Handout Gendered Socialisation Socialisation is integrating a person into the society. In other words it is the process of a person learning the traits, behaviours, roles and traditions appropriate to him. From the birth to the death of a person socialisation takes place and each generation inherits the traits, behaviour roles and responsibilities from their predecessor. Human beings are born as male and female but it is through the process of socialization that they learn how they have to act as girls and boys; women and men. During this process many things are taught to children or they themselves learn by initiating the members of the society. In these process unequal attitudes, beliefs and values develop in them. They get so deeply internalized that the young begin to believe them as natural. Assigning males and females varying behaviour, roles and traditions is known as Gendered Socialisation. Because of these things learnt from the society they establish the fact that those varying roles and identities suit them. Socialisation takes place on social expectations and they differ on grounds of race, ethnicity, religion, complexion, caste and class. On this difference, the roles being assigned to different sexes by the society too differ. For example the situation if women in the society many years ago has now changed. She now enjoys more rights pertaining to education, employment and property rights as a result of which the woman has emerged as a talented and able person who can take decisions both within the family and the larger society. However, it is noteworthy that all women still have not reached this level. The reason for that are the traditional attitudes, values, beliefs and traditions that have percolated down from generations through the process of socialization. References Liyanage, K. and Walakaluge, S. (2006). Traditional studies and adaptations based on matters such as taking leadership, conduct, division of work, clothes and ornaments and tradition. 33