Social Interaction and Socialization

1. Introduction

The article You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation by Tannen (1990), is not only amusing and enjoyable but also highlights how men and women can come away from the same conversation with quite different interpretations and meanings. Male-to-female discussion can be compared to cross-cultural communication because boys and girls grow up in quite different environments where the words they speak and the environment they are spoken do not really match. To a great extent, Tannen (1990) is able to package the reasons for the diversity of conversations between and among gender differences, ranging from small chat and gossip involving women to the concept of males providing lectures on well-known facts to a female audience. Ideally, men and women are very different when it applies to socialization and in social interactions. Social interaction and socialization are after all a societal construct that follows cultural underpinnings and creates communities and contests in equal measure.

2. Differences between Boys’ and Girls’ Conversation in Social Interactions

Tannen (1990) asserts that communication between men and women is defined and differentiated by gender-based characteristics that she believes are crucial to observe in communication. The majority of women (Tannen, 1990), communicate in order to connect and bargain, and she feels that disregarding these distinctions is more damaging than pleasurable for most of them. Their discussions tend to revolve upon expressing and responding to feelings, often known as “rapport-talk,” as the author refers to this type of communication (private conversation). In situations where men are required to speak in front of others, report-talk and public speaking are two strategies by which they might raise or maintain their social standing. Genderlect, Tannen (1990) claims, is a concept that exists as a result of her research into the mechanics of conversation, and the better we grasp it, she argues, the greater our prospects are of closing the communication gap that is vital in the battle of the ages between men and women.

The differences between men and women in socialization and social interactions are as a result of the differences in upbringing, culture, and psychological factors. These differences are also visible in non-verbal communication for example where one’s demeanor and gestures are involved (Legros & Cislaghi, 2020). In a typical example, men will rarely ask for help even where they are clearly in need of it. Women, on the other hand, prefer the company of others and will offer and accept help. Tannen (1990) argues that men and women have developed different strategies of communicating with people. When it comes to hearing and communicating, men and women listen and communicate in distinctly different ways. Men perceive the world in a hierarchically structured manner, and are constantly in efforts to pursue or negotiate power and status in order to gain the upper hand and maintain their position of dominance in their respective societies. In contrast to men, women perceive themselves as participants in a world of connection who negotiate intimate relationships as well as support, affirmation, confirmation, support, as well as agreement. The ultimate argument that Tannen (1990) offers is that with regard to intimacy and independence, socialization and social interactions lead to conversations that have variant goals: preservation of status for men and connection for women.

3. Gender Socialization on a Personal Experience

Despite the fact that we live in a modern civilization, gender indoctrination can still be observed. According to Almy and Sanatullova-Allison (2016), it is through gender socialization that people learn to execute diverse gender roles within a cultural framework. Males are taught to be macho and to keep their emotions hidden in the majority of civilizations around the world, while women are taught to be nurturing and care-giving. Gender socialization begins at a young age and has a significant impact on physical health (Dedovic et al., 2009). Males are trained to be courageous, to tolerate pain and danger, and to defend their dependents. They are required to provide and to be present. In the modern society, men are only respected if they have material things like money, status, and belong to the upper class.

In modern day societies, masculinity frequently necessitates a significant amount of effort on behalf of being a man. This can result in a reduction in their physical well-being as well as an increased risk of mental health issues. Being tough is a requirement for boys, taught from a young age in conversations and upbringing. To meet such gender socialization specifications, males tend to underreport their illnesses and injuries, which has a negative influence on their overall health (Pulerwitz et al., 2019). Added to that, men are frequently taught to keep their emotions hidden, which can lead to high levels of stress and a weakened immune system, as well as weight loss or increase, depression, insomnia, binge drinking, and excessive exercise.

Women, on the other hand, have traditionally assumed duties of responsibility, caring, and nurturing, conditioned to assume such roles at a tender age. The physical health of women, depending on situations, may also suffer as a result of this. Weight loss or gain, severe depression, chronic fatigue, drinking, and sleep disorders are just a few of the negative effects on a woman’s physical and mental well-being that can be expected due to the need to follow up on gender socialization.

4. Gender Equality and Genuine Freedom in Socialization and Social Interaction

The world is shaped in a manner that everyone learns their culture’s gender-related expectations, rules, and norms at a tender age. The main agents are mentioned by Anastasiu (2011) and Semenova et al. (2018) to include the media, schools, parents, teachers, and close family and friends. These agents influence the process of gender socialization. Identity is created through gender expectations and genuine freedom to be as one wishes is lost. The social norms theory suggests that every learned behavior that creates personality in lines of gender can be un-learnt (Cislaghi & Heise, 2020). For example, the modern man understands the need to be supportive, including doing house chores, sharing in parental responsibilities and being an overall present member of the family. This is in stark contrast to the cultural expectations of the previous centuries. As a result, attaining freedom in the confines of social interactions and socialization is possible. Revolting against the societal roles and expectations will lead to genuine freedom.

5. Conclusion

Men and women are very different when it applies to socialization and in social interactions. Communication between men and women is defined and differentiated by gender-based characteristics. The differences between men and women in socialization and social interactions are as a result of the differences in upbringing, culture, and psychological factors. When it comes to hearing and communicating, men and women listen and communicate in distinctly different ways. Men perceive the world in a hierarchically structured manner. Women perceive themselves as participants in a world of connection who negotiate intimate relationships. Gender socialization also plays a hand in these social processes where people learn to execute diverse gender roles within a cultural framework. Social norms theory suggests that every learned behavior that creates personality in lines of gender can be un-learnt. Therefore, attaining freedom in the confines of social interactions and socialization is possible.

References

Almy, A., & Sanatullova-Allison, E. (2016). Women are the breadwinners and men are the homemakers: Gender socialization in culture, society, and education. IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies, 1(1), 1-7.

Anastasiu, I. (2011). Family and school understood as agents of socialization. Euromentor Journal, 2(2), 1.

Cislaghi, B., & Heise, L. (2020). Gender norms and social norms: differences, similarities and why they matter in prevention science. Sociology of health & illness, 42(2), 407-422.

Dedovic, K., Wadiwalla, M., Engert, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2009). The role of sex and gender socialization in stress reactivity. Developmental psychology, 45(1), 45.

Legros, S., & Cislaghi, B. (2020). Mapping the social-norms literature: An overview of reviews. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(1), 62-80.

Pulerwitz, J., Blum, R., Cislaghi, B., Costenbader, E., Harper, C., Heise, L., … & Lundgren, R. (2019). Proposing a conceptual framework to address social norms that influence adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Journal of Adolescent Health, 64(4), S7-S9.

Semenova, L. E., Chevachina, A. V., Semenova, V. E., & Tishkina Yu, A. (2018). Gender orientations and practices of educating modern preschool teachers as agents of primary gender socialization of a personality. European Journal of Natural History, 1, 38-41.

Tannen, D. (1990). You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men. Conversation. New York: Ballantine books.