CHI 123 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Erik Erikson, Latvian Mythology, Identity Formation
2 May 2018
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4/24/18 – IDENTITY FORMATIONS: GENDER AND SEXUALITY
How do we become who we are?
• An intersectional understanding of identity means that all aspects of our social identities are
recognized and respected.
• From an early age children experience socialization that will influence their racial, ethnic, sexual,
and gender identities.
• These in turn are influenced by how children are viewed by others, including the family.
• Persoal idetit is ho hild feels aout ad eperiees hiself/herself Me-ness.
Gender Formation
• Psychological theories posit that children identify their gender early on due to differential
treatment of the sexes by family.
• A central task of adolescence is identity formation (Erik Erikson).
• Identity formation sets the stage for the capacity for intimate commitment.
• For all youth this is a complex process encompassing gender, racial, ethnic, cultural, class and
sexual identity formations.
• What influences gender identification?
• It is important to analyze contextually:
o Family cultural expectations
o Gender socialization
o Modeling (girls copy moms; boys copy dads)
o Gender enculturation varies by socioeconomic class
Class and Gender
• Working class families socialize boys to become heads of families by emphasizing a strong work
ethic and teaching the value of responsibility.
• Girls are socialized to acquire domestic skills to be used within their own families and for paid
labor.
• Among middle class and more affluent families boys may not be expected to work so they can
acquire education.
• Middle class girls may not be encouraged to acquire domestic skills as they are expected to
marry well and be able to afford domestic servants.
• Middle class Latinos in the U.S. vary in the extent they enforce strict gender roles in their
children.
What does it mean to be male and female among Latinos?
• Notios of self are gedered ad raialized as a result of the iorit status Latios hae
historically occupied.
• Notions of self are also influenced by family and community.
• Class also influences notions of self and self-worth.
• Often Latino male identity is problematized:
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Document Summary
It is important to analyze contextually: family cultural expectations, gender socialization, modeling (girls copy moms; boys copy dads, gender enculturation varies by socioeconomic class. Identity formations are intricately connected to their gender. race/ethnicity and notions of self. Latinas are socialized to have an interdependent and relational identity: males in general are socialized to have a bounded, independent self but are expected to remain interdependent separate and independent but connected. Rituals of womanhood: los 15: the word quincea era comes from the spanish word quince for fifteen and a os, which is years, this is the most awaited birthday because it begins a girl"s jour(cid:374)e(cid:455) i(cid:374)to adulthood. Young women were taught by the elder women to learn skills such as housework, cooking and weaving. Skills that they would need for the rest of their lives: when the spanish conquered mexico in 1521, the native and catholic traditions were combined.
