DEFINITIONS

SOCIALISATION

SOCIALISATION

“the process by which individuals learn to modify their behaviour to conform to what is considered ‘acceptable’ in their society. It includes learning the cultural attitudes, values and roles of society” (Amezdroz et al, 2004). (pg 483)

PRIMARY AGENTS

PRIMARY AGENTS

“are the persons, groups, or institutions that teach us what we need to know in order to participate in society and include family, peers, school, and the mass media. These basic attitudes and values tend to be formed early in childhood and tend to be relatively consistent throughout life” (termpaperwarehouse.com).

“the groups and institutions which contribute to the basic attitudes and values are known as the agents of socialization and include such groups as family, peers, mass media, religion, education, existing laws, and their own gender” (imej.wfu.edu).

“are people and/or groups such as family, school, peers, mass media and religion that influence self concepts, emotions, attitudes and behavior” (Henslin, 1999).

STEREOTYPES

STEREOTYPES

“the way one treats or classifies according to a mental judgement” (Dictionary.com, 2008).

“a set of widely shared generalisations about a group or class of people” (Hartney, 2009).

“may be used to stigmatise and socially exclude people belonging to the group in question, resulting in social inequalities and consequently, the reinforcement of the stereotype” (Hartney, 2009).

“a form of social consensus rather than individual judgments or commonly held public beliefs about specific social groups, or types of individuals based on conventional and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image in the belief that there are attitudes, appearances, or behaviors shared by all members of a group” (en.wikipedia.org).

HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY

HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY

“the structure and relationships in society which appear to be based on male dominance and female oppression (Amezdroz et al, 2004). (pg 484)

The term ‘hegemonic’ refers to the leadership or dominance of one group over other groups (Amezdroz et al, 2004) and ‘masculinity’ means having qualities traditionally ascribed to men, as strength and boldness (Dictionary.com, 2009).

“the dominant form of masculinity within the gender hierarchy” (Online Encyclopaedia, 2009).