Chapter 3

>
Transgender student Coy Mathis and her parents

sued their school district to guarantee Coy the
right to use the girls’ bathroom. Although social
institutions such as schools often encourage
conformity to norms of behavior, they can
change over time.
THE BIG QUESTIONS
How are children socialized?

Learn about socialization (including gender
socialization), and know the most important
agents of socialization.
What are the five major stages of the
Socializaron, Ufe course?

Learn the five major stages of the life course,
and see the similarities and differences among
the Life Course, different cultures and historical periods.
How do people age?

Understand that aging is a combination of
and Aging biological, psychological, and social processes.

Consider key theories of aging, particularly
those that focus on how society shapes the
social roles of older people and that emphasize
aspects of age stratif¡catión.
What are the challenges of aging in

the United States?
Evalúate the experience of growing oíd in
the contemporary United States. Identify the
physical, emotional, and financial challenges
older adults face.
Life Course Transitions /\
p. 93
Graying of the World

p. 97
In July 2015, at the annual ESPY awards, the Arthur Ashe Courage Award was
presented to Caitlyn Jenner in recognition of the former Olympic athlete's bravery
in coming out as transgender. Caitlyn, now a transgender woman, was born Bruce
Jenner in 1949 and attracted international glory when he won the gold medal for
the grueling decathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal. The Arthur Ashe award—
which counts Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, and Nelson Mándela as past winners—honors
individuáis who demónstrate "strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril
and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs no matter what the cost.” In her acceptance
speech, Jenner vowed "to do whatever I can to reshape the landscape of how transgender
people are viewed and treated” (ESPN, 2015).
Nearly three years earlier, 6-year-old Coy Mathis and her family were fighting their own
courageous battle for transgender rights and respect. Coy, a transgender girl, was told that she
could not use the girls’ bathroom at her Colorado elementary school. Although she was allowed
Socialization, the Life Course, and Aging 73

to use the gender-neutral restrooms in the nurse's office and teachers' lounge, the school
ruled the main girls' bathroom off-limits to Coy. She and her parents, Kathryn and Jeremy,
successfully sued the school district, marking a major legal victory for transgender persons.
Coy's parents said that they wanted their daughter to enjoy the same rights as any of her
classmates and that relegating her to a special bathroom would make Coy vulnerable to bullying
and stigmatizing (Banda and Ricciardi, 2013).
Coy's battle sparked heated debates among parents, teachers, media pundits, and blog-
gers. Some questioned whether a young child could really have a gender identity. Others
scoffed that Coy’s preference for "girly” clothes and toys was just a phase. Others challenged
the very existence of transgender identities. Jeff Johnston, a self-described "gender issues
analyst” with the conservative organization Focus on the Family, baldly asserted that "male
and female are categories of existence," denying the existence of any other gender identities
(Erdely, 2013).
While Kathryn and Jeremy initially thought that Coy would grow out of her predilection
for all things girly, it soon became obvious to them that this was something much more than
a phase. Born male—one of a triplet—Coy had rebelled against "boy” clothing and haircuts
ever since she was a toddler. Refusing to wear firefighter or knight costumes, Coy instead
gravitated toward princess dresses and demanded that her meáis be served on pink decora-
tive plates. Coy would cry when other children referred to her as a boy and tearfully asked
socialization her mother when they would be going to the doctor so that Coy could get her "girl parts.’’
The social process through Coy's parents reached out to doctors, psychologists, and other parents of children who seemed
which we develop an uncomfortable in their own bodies. Fearful Coy would end up a statistic—a staggering 25 to
awareness of social norms 40 percent of transgender children and teens attempt suicide—Kathryn and Jeremy decided
and valúes and achieve a to raise Coy as a girl (Toomey, Syvertsen, and Shramko, 2018). They had already seen signs
distinct sense of self.
of depression in young Coy; even at 3 years oíd, she would become listless and sullen, refus
ing to put on boy's clothes and begging not to have to play outside. Coy showed sparks of
social happiness and joy only when she was allowed truly to be herself—a little girl (Erderly, 2013).
reproduction The experiences of Caitlyn Jenner and Coy Mathis—and the public response (whether
The process whereby supportive or critical) from observers worldwide—¡Ilústrate the importance and complexities
societies have structural of socialization to everyday life. Sociologists are interested in the processes through which
continuity over time. a young child such as Coy learns to become a member of society, complying with (or reject-
Social reproduction is an ing) society’s ever-evolving expectations for how one should act, think, feel, and even dress.
important pathway through
Social institutions—such as schools in Coy’s case or sports in Jenner's case—and social actors
which parents transmit or
produce valúes, norms, encourage conformity to contemporary social norms through praise and discourage noncon-
and social practices among formity through punishment and disapproval. Yet social institutions change over time, and
their children. the forces that socialize children shift accordingly. Try to imagine how Jenner's classmates
and parents might have reacted if she had identified and dressed as a girl when she
was a young child in the early 1950s. Contrast this with the support that Coy received from
resocialization her parents and most of her classmates in the 2010s. The study of socialization embodies a
The process of learning core theme of the "sociological imagination," that our lives are a product of both individual
new norms, valúes, and
biographies and sociohistorical context (Mills, 1959).
behaviors when one joins
a new group or takes on Socialization is the process whereby infants become self-aware, knowledgeable
a new social role or when persons, skilled in the ways of their culture and historical time period. The socialization of
one's life circumstances young persons contributes to the phenomenon of social reproduction—the process whereby
change dramatically. societies have structural continuity over time. During socialization, especially in the early years,
children learn the ways of their parents and ancestors, thereby carrying on their valúes, norms,
74 CHAPTER 3 Socialization, the Life Course, and Aging

and social practices across the generations. All societies have characteristics that endure
over long stretches of time, even though their members change. But at the same time, some
oíd norms and customs die out as members of the older generation pass away, replaced
with new "rules" to live by. For instance, while older generations of parents might have
reprimanded their boys for being timid or playing with dolls, newer generations of parents
like Kathryn and Jeremy Mathis may encourage their children to "just be themsetves.”
Socialization is not limited to childhood. Throughout the life course, individuáis may
experience resocialization and desocialization when their life circumstances and social roles
change. Resocialization involves learning new skills and norms appropriate to one's new roles
and contexts, whereas desocialization entails unlearning those skills and norms that may no
longer be relevant. For example, upon retirement, one must learn to take on a new social
role that is different from the role of worker, and upon release from prison, ex-convicts must
relearn how to be members of mainstream society. Or in the case of 66-year-old Caitlyn
Jenner, she had to relearn how to walk, dress, and interact with others in her new role as
a woman. Although gender is often thought of as "natural," we will soon learn (both here
and in Chapter 9) that how we dress, how we speak, and even the career and family choices
we make are a product of lifelong socialization.
Socialization connects the different generations to one another (Turnbull, 1983). The birth
of a child alters the lives of the people who are responsible for that child's upbringing—who
themselves undergo new learning experiences. Parenting usually ties the activities of adults
to children for the remainder of their lives. Older people who have had children still remain
parents when they become grandparents, thus forging another set of relationships that bond
the generations. Although the process of cultural learning is much more intense in infancy and
early childhood than in later life, learning and adjustment go on through the whole life course.
desocialization
In the sections that follow, we continué the theme of "nature interacting with nurture"
The process whereby
introduced in the previous chapter. We first describe the process of human development from
people unlearn rules and
infancy to early childhood. We compare different theoretical interpretations of how and why
norms upon exiting a par
children develop as they do and how gender identities devetop. We then move on to discuss ticular social world.
the main groups and social contexts that influence socialization throughout the life course.
Finally, we focus on one distinctive stage of the life course.- oíd age. We discuss the problems
persons 65 years oíd and older face, who now make up the most rapidly growing age group
in the United States and the developed world.
How Are Children

Socialized? <
Learn about socialization
One of the most distinctive features of human beings, compared with other animáis,
(including gender
is self-awareness—the awareness that one has an identity distinct and sepárate from socialization), and know
others. During the first months of life, an infant possesses little or no understanding of the most important agents
differences between human beings and material objects in the environment and has no of socialization.
awareness of self. Children begin to use concepts such as “I,” “me,” and “you” at around
2 years of age or after. They gradually come to understand that others have distinct identi
ties, consciousness, and needs sepárate from their own.
How Are Children Socialized?

