingly, the use of corporal punishment has not declined in kind with its fall in intellectual support: in fact, it has remained constant. Though the approval rating of spanking declined from 94% in 1968 to 68% in 1994, fully 94% of parents surveyed in 1994 reported spanking their child at least once. (Walsh 82) This suggests that better than a quarter of the population has utilized a psychologically damaging and ineffective form of punishment on their child(ren) even though they are intellectually opposed to it. Additionally, a substantial plurality of both spankers and non-spankers consider the opinions of doctors and other experts on the subject more valuable than that of their parents and other relatives.
Table of Contents
1. Child Discipline, Gendering, and Symbolic Interactionism
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines how symbolic interactionism explains the transmission of traditional gender roles to children through parental discipline and communication, while investigating the internal conflicts parents face when attempting gender-neutral upbringing within a heteronormative society.
- The role of symbolic interactionism in gender construction
- Parental influence on childhood gender socialization
- The persistence of corporal punishment despite intellectual opposition
- Conflicts in disciplinary styles between parents
- The societal pressure to conform to traditional gender norms
Excerpt from the Book
Child Discipline, Gendering, and Symbolic Interactionism
In the middle decades of the 20th century, pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock became an icon of what has been described as, depending on the speaker, a more progressive or more permissive attitude toward parenting. Spock was both lionized and condemned for his child advice books advocating nurturance of and kindness toward children, yet for all his alleged radicalism, Spock was deeply suspicious of gender neutral parenting. “Other societies assign roles to men and women that are quite unlike ours,” he wrote in 1974. “But no country I know of has tried to bring them up to think of themselves as similar. Such an attempt would be the most unprecedented social experiment in the history of our species.” (Martin 456-57) Such is the strength of traditional gendering of the young, which can be explained in significant part through the theory of symbolic interactionism. This gendering is primarily imparted through parents, who usually have been gendered in traditional manners and largely agree on the general parenting and discipline approach to their youngsters. More interesting, however, is when there is conflict between parents on this issue, or, even more compelling, an agreement in theory but an inability to carry out a gender neutral parenting style due to the overwhelming influence of their own traditionally gendered upbringings.
Summary of Chapters
Child Discipline, Gendering, and Symbolic Interactionism: This chapter analyzes how symbolic interactionism shapes gender identity in children and explores the systemic difficulties parents face when attempting to implement non-traditional disciplinary approaches.
Keywords
Symbolic interactionism, Gender socialization, Corporal punishment, Parenting, Gender identity, Social construct, Heteronormativity, Discipline, Communication, Gender roles, Child development, Family dynamics, Behavioral norms
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper explores the intersection of child discipline and gender construction, utilizing the theory of symbolic interactionism to explain how traditional gender roles are maintained by parents and society.
What are the primary thematic fields addressed?
The work covers sociology of family, child development, the psychology of parenting styles, and the construction of gender identity through social communication.
What is the main research objective?
The research aims to understand how societal norms regarding gender are passed down to children and why parents often struggle to practice gender-neutral discipline even when they intellectually support the concept.
Which scientific framework is utilized?
The author primarily employs the theory of symbolic interactionism, supplemented by psychodynamic theory, to interpret the socialization process.
What core topics are examined in the main body?
The text analyzes parental roles in gendering, the persistence of corporal punishment, the impact of spousal conflict on children, and the limitations of social constructionist approaches.
Which keywords characterize this academic work?
Key terms include symbolic interactionism, gender socialization, corporal punishment, heteronormativity, and parental influence.
How does parental communication impact the child's identity?
According to the text, children learn their identity through communication with caregivers; because parents are often conditioned by traditional gender norms, they unconsciously reinforce these roles in their children.
What specific problem does the author highlight regarding discipline?
A central problem identified is the "incompatibility" of disciplinary styles between parents, which can cause internal family conflict and model negative communication patterns for the children.
Does the theory of symbolic interactionism explain all aspects of gender?
The author notes a limitation, suggesting that symbolic interactionism may not fully account for homosexuality or transgender identities, which often emerge despite traditional upbringings.
- Quote paper
- Mark Schauer (Author), 2009, Child Disciplining, Gendering and Symbolic Interactionism, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/230277
