1) While men are expected to be "chivalrous" in various settings and with different behaviors, it seems to me that women are expected to be polite and "ladylike" at a much younger age. I rarely witness girls in the cafeteria eating their lunch without using utensils if appropriate or chewing with their mouths noticeably open. At this age girls are already trained to eat in a ladylike, proper manner and to have table manners in all settings, whereas it seems like that boys at this age do not have much expected of them unless they are at the dinner table with their families. Many boys in the cafeteria do not seem to be paying any mind to what they look like while they are eating, but it is not necessarily looked down upon too much.
2) As an athlete, the ways in which men and women are socialized through sports are very obvious to me. Boys are often brought up to have an interest in sports, starting with the types of things their relatives and families buy them as young as when they are infants. This pressure can continue into the early school years up until high school. An athletic boy is always approved of. Girls, on the other hand, do not face this type of pressure as frequently. Once both boys and girls reach the competitive level of athletics in high school, female athletes, in my opinion, are not always respected as highly as male athletes. No matter how talented a girl is in her sport, there is always a boy who refuses to admit that she can be better than him. Girls will recognize a talented male athlete when they see one. From my observation, competition amongst boys participating in a sport and amongst girls participating in a sport is prevalent and reveals itself in some similar ways as well as some different ones.
3) The ways in which boys and girls are socialized in regards to fashion and appearance are very different. From a young age, most girls are influenced in such a way that they feel they need to maintain a clean, well-kept appearance. This influence--or pressure, as it may be considered--to look nice comes from family, friends, the media, and society itself. Girls comment on each other's clothing, jewelry, shoes, and hair beginning at a very young age, reinforcing the sense that looks truly matter and are important to a girl's character. As girls grow older this sort of awareness about appearance becomes even stronger; now girls are wearing makeup and boys are taking an interest in the "pretty" girls or the girls who wear things that catch their eye. Boys, on the other hand, as a whole do not care as much about the clothes they wear or how they style their hair. Among youth this is for the most part acceptable; most girls do not judge a boy as sloppy or lazy if he wears sweatpants.
4) Women socializing with women tends to be very different from how men socialize with each other. Women can sit down with cups of coffee and talk for hours about anything and everything, from food, TV shows, and men to family life, their jobs, and the weather. Men, on the other hand, tend to not be talkers as much, gossiping and chatting about anything from trivial topics to personal, intimate feelings. Society seems to support this. It becomes different when a man and a woman are in a relationship, but it is common for men to engage themselves in other activities (usually physical) when together.
5) When it comes to the media, it does not take much for a male celebrity to be considered very attractive. For example, a male celebrity who has a toned body and a handsome face possesses qualities that can earn him status as a very attractive star. Even if his face is scruffy, he may be considered ideal. Females, however, must have more going for them to be considered to be at this "attractive" status. Luscious hair, clear skin, shaped eyebrows, plump lips, a proportional nose, long legs, curves yet also thin in the right places--these are all physical qualities that tend to go along with being considered attractive among female celebrities. Then comes the way they present themselves; fashion plays into attractiveness much more among females than males. The rest of society looks up to these celebrities, sees the way the media portrays them, and begins to try to emulate their attractive characteristics as a result.
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