Theories of Child Development
The processes through which the self emerges and develops are much debated, in part
because the most prominent theories about child development emphasize different aspects
cognition of socialization. The American philosopher and sociologist George Herbert Mead gave
Human thought processes attention mainly to how children learn to use the concepts of “I” and “me.” Charles Horton
¡nvolving perception, rea-
Cooley demonstrated the importance of other individuáis for shaping a child’s sense of
soning, and remembering.
self. Jean Piaget, the Swiss student of child behavior, focused on cognition—the ways
in which children learn to think about themselves and their environment.
social self
According to the theory of
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF
George Herbert Mead, the Mead’s ideas form the basis of a general tradition of theoretical thinking—symbolic inter-
¡dentity conferred upon an
actionism—and have had a broad impact in sociology. Symbolic interactionism emphasizes
individual by the reactions
that interaction between human beings takes place through symbols and the interpreta-
of others. A person achieves
self-consciousness by tion of meanings (see Chapter i). Mead’s work also provides an account of the main phases
becoming aware of this of child development, giving particular attention to the emergence of a sense of self.
social identity. According to Mead, infants and young children develop as social beings by imitating
the actions of those around them. Play is one way in which this takes place: Young children
often imítate what adults do. A toddler may make mud pies, having seen an adult cook-
self-consciousness
ing, or may dig in the dirt with a spoon, having observed someone gardening. Children’s
Awareness of one's
play evolves from simple imitation to more complicated games in which, at age 4 or 5, they
distinct social identity
will act out an adult role. Mead called this “taking the role of the other"—learning what
as a person sepárate
from others. Human it is like to be in the shoes of another person. At this stage, children acquire a developed
beings are not born with sense of self; that is, they develop an understanding of themselves as sepárate agents—
self-consciousness but as a “me”—by seeing themselves through the eyes of others. We achieve self-awareness,
acquire an awareness of according to Mead, when we learn to distinguish the “me” from the “I.” The “I” is the
self as a result of early
unsocialized infant, a bundle of spontaneous wants and desires. The “me,” as Mead used
socialization.
the term, is the social self. Individuáis develop self-consciousness, Mead argued, by
coming to see themselves as others see them.
generálized other A further stage of child development, according to Mead, occurs when the child is
A concept in the theory about 8 or 9 years oíd. This is the age at which children tend to take part in organized
of George Herbert Mead, games rather than unsystematic play, and it is at this period that children begin to under-
according to which the stand the overall valúes and morality that guide human behavior. To learn organized
individual takes over the games, children must understand the rules of play and notions of fairness and equal
general valúes and moral
participation. Children at this stage learn to grasp what Mead termed the generálized
rules of a given group or
society during the social
other—the general valúes and moral rules of the culture in which they are developing.
ization process.
CHARLES HORTON COOLEY AND THE LOOKING-GLASS SELF
Charles Horton Cooley was an early-twentieth-century sociologist who studied self-concept,
looking-glass self
or the ways we view and think about ourselves. How do we come to view ourselves as humor-
A theory developed by
ous or cranky? Intelligent? Kind-hearted? Cooley argued that the notions we develop about
Charles Horton Cooley that
proposes that the reac ourselves reflect our interpretations of how others see us. His theory of the looking-glass
tions we elicit in social self proposes that the reactions we elicit in social situations create a mirror in which we see
situations create a mirror ourselves. For example, if others regularly laugh at our jokes, we may perceive that they view
in which we see ourselves. us as funny and, in turn, view ourselves as such. Likewise, if our classmates and teachers
praise us for our intelligent remarks in class, we may in turn start to view ourselves as smart.

Over time, mixed empirical evidence has led to reformulations of Cooley’s classic
theory. One refinement suggests that individuáis act in certain ways to bring others
around to their own views of themselves, rather than passively accepting what others
think of them. For example, a student who sees herself as very intelligent may regularly
answer questions in class in an effort to ensure that her classmates also view her as very
intelligent (Yeung and Martin, 2003). In this way, youth are not merely passive recipients
but rather active agents in shaping others’ perceptions. Despite critiques and refinements
of looking-glass-self theory, this perspective exemplifies core themes of symbolic inter- sensorimotor
actionism and sets the groundwork for other theories that underscore the importance stage
of perceptions and negotiations in shaping human behaviors and identities (for example, According to Jean Piaget,
see the labeling theory of deviance in Chapter 6). the first stage of human
cognitive development, in
which a child's awareness
JEAN PIAGET AND THE STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
of their environment is
Piaget emphasized the child’s active capacity to make sense of the world. Children do not dominated by perception
passively soak up information but instead select and interpret what they see, hear, and and touch.
feel in the world around them. Piaget described several distinct stages of cognitive devel-
opment during which children learn to think about themselves and their environment.
preoperational
Each stage involves the acquisition of new skills and depends on the successful completion stage
of the preceding one.
According to Jean Piaget,
Piaget called the first stage, which lasts from birth up to about age 2, the sensori- the second stage of human
motor stage because infants learn mainly by touching objects, manipulating them, and cognitive development,
physically exploring their environment. Until around the age of 4 months, infants can- in which a child has
not differentiate themselves from their environment. Infants gradually learn to distin- advanced sufficiently to
guish people from objects, coming to see that both have an existence independent of the master basic modes of
logical thought.
infants’ immediate perceptions. By the end of the sensorimotor stage, children understand
that their environment has distinct and stable properties.
The next phase, called the preoperational stage, is the one to which Piaget devoted egocentric
the bulk of his research. In this stage, which lasts from ages 2 to 7, children acquire a According to Jean Piaget,
mastery of language and an ability to use words to represent objects and images in a the characteristic quality
symbolic fashion. A 4-year-old might use a sweeping hand, for example, to represent the of a child during the early
concept “airplane.” Piaget termed the stage “preoperational” because children are not yet years of life. Egocentric
thinking involves under-
able to use their developing mental capabilities systematically. Children in this stage are
standing objects and
egocentric. As Piaget used it, this term does not refer to selfishness but to the tendency
events in the environment
of children to interpret the world exclusively in terms of their own position. For example, solely in terms of the
children at the preoperational stage cannot hold connected conversations with others. In child’s own position.
egocentric speech, what the child says is more or less unrelated to what the other speaker
said. Children talk together but not to one another in the same sense that adults do.
A third period, the concrete operational stage, lasts from age 7 to 11. During this concrete
phase, children can master logical but not abstract notions. They are able to handle ideas
operational stage
The stage of human
such as causality without much difficulty. They become capable of carrying out the math-
cognitive development,
ematical operations of multiplication, división, and subtraction. Children by this stage
as formulated by Jean
are much less egocentric. In the preoperational stage, if a girl is asked “How many sis- Piaget, in which the child's
ters do you have?” she may correctly answer “one.” But if asked “How many sisters does thinking is based primarily
your sister have?" she will probably answer “none” because she cannot see herself from on physical perception of
the point of view of her sister. The concrete operational child is able to answer such a the world.
question with ease.
How Are Children Socialized? 77

The years from 11 to 15 cover what Piaget called the formal operational stage.
During adolescence, the developing child becomes able to grasp highly abstract and hypo
formal thetical ideas. When faced with a problem, children at this stage are able to review many
operational stage
possible ways of solving it and go through them theoretically to reach a solution. According
According to Jean Piaget,
to Piaget, the first three stages of development are universal, but not all adults reach
the stage of human cogni-
tive development at which the formal operational stage. The development of formal operational thought depends in
the growing child becomes part on one’s education, which may foster abstract reasoning.
capable of handling
abstract concepts and Agents of Socialization
hypothetical situations.
Agents of socialization are groups or social contexts in which significant processes of
socialization occur. Primary socialization occurs in infancy and childhood and is the
agents of most intense period of cultural learning in a person’s life. It is the time when children
socialization learn language and basic behavioral patterns that form the foundation for later learning.
Groups or social contexts The family is the main agent of socialization during this phase. Secondary socialization
within which processes of takes place later in childhood and into maturity. In this phase, schools, peer groups, social
socialization take place.
organizations (such as sports teams), the media, the workplace, religious organizations,
and even the government become socializing forces for individuáis. Social interactions
in these contexts help people learn (and unlearn) the valúes, norms, and beliefs that make
up the patterns of their culture.
FAMILIES
Because family systems vary worldwide, the range of family contacts that an infant
experiences also varíes widely across cultures. The mother tends to be the most important
individual in a child’s early life, but the nature of the relationships established between
mothers and their children is influenced by the form and regularity of their contact.
In modern societies, most early socialization occurs within a small-scale or nuclear
family context. Most American children spend their early years within a domestic unit
comprising one or two parents and perhaps one or two other children, although the
proportion of children growing up in two-parent households is lower now than it has been
in prior decades (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2015J). In many other cultures, by contrast,
aunts, úneles, and grandparents are often part of a single household and may also serve as
caretakers for very young infants. Even within U.S. society, family contexts vary widely.
Some children are brought up in single-parent households; some are cared for by one
biological and one nonbiological parent (for example, a divorced parent and a stepparent
or parents in a same-sex relationship). The majority of mothers are now employed outside
the home and return to their paid work shortly after the births of their children. Despite
these variations, families typically remain the major agent of socialization from infancy
Families are a key site
of social reproduction. to adolescence and beyond.
Children model the behavior The centrality of family as an agent of socialization has changed throughout history.
of their parents. In this In most traditional societies, the family into which a person was born largely determined
way. valúes and behaviors the individual’s social class position for the rest of their life. In modern societies, the
are reproduced across
social class or región into which an individual is born affect patterns of socialization, but
generations.
they are less deterministic and may be counterbalanced by social relations outside
one’s family. Children pick up ways of behaving from their parents but also from others in
/\ their neighborhood or community. Patterns of child rearing and discipline, together with
contrasting valúes and expectations, are found in different sectors of large-scale societies.

For instance, sociologist Annette Lareau (2011) observed parents and children in their
own homes and found that working-class parents emphasize “natural growth" in their
nuclear family
children, encouraging them to play on their own, while upper-middle-class parents
A family group consist-
engage in “concerted cultivation," actively fostering their kids’ talents by enrolling them in
ing of an adult or adult
a range of structured educational and extracurricular activities and closely monitoring couple and their dependent
their development. This latter approach provides children with the opportunities and children.
skills necessary not only to succeed in school and, later, in the workforce but also to
maintain the social class position into which they were born and raised.
Although socialization happens largely in the family, few, if any, school-age children
simply adopt the beliefs and behaviors of their parents unquestioningly. This is especially
true in the modern world, in which change is so pervasive. Moreover, the wide range
of socializing agents in modern societies leads to many divergences between the outlooks
of children, adolescents, and the parental generation. For example, while Coy Mathis’s
parents supported her desire to dress, play, and identify however she wished, some of
her classmates’ parents and media pundits held very different views that emphasized
conformity to traditional gender norms rather than freedom of expression.
SCHOOLS
Schools are another important socializing agent. Schooling is a formal process: Students
pursue a clearly defined curriculum of subjects. Yet schools are agents of socialization in
more subtle respects. Students must be punctual, stay quiet in class, obey their teachers,
and observe rules of discipline. How teachers react to their students, in turn, affects the
students’ views and expectations of themselves. These expectations also become linked to
later job experiences when students leave school. Peer groups are often formed at school,
and the system of keeping children in classes according to age reinforces their impact.
Another key mechanism through which schools socialize children is the hidden hidden
curriculum, which refers to the subtle ways in which teachers expose students with curriculum
different social identities—boys, girls, and those with fluid gender identities; middle class Traits of behavior or
versus working class; and Black versus White—to different messages and curricular mate- attitudes that are learned
at school but not included
rials. In Chapter 12, we delve more fully into the ways that schools socialize children,
in the formal curricu
often unwittingly perpetuating race, class, and gender inequalities.
lum; for example, gender
differences.
PEER RELATIONSHIPS
Another socializing agency is the peer group. Peer groups consist of individuáis of a
peergroup
similar age. The family’s importance in socialization is obvious because the experience of
A group composed of indi
the infant and young child is shaped more or less exclusively within it. It is less appar-
viduáis of similar age and
ent, especially to those of us living in Western societies, how significant peer groups are.
social status.
Children over age 4 or 5 usually spend a great deal of time in the company of friends
the same age. Given the high proportion of working parents whose young children play
together in day-care centers and preschool, peer relations are more important than ever
before (Corsaro, 1997; Harris, 1998).
Peer relations are likely to have a significant effect beyond childhood and adolescence.
Informal groups of people of similar ages, at work and in other situations, are usually
of enduring importance in shaping individuáis’ altitudes and behavior. Peer groups also
play an important role in changing norms, with contemporary peer groups upholding
or promoting behaviors that might not have been supported in earlier generations.

While Bruce Jenner’s classmates in the 1950S no doubt promoted gender conformity,
Coy Mathis and her young friends may grow up to hold, and encourage in one another,
much more open-minded views about gender identity.
THE MASS MEDIA

Newspapers and periodicals flourished in the West from the early 1800S onward, but
they were confined to a fairly small readership. It was not until a century later that such
printed materials became part of the daily experience of millions of people, influencing
their attitudes and opinions. The spread of mass media involving printed documents
was soon accompanied by electronic communication—radio, televisión, records, and
videos. Americans spend a large portion of their leisure time consuming media. According
to the American Time Use Survey, Americans watch an average of nearly three hours of
televisión per day, representing more than half of their total leisure time (U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics, 2018a).
However, in recent years Internet use has surpassed televisión viewing, especially
for young people. It is a rare American who goes a day (or even an hour) without reading
an article, watching a video, or listening to a podcast online. Fully 70 percent of all
Americans and 86 percent of young adults (ages 18 to 29) use social media, with Facebook
YouTube and reality being the most widely used platform (Pew Research Center, 20iyd). Young adults are also
televisión personality,
tethered to their smartphones. Nearly all adults (94 percent) between the ages of 18 and
author, and LGBTQ rights
24 own a smartphone, and they check their phones an average of 86 times a day. By
activist Jazz Jennings
uses the media to share contrast, among the overall U.S. population aged 18 to 75, individuáis check just 47 times
her own experiences as a a day (Deloitte, 2018). In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, when many
transgender teenager. Americans were told to remain in their homes, the Internet became the primary way
that people worked, attended classes, and participated in virtual cultural events (New
York Times, 2020).
Media, in all its forms, has a powerful impact on our lives, and it is particularly
influential in shaping the beliefs, behaviors, social interactions, and relationships of
children, teens, and young adults. For instance, children and adolescents often model the
gender roles and practices that they see on their favorite televisión shows. Fashion mag-
azines, music videos, and more recently, social media’s fashion influencers are also cited
as powerful influences on girls' body image or their beliefs about an “ideal” body weight
and physique (Fardouly and Vartanian, 2016; Grabe, Ward, and Hyde, 2008). Yet media
can also teach children about topics with which their parents may be less familiar or
comfortable and can provide information and even a sense of solace for children who
may be lacking support in their communities. I Am Jazz, a U.S. reality show about the daily
life of transgender teenager Jazz Jennings, was praised for providing a role model for
young children who may be conflicted about their own gender identity (TIME, 2014).
Trans youth also may use social media like Instagram to bolster and support fellow trans
youth as they choose how to present themselves (Rutten, 2018).
Over the past two decades, researchers have documented the ways that video games
(especially violent video games) affect children. Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of
teenagers play video games on their phones, computers, or consoles such as Playstation,
XBox, or Wii, including 84 percent of teenage boys and 59 percent of teenage girls (Lenhart,
2015). Researchers are finding that violent video games may affect youth in similar ways
as violent televisión images. For instance, rapid-action games with very violent

imagery may desensitize players to violence (Engelhardt et al., 2011). Yet emerging research
also shows that some video games can have positive effects on children and their fami-
lies. Roughly 55 percent of parents believe that playing video games helps families spend
more time together (Entertainment Software Association, 2014). Research carried out
by an association of manufacturers of video games may be biased, so researchers have
also carried out independent studies. Emerging research shows that some video games
like Wii Fit can strengthen intergenerational relations, especially if grandchildren and
grandparents play these games together (Costa and Veloso, 2016). And recent work
by neuroscientists and psychologists finds that some types of fast-paced video games
dubbed “brain games” boost children’s brain stimulation, cognitive development, spatial
abilities, problem-solving skills, and even self-esteem (Granic, Lobel, and Engels, 2014).
As new technologies evolve, researchers will be particularly interested in docu-
menting how they help and hurt. In the past decade or two, for instance, social scientists
have documented the benefits and problems linked to excessive smartphone use.
Many benefits have been documented: Smartphones help people to stay in touch with
friends and family far away, provide an easily accessible source of information and job
opportunities, and help users track their own health and fitness (Silver et al., 2019).
However, other evidence suggests that smartphones prevent people from separating
their personal and work lives; perpetúate a culture of round-the-clock work and respon-
siveness to work-related demands; and diminish writing, emotional expression, and
communication skills as smartphone users increasingly interact via terse text and
instant messaging (Wagner, 2015).
WORK
Across all cultures, work is an important setting within which socialization processes
opérate, although it is only in industrial societies that large numbers of people go to
places of work sepárate from the home. In traditional communities, many people farm
the land cióse to where they live or have workshops in their dwellings. “Work” in such
communities is not as clearly distinct from other activities as it is for most members of
the workforce in the modern West. In industrialized countries, joining the workforce
ordinarily marks a much greater transition in an individuáis life than beginning work
in traditional societies does. Over the past two decades, however, rising numbers of
workers have begun to carry out their jobs at home, fueled in part by email and the
Internet, although the overall numbers are still modest. About 5 percent of U.S. workers,
numbering more than 8 million, worked exclusively at home in 2017—a steep increase
over the 3 percent rate in 2000 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019b). As many as one in
four do at least some paid work at home, with the option of working at home more com-
mon among professional and managerial workers (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016).
Ihe work environment often poses unfamiliar demands, perhaps calling for major
adjustments in a person’s outlook or behavior. In addition to mastering the specific tasks
of their job and internalizing company policies and practices, many workers also need
to learn how to “feel” on the job. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild (1983) has documented
the ways that workers, especially women workers, learn to feel and then display
socially acceptable emotions at work. For instance, flight attendants learn to keep a
calm and cool demeanor, even when dealing with a surly passenger or flying through
extreme turbulence. Health care workers, morticians, firefighters, and soldiers must also

learn how to manage feelings such as fear, sadness, and disgust to do their jobs
(e.g., Underman and Hirshfield, 2016). Schoolteachers and principáis must remain
calm and supportive, even when the children they work with act out (Maxwell
and Riley, 2017). In these ways, individuáis are socialized into the varied and
complex skills required to be successful in the workplace.
Social Roles
Through socialization, individuáis learn about social roles—socially defined
expectations for a person in a given social position. The social role of doctor, for
example, encompasses a set of behaviors that should be enacted by all individ
ual doctors, regardless of their personal opinions or outlooks. Because all doctors
share this role, it is possible to speak in general terms about the professional behav-
ior of doctors, regardless of the specific individuáis who occupy that position.
Some sociologists, particularly those associated with the functionalist school,
regard social roles as fixed and relatively unchanging parts of a society’s cul
ture. According to this view, individuáis learn the expectations associated with
social positions in their particular culture and perform those roles largely as they
have been defined. Social roles do not involve negotiation or creativity. Rather,
they prescribe, contain, and direct an individual’s behavior. Through socialization,
individuáis internalize social roles and learn how to carry them out.
This view, however, is mistaken. It suggests that individuáis simply take
on roles rather than creating or negotiating them. Socialization is a process in
which humans can exercise agency; we are not simply passive subjects waiting to
be instructed or programmed. Individuáis come to understand and assume social
roles through an ongoing process of social interaction.
Identity
The cultural settings in which we are born and mature to adulthood influence our behav
ior, but that does not mean that humans lack individuality or the freedom to make choices.
Some sociologists do tend to write about socialization as though this were the case.
But such a view is fundamentally flawed—socialization is also at the origin of every
social roles
person’s individuality and freedom. In the course of socialization, each of us develops a
Socially defined expecta
sense of identity and the capacity for independent thought and action.
tions of an individual in a
given status or occupying
Identity is a multifaceted concept—it relates to the understandings people hold about
a particular social position. who they are and what is meaningful to them. Some of the main sources of identity inelude
In every society, individu gender, sexual orientation, nationality or ethnicity, and social class. Sociologists typi-
áis play a number of social cally speak of two types of identity: social identity and self-identity (or personal identity).
roles, such as teenager,
Social identity refers to the characteristics that other people attribute to an individ
parent, worker, or political
ual. These can be seen as markers that indicate who the individual is. At the same time,
leader.
they place that individual in relation to other individuáis who share the same attributes.
Examples of social identities inelude student, parent, lawyer, Catholic, Asían, dyslexic, and
social identity married. Nearly all individuáis have more than one social identity, reflecting the many
The characteristics that dimensions of humans’ lives. A person could simultaneously be a parent, an engineer,
other people attribute to an a Muslim, and a city council member. Although this plurality of social identities can be
individual. a potential source of conflict, most individuáis organize meaning and experience in
their lives around a primary identity that is fairly continuous across time and place.

If social identities mark ways in which individuáis are the same as others, self-
identity (or personal identity) sets us apart as distinct individuáis. Self-identity refers to the
self-identity
process of self-development through which we formúlate a unique sense of ourselves
The ongoing process of
and our relationship to the world around us. The notion of self-identity draws heavily on
self-development and
the work of symbolic interactionists. The individual’s constant negotiation with the definition of our personal
outside world helps create and shape a personal sense of self. Though cultural and social identity through which
environments are factors in shaping self-identity, individual agency and choice are key. we formúlate a unique
If at one time people’s identities were largely informed by their membership in sense of ourselves and our
relationship to the world
broad social groups bound by social class or ethnicity, they are now more multifaceted
around us.
and less stable. Individuáis have become more socially and geographically mobile due to
processes such as urban growth and industrialization. This has freed people from the
tightly knit, relatively homogeneous communities of the past in which patterns were
passed down in a fixed way across generations. It has created the space for other sources
of personal meaning, such as gender identity, sexual orientation, or political beliefs, to play
a greater role in people’s sense of identity.
Today we have unprecedented opportunities to create our own identities. We are
our own best resources in defining who we are, where we come from, and where we are
going. Now that the traditional signposts of identity have become less essential, the social
world confronts us with a dizzying array of choices about who to be, how to live, and
what to do, without offering much guidance about which selections to make. The decisions
we make in our everyday lives—about what to wear, how to behave, and how to spend
our time—help make us who we are. Through our capacity as self-conscious, self-aware
human beings, we constantly create and re-create our identities, patterns exemplified
by the gender transitions of Caitlyn Jenner and Coy Mathis.
Gender Socialization
As we learned in the case of Coy Mathis, gender influences every aspect of daily life. How
children dress and speak, the toys they play with, the activities in which they engage,
and how others view children are all powerfully shaped by gender. Yet, the norms and
expectations about how one “should” behave as a boy or girl must be, in part, learned.
Agents of socialization play an important role in how children learn gender roles. Let's
now turn to the study of gender socialization: the learning of gender roles through gender
social factors such as the family and the media. socialization
The learning of gender
REACTIONS OF PARENTS AND ADULTS roles through social fac
Sociologists have conducted many studies on the degree to which gender differences tors such as schooling, the
media, and family.
are the result of social influences. Classic studies of mother-infant interaction show
differences in the treatment of boys and girls even when parents believe their reactions to
both are the same. Adults asked to assess the personality of a baby give different answers
according to whether they believe the child to be a girl or a boy. In one experiment,
five young mothers were observed while interacting with a 6-month-old named Beth.
They tended to smile at her often and offer her dolls to play with. She was seen as “sweet"
with a “soft cry.” The reaction of a second group of mothers to a child the same age, named
Adam, was noticeably different. The baby was likely to be offered a train or other “male"
toys to play with. Beth and Adam were actually the same child, dressed in different clothes
(Will, Self, and Datan, 1976).

The case of baby Storm Stocker-Witterick vividly reveáis just how deeply entrenched
gender and gender socialization are, even in the twenty-first century. Storm’s parents,
Kathy Witterick and David Stocker, decided to keep their baby’s sex a secret, informing
only their midwives and two older sons. They dressed Storm in gender-neutral clothing
and refused to use gender-specific pronouns like he or she when describing their baby.
They wanted to make sure that others did not treat their child in stereotypically gendered
ways, such as those experienced by babies Beth and Adam (Will, Self, and Datan, 1976).
When announcing Storm’s birth, Kathy and David sent out an announcement proclaim-
ing, “We decided not to share Storm’s sex for now—a tribute to freedom and choice in
place of limitation, a standup to what the world could become in Storm's lifetime.” This
simple act was met by a firestorm of angry reactions from bloggers, media commenta-
tors, and even family and friends (Davis and James, 2011). When journalists followed up
with Storm five years later, she was a happy kindergarten student who identified as “she.”
Her older sibling Kio, 7, identified as nonbinary and used the pronoun “they", while their
oldest sibling Jazz, 10, identified as a transgender girl, preferring the pronouns “she"
and “her.” The Stocker-Witterick family vividly reveáis the complexity and fluidity of
gender in contemporary societies (Botelho-Urbanski, 2016).
GENDER LEARNING
Gender learning by infants is almost certainly unconscious. Before a child can accu-
rately label itself as either a boy or a girl, it receives a range of preverbal cues. For instance,
male and female adults usually handle infants differently. The cosmetics women use
contain scents different from those the baby might learn to associate with males.
Systematic differences in dress, hairstyle, and so on provide visual cues for the infant
in the learning process. By age 2, children have a partial understanding of what gender
is. They know whether they are boys or girls, and they can usually categorize others
accurately. Not until age 5 or 6, however, does a child know that everyone has gender
and that sex differences between girls and boys are anatomically based.
Parents play a pivotal role in gender learning, often unintentionally. Children's ear-
liest exposure to what it means to be male or female comes from their parents. From the
time their children are newborns, parents interact with their daughters and sons differ
ently. They may dress their sons in blue and daughters in pink or speak to girls in softer
and gentler tones than they do with boys. One classic study found that parents have
different expectations for their sons and daughters as early as one day after they are born,
where infant girls are described as “soft” and “pretty” and boys as “energetic” and “strong"
(Rubín et al., 1974). It's not surprising, then, that as children become toddlers, parents
(especially fathers) engage in more rough-and-tumble play with boys and hold more
give-and-take conversations with girls (Lytton and Romney, 1991). Even parents who
are sensitive to gender-equity issues and who challenge the notion of the male/female
dichotomy may send subtle messages related to gender—messages that the developing
child internalizes. Sex-role stereotypes and subtle messages about appropriate gendered
behavior are so powerful that even when children are exposed to diverse attitudes
and experiences, they may revert to stereotyped choices—especially in sociocultural
and historical contexts that adhere to gendered social roles and expectations (Haslett
et al., 1992).

DIGITAL LIFE V
New Apps Challenge Kids—and the Gender Binary
The "pink is for girls, blue ¡s for boys" mantra is still surprisingly and grow (or shave off) a beard or mustache. The hair salón
common among toy makers today. Stroll down any aislé at a clientele are a hodgepodge of men and women, boys and girls,
major toy store (or type "toys for girls" and "toys for boys" into and clients whose gender is ambiguous. As Mathilda Engman,
an Amazon search), and it's olear that girls’ toys are still fifty the head of consumer products at Toca Boca, explained, hair
shades of fuchsia, while boys' toys typicatly come in more "mas- salons are traditionally thought of as "very targeted toward girls,
culine" colors like blue, gray, or btack. But some app developers glamour, looks, and beauty. Ours is the opposite—it’s about the
are working hard to fight this gender divide with fun activities creativity of cutting hair and styling hair.... Characters have that
that eschew and even challenge the gender binary. quirkiness so that they’re inviting for everyone” (Miller, 2016).
Take, for example, the app Robot Factory, which you might Other apps are designed to show boys and girls that they can
have played with when you were younger. This game allows choose whatever career they like rather than sticking with gen-
children to make their own robots by dragging different parts and dered options. For instance, the app Little Farmers shows both
limbs onto a body; imaginative users can build insects, animáis, male and female characters using big machinery and farm equip-
extraterrestrials, or humans. Robot Factory is extremely popular, ment, while the Cool Careers Dress Up app allows users to choose
but that wasn’t always the case. The first iteration of the app was outfits for women doctors, astronauts, scientists, and Computer pro-
very different from the final product. The original design included grammers rather than just fashion models (Gudmundsen, 2017).
only body parts for "traditionaf'-looking robots (similar to Star Experts believe that children's apps present a unique oppor
Wars droids). When the designers tested the app with children, tunity to challenge the gender binary in ways that other toys can-
they were surprised to learn that both boys and girls referred to not. The "packaging” of computer-based games—the tablet or
the robots as "he." Troubled by this, the designers went back to the smartphone—is gender neutral, unlike the pink and blue boxes
drawing board and gave the children myriad new options to make that line the shelves of brick-and-mortar toy stores, says Jess
robots of all shapes, sizes, genders, and breeds and expanded the Day of Let Toys Be Toys, a British-based initiative aimed at pro-
color palette from gray to all the hues of the rainbow. moting gender fluidity in children’s toys and technologies. Others
Their reinvention was a hit with boys and girls alike. According to believe the key to having apps that appeal to boys and girls alike,
Raúl Gutiérrez, CEO of Tinybop, the company behind Robot Factory, and that promote gender inclusiveness, is having more apps
when children played with the redesigned app, they made robots designed by women and nonbinary persons. According to a 2017
that looked like boys, girls, and children of ambiguous gender. survey of game developers, fully 74 percent ¡dentify as men and
Another app designed to appeal to both boys and girls—and to 21 percent as women; 5 percent identify as transgender, androg-
challenge the gender binary in the process—is Toca Hair Salón. ynous, or nonbinary or do not specify (Gough, 2019). Initiatives
The app is set in a multicolored hair salón, and children have the like Girls Who Code aim to encourage more girls to become
opportunity to cut and style customers' hair however they like. interested in Computer programming and app design. As app
They can shave it off, straighten curts, give a perm or an updo, designers become more diverse, so too will the apps themselves.
Toys today are still typicatly packaged and

marketed along strict gender Unes. Some
developers, however, are attempting to blur this
binary and create apps that appeal to all kids
regardless of gender.
>
Children’s toys, picture books, and televisión programs
also tend to follow stereotypical patterns. Both Online and brick-
and-mortar stores usually categorize their products by gender,
whether toys or shoes or umbrellas. Even toys that seem neutral
in terms of gender are not always so in practice. For example,
toy kittens and rabbits might be thought of as appropriate for
girls, whereas lions and tigers are seen as more appropriate
for boys. Similarly, boys are typically expected to dress up like
ninjas or superheroes for Halloween, whereas girls are expected
to dress up like princesses or other highly “feminine” characters.
But these stark gender divides are historically bound.
Cultural analyses have found that the “blue is for boys, pink
is for girls” divide is a twentieth-century social construction.
«M*. In the nineteenth century and early decades of the twenti-
eth century, boys and girls wore similar colors, mostly white
(Paoletti, 2012). However, in the postwar era in the United
States, the pink-blue gender divide emerged, and it persisted
on and off throughout the late twentieth century. Yet the
trend appears to be coming full circle, with retailers and shop-
pers alike abandoning this convention. For example, in 2015,
Target, the nation’s largest retailer, stopped dividing their toy
sections into “boy" and “girl” sections and also discontinued
In her “Pink & Blue project, photographer JeongMee
the pink- and blue-colored walls previously used to draw
Yoon records girls’ obsession with the color pink. What are
the implications of the gender-typed packaging and color attention to gender-typed toys. Recognizing that nearly every
coding that we see in children’s toys and clothing? product for children is gender typed, Target management also
stopped dividing up other departments by gender, such as
bedding. Boys and girls might be equally likely to want a Star
Wars or a Dora the Explorer comforter (Luckerson, 2015). The
notion that gender-neutral toys are healthy for all children is
rapidly spreading, with more and more manufacturers abandoning gender-typed colors
and designs of their toys.
Similarly, children’s books and televisión shows teach important, though subtle, les-
sons about gender. Scholarly analyses of children's books and TV shows find that girls are
highly underrepresented. More recent research suggests a slight change but notes that
the bulk of children’s literature remains the same (McCabe et al., 2011). Children’s books
feature many more men and boys as lead characters than women and girls. Even when
characters are animáis, they tend to be male (McCabe et al., 2011).
Although there are exceptions, analyses of children’s televisión programs and video
games match the findings about children's books. In the most popular cartoons and games,
most leading figures are male, and males domínate the active pursuits (Leaper and Bigler,
2018). Similar images appear in commercials advertising children’s foods and toys. For
instance, researchers recently examined the ways that boys and girls are portrayed in chil
dren's programming on three networks: Disney Channel, Cartoon NetWork, and Nickelodeon
(Hentges and Case, 2013). Boy characters outnumbered girls three to two, and there was
some evidence that characters were depicted behaving in stereotypical ways, where boys
were more likely to be aggressive “rescuers” and girls were more likely to show affection.
86 CHAPTER 3 Socializaron, the Life Course, and Aging

Race Socialization
Scholars have long recognized the ways that we learn to be
male or female, but how did you learn about your racial or
ethnic background? Did your parents ever teach you what it
means to be White, Black, Asian, or Latinx? Sociologists have
examined the process of race socialization, which refers to
the specific verbal and nonverbal messages that older gener-
ations transmit to younger generations regarding the mean-
ing and significance of race, racial stratification, intergroup
relations, and personal identity (Lesane-Brown, 2006).
The research team of sociologist Tony Brown and psy-
chologist Chase Lesane-Brown examined the messages that
parents teach and the effects of this socialization on chil-
dren’s lives. Their work rests on the assumption that while
ethnic-minority parents (especially Black parents) must
Sociologists are interested in how children learn what it means
socialize their children to be productive members of society,
to be a member of a particular racial group, especially one that
just as White parents do, they also face an additional task: ¡s devalued.
raising children with the skills to survive and prosper in a
society that often devalúes Blackness. As part of race social
ization, Black parents also may prepare their children to
understand their heritage, their culture, and what it means
to belong to a racial group that has historically occupied an
oppressed status in the United States (Lesane-Brown 2006).
What exactly do Black parents teach their children about race, race stratification, and
race relations? Lesane-Brown, Brown, and colleagues (2005) developed a detailed Índex
CONCEPT CHECKS
capturing the specific messages and lessons that parents pass down to their children,
noting of course that families may vary in what they say and how they say it. Among 1. What is social
the messages encompassed in race socialization are color blindness (e.g., “race doesn’t reproduction? What are
matter”), individual pride (e.g., “I can achieve anything”), group pride (e.g., Tm proud to some specific ways that
be Black”), distrust of other racial or ethnic groups (e.g., “don’t trust White people”), and the four main agents of
socialization contribute
deference to other racial or ethnic groups (e.g., “Whites are better than Blacks”). The les
to social reproduction?
sons that Black adolescents and college students found to be the most useful, however,
2. According to Mead, how
were those that emphasized pride and color blindness, such as “race doesn’t matter” and
does a child develop a
“with hard work, you can achieve anything regardless of race” (Lesane-Brown et al., 2005).
social self?
Understanding race socialization will become more and more important for future
3. What are the four stages
cohorts of young people. In our increasingly global society, children and young people
of cognitive development
will need to develop the skills and capacities to negotiate multicultural contexts in their according to Piaget?
everyday lives (Priest et al., 2014). Parents, teachers, and other agents of socialization
4. How does the media
must also promote positive racial attitudes, counter negative altitudes, and enable effec- contribute to gender
tive responses to racism when it occurs. Although race socialization has historically socialization?
focused on raising Black children to fit in and get ahead in a racist world, the Black Lives 5. What are the main
Matter protests heightened recognition that White children, too, must be socialized to components of race
recognize and fight racism when they see it unfold (Harvey, 2018). socialization?

What Are the Five Major
> Stages of the Life Course?
Learn the five major
The transitions that individuáis pass through during their Uves may be biologically fixed—
stages of the life course,
from childhood to adulthood and eventually to death. But the stages of the human life
and see the similarities
and differences among course are social as well as biological. They are influenced by culture and by the mate
different cultures and rial circumstances of people’s Uves. For example, in most contemporary wealthy Western
histórica! periods. nations, death is usually thought of in relation to oíd age because most people enjoy a Ufe
span of 79 years or more. In traditional societies of the past more people died at younger
ages than survived to oíd age.
Childhood
In modern societies, childhood is a clear and distinct stage of Ufe between infancy and ado-
lescence. Yet the concept of childhood, like so many other aspects of social Ufe today, has
come into being only over the past two or three centuries. In earlier societies, young people
moved directly from a lengthy infancy into working roles within the community. French
historian Philippe Aries (1965) argued that “childhood," conceived of as a sepárate phase of
development, did not exist in medieval times. In the paintings of medieval Europe, children
are portrayed as little adults, with mature faces and the same style of dress as their elders.
Until the early twentieth century, in the United States and most other Western coun-
tries, children were put to work at what now seems a very young age. There are countries
in the world today, in fact, where young children are engaged in full-time work, some-
times in physically demanding circumstances (for example, in coal mines). According to
the International Labor Organization, more than 152 million child laborers—one in every
ten children globally—are working today (U.S. Department of Labor, 2018). The ideas
that children have distinctive rights and that child labor is morally wrong are quite recent
developments that have not yet been achieved worldwide.
Because of the prolonged period of childhood that we recognize today, modern soci
eties are in some respects more child centered than traditional ones. Parents are viewed
as the solé protectors of their children, and parents who behave in ways that may be con-
sidered hurtful to their children are judged harshly. For instance, not all the parents at
Eagleside Elementary were supportive of Kathryn and Jeffrey Mathis’s decisión to allow
Coy to identify as a girl.
This Madonna and Child,
It seems possible that, as a result of changes currently occurring in modern societies,
painted in the thirteenth
century by Duccio di
the sepárate character of childhood is diminishing. Some observers have suggested that
Buoninsegna, depicts the children now grow up too fast. Even small children may watch the same televisión pro-
infant Jesús with a mature grams and use the same apps as adults, thereby becoming much more familiar early on
face. Until recently. children with the adult world than preceding generations did.
in Western society were
viewed as little adults.
The Teenager
The idea of the teenager also didn't exist until the early twentieth century, when compul-
sory education and child labor laws were enacted in Western countries. Prior to that time,
teenagers were not required to attend school, so adolescence was a time for working in

fields and faetones and for marrying and bearing children. Today, by contrast, adolescence
is considered a time to learn, grow, and make choices about the kind of adult one wants
race socialization
to someday become.
The specific verbal and
The biological changes involved in puberty (the point at which a person becomes
nonverbal messages that
capable of adult sexual activity and reproduction) are universal. Yet in many cultures, older generations transmit
these physical changes do not produce the degree of emotional turmoil and uncertainty to younger generations
often found among teens in modern societies. In cultures that celébrate rites of passage, or regarding the meaning and
distinct ceremonies that signal a person’s transition to adulthood, the process of psycho- significance of race.
sexual development generally seems easier to negotiate. Adolescents in such societies

have less to “unlearn" because the pace of change is slower. There is a time when
life course
children in Western societies are required to be children no longer: to put away their
The various transitions and
toys and break with childish pursuits. In traditional cultures, where children are already
stages people experience
working alongside adults, this process of unlearning is normally much less jarring. during their lives.
In Western societies, teenagers are betwixt and between, navigating the often-
complicated space between childhood and adulthood: They often try to act like adults,
but they are treated by law as children. Pop culture promotes sexy clothing among teens
yet frowns upon teenage sexual activity. Teens may wish to go to work and earn money
as adults do, but they are required to stay in school.
Young Adulthood
Young adulthood, also referred to as “emerging adulthood,” is typically defined as roughly
ages 20 to 30 (Arnett, 2000). This period is considered a transition between the carefree
years of childhood and adolescence and the responsibilities of marriage, parenthood, and
home ownership that often accompany mid-adulthood. Part of the reason for the emergence
of this distinctive life course stage is that scholars have observed a “delayed transition to
adulthood" among young people in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
Particularly among more affluent groups, people in their early twenties take the time to
travel; go to college or gradúate school; explore sexual, political, and religious affiliations; try
out different careers; and date and live with several romantic partners. The importance of
this postponement of the responsibilities of full adulthood is likely to increase, given the
extended period of education and career exploration many people now undergo.
Although it is difñcult to pinpoint precisely when one makes the “transition to adult
hood” one team of researchers identified five benchmarks of adulthood: leaving one's
parents’ home, finishing school, getting married, having a child, and achieving financial
independence. In 1960, fully 65 percent of men and 77 percent of women had achieved all
five benchmarks by age 30. By contrast, only 25 percent of men and 39 percent of women
had done so in 2010 (Furstenberg and Kennedy, 2013: Furstenberg et al., 2004). These
statistics clearly show that today the transition to adulthood is delayed and that some
benchmarks historically considered signifiers of adulthood, such as becoming a parent,
may now be less central to one's identity as an adult (Figure 3.1).
Midlife or “Middle Age”

Most young adults in the wealthy industrialized world can look forward to a life stretch-
ing right through to oíd age. In premodern times, few could anticípate such a future
with much confidence. Death through sickness or injury was much more frequent among
What Are the Five Major Stages of the Life Course? 89

FIGURE 3.1 all age groups than it is today, and women
faced a high rafe of mortality in childbirth.
Thirty-Year-Olds: 1975 vs. 2015 Given these advances in life expectancy, a
■ 1975 ■ 2015
“new" life course stage has been recognized
in the twentieth century: midlife, or middle
100
age (Cohén, 2012).
Midlife, the stage between young
80
adulthood and oíd age, is generally believed
to fall between ages 45 and 65. However,
PERCENTAGE
60
midlife is distinct from other life course
stages in that there is not an “ofñcial” or
40
legal age of entry. For example, American
youth become legal adults at age 18, whereas
20
age 65 is generally believed to signify the
transition to oíd age. One’s entry to mid
0
Living on Ever Living with In the Owns a life, by contrast, tends to be signified by
their own married a child labor forcé home the social roles one adopts (or relinquishes).
While some scholars believe that meno-
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2016b.
pause, or the loss of reproductive potential,
signáis women's transition to midlife, others
believe that for both men and women, midlife is marked by transitions such as the “empty
nest” stage.
Midlife is also a psychological turning point where men and women may assess
their past choices and accomplishments and make new choices that prepare them for the
second half of life. Keeping a forward-looking outlook in middle age has taken on par
ticular importance in modern societies. Most people do not expect to be doing the same
thing their whole lives, as was the case for the majority in traditional cultures. For example,
midlife persons today are more likely than ever to divorce, a phenomenon that has been
called “gray divorce.” One of the reasons why some people in their fifties and sixties end
their marriages is that they recognize that they have many years of life ahead, and they
choose to leave behind unsatisfying marriages in favor of singlehood or new romantic
partnerships (Brown and Lin, 2012).
Later Life
Oíd age has been reinvented in recent decades, as older adults have come to comprise
an increasingly large share of the population both in the United States and worldwide.
In 1900, just 4 percent of the U.S. population was age 65 or older. By 2018, that pro-
portion exceeded 15 percent (Carr, 2019). The same trend is found in all industrially
advanced countries. Alongside these population shifts, the social roles of older adults
have shifted as well.
Surviving until the life course stage of “eider" in a traditional culture often marked
the pinnacle of an individuáis status. Older people were normally accorded a great deal of
respect and had a say over matters of importance to the community. Within families, the
authority of both men and women typically increased with age. In industrialized societ
ies, by contrast, older people tend to lack authority within both the family and the wider
community.

No longer living with their children and often having retired from paid work, some older CONCEPT CHECKS
people find it difñcult to make the final period of their life rewarding. It used to be thought
that those who successfully cope with oíd age do so by turning to their inner resources, 1. What ¡s meanl by the
becoming less interested in material rewards. Although this may often be true, it seems term life course?
likely that in a society in which many are physically healthy in oíd age, an outward-looking 2. What are the five stages
view will become more prevalent. With advances in medical technologies, older adults are of the life course, and
living longer and are healthier than ever before. These extensions in life span have been what are some defining
features of each stage?
accompanied by expanded opportunities for lifelong learning, with many older adults learn-
ing new skills and pursuing new leisure activities. Those in retirement might find renewal in 3. How ¡s midlife different
from the life course stages
what has been called the “third age,” in which a new phase of education begins.
of childhood and later life?
How Do People Age? <

Of all the life course stages that sociologists study, older adults are the group of great- Understand that aging
is a combination of
est interest to policy makers. Why? Older adults, or individuáis age 65 or older, are the
biological, psychological,
most rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population (Figure 3.2); as such, they will create
and social processes.
new challenges for American society. In 2018, older adults represented 15 percent of the Consider key theories of
U.S. population; the older population is projected to double by 2060, at which point nearly aging, particularly those
one in four Americans will be an older adult (Administration on Aging, 2018). Growing that focus on how society
oíd can be a fulfilling and rewarding experience, or it can be filled with physical distress shapes the social roles
of older people and that
and social isolation. For most older Americans, the experience of aging lies somewhere
emphasize aspects of age
in between. In this section, we delve into the meaning of being oíd and look at the ways stratification.
in which people adapt to growing oíd, at least in the eyes of sociologists.
The Meanings of “Age”

What does it mean to age? Aging can be defined as the combination of biological, psycho- aging
logical, and social processes that affect people as they grow older (Abeles and Riley, 1987; The combination of
Atchley, 2000; Riley et al., 1988). These three processes suggest the metaphor of three dif- biological, psychological,
ferent, although interrelated, developmental “docks": (1) a biological one, which refers to and social processes that
affect people as they
the physical body; (2) a psychological one, which refers to the mind and mental capabilities;
grow older.
and (3) a social one, which refers to cultural norms, valúes, and role expectations having
to do with age. Our notions about the meaning of age are rapidly changing, both because
recent research is dispelling many myths about aging and because advances in nutrition
and health have enabled many people to live longer, healthier Uves than ever before.
Growing Oíd: Trends and Competing social

gerontologists
Sociological Explanations Social scientists who
Social gerontologists, or social scientists who study aging, have offered a number study older adults and life
of theories regarding the nature of aging in U.S. society. Some of the earliest theories course influences on aging
emphasized individual adaptation to changing social roles as a person grows older. Later processes.
theories focused on how society shapes the social roles of older adults, often in inequitable
How Do People Age?

FIGURE 3.2
Growth of the Older Population ¡n the United States

by Age Group, 1900-2050
85+ ■ 75-84 ■ 65-74 mtmm % 65+
90
80
70
ac5
5 60
in
| 50
-j
I 40
te
ui
CD
| 30
z
20
10
0
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
i----------- ,----------- '
Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2011a; Vespa, Armstrong, and Medina, 2018. projected
ways. The most recent theories have been more multifaceted, focusing on the ways in
which older persons actively create their lives within specific institutional contexts
(Bengtson and Settersten, 2016).
THE FIRST GENERATION OF THEORIES: FUNCTIONALISM
The earliest theories of aging reflected the functionalist approach that was dominant
in sociology during the 1950S and 1960S. They emphasized how individuáis adjusted to
changing social roles as they aged and how those roles were useful to society. The earliest
theories often assumed that aging brings with it physical and psychological decline and
that changing social roles have to take this decline into account (Hendricks, 1992).
Talcott Parsons, one of the most influential functionalist theorists of the 1950S,
argued that U.S. society needs to find roles for older persons consistent with advanced
disengagement age. He expressed concern that the United States, with its emphasis on youth and its avoid-
theory ance of death, had failed to provide roles that adequately drew on the potential wisdom
A functionalist theory of and maturity of its older citizens. Moreover, given the graying of U.S. society that
aging that holds that it is was evident even in Parsons’s time, he believed that this failure could well lead to older
functional for society to
people becoming discouraged and alienated from society. To achieve a "healthy matu
remove people from their
traditional roles when they
rity,” Parsons (1960) argued, older adults need to adjust psychologically to their changed
become elderly, thereby circumstances, while society needs to redefine the social roles of older persons.
freeing up those roles for Parsons’s ideas set the foundation for disengagement theory, the notion that it is func-
others. tional for society to remove people from their traditional roles when they become older,
thereby freeing up those roles for other, younger persons (Cumming and Henry, 1961; Estes,

Globalization
by the Numbers Life Course Transitions
Individuáis pass through a number of key transitions during the course of their lives. The transition to adulthood, often
indicated by benchmarks such as getting married and having children, is being delayed today, especially in high-income
countries. In many northern and western European nations, young adults have their first child before marriage while in
cohabitating relationships.
Mean age at first marriage' Mean age at first birth* Life expectancy at birth*
Uzbekistán
27.4 (2018) mL. 27.8
Poland
United States
Israel
30.3 (2018)
31.6 (2018)
Netherlands
33.5 (2018)
Iceland
34.0 (2018)
Sweden
Mean age of women, 2017 data

'Life expectancy at birth is for both sexes in 2018 Source: UNDP. 2019a.
Binney, and Culbertson, 1992). According to this perspective,
given the increasing frailty, illness, and dependency of older
people, it becomes increasingly dysfunctional for them to
occupy traditional social roles that they are no longer capable
of adequately fulfilling. Older adults, therefore, should retire
from their jobs, pulí back from civic life, and eventually
withdraw from other activities as well. Disengagement is
assumed to be functional for the larger society because it
opens up roles for younger people, who presumably will carry
them out with fresh energy and new skills. Disengagement
is also assumed to be functional for older persons because
it enables them to take on less taxing roles consistent with
Rewarding activities, such as volunteer work, can enhance
health and well-being in later life. their advancing age and declining health.
Although there is some intuitive appeal to disengage
ment theory, the idea that older people should completely
disengage from the larger society is based on the outdated
stereotype that oíd age involves frailty and dependence. As
a result, no sooner did the theory appear than these very assumptions were challenged,
often by some of the theory’s original proponents (Cumming, 1963,1975; Hendricks, 1992;
Henry, 1965; Hochschild, 1975; Maddox, 1965,1970). These challenges gave rise to two dis-
tinct yet related functionalist theories of aging, which drew conclusions quite opposite to
those of disengagement theory: activity and continuity theories.
activity theory According to activity theory, people who are busy leading fulfilling and productive
A functionalist theory of lives can be functional for society. The guiding assumption is that an active individual
aging that maintains that is much more likely to remain healthy, alert, and socially useful. In this view, people
busy, engaged people are should remain engaged in their work and other social roles as long as they are capable
more likely to lead futfilling of doing so. If a time comes when a particular role becomes too difficult or taxing, then
and productive lives.
other roles can be sought—for example, volunteer work in the community.
Activity theory finds support in research showing that continued activity well into
continuity theory oíd age—whether volunteer work, paid employment, hobbies, or visits with friends
and family—is associated with good mental and physical health (Birren and Bengtson,
Theoretical perspective
on aging that specifies 1988; Rowe and Kahn, 1987: Schaie, 1983). Yet critics observe that not all activities are
that older adults tare best equally valuable, giving rise to continuity theory. This theory specifies that older
when they particípate in adults fare best when they particípate in activities that are consistent with their per
activities consistent sonalices, preferences, and activities from earlier in life (Atchley, 1989). For instance, a
with their personalices,
retired teacher may find volunteering at a local elementary school to be much more
preferences, and activities
from earlier in life. satisfying than playing bingo at a local community center.
Critics of functionalist theories of aging argüe that these theories emphasize the
need for older adults to adapt to existing conditions, either by disengaging from socially
useful roles or by actively pursuing them, but they do not question whether the
circumstances older adults face are just. In response to this critique, another group of
theorists aróse—those growing out of the social conflict tradition (Hendricks, 1992).
THE SECOND GENERATION OF THEORIES: SOCIAL CONFLICT

Unlike their predecessors, who emphasized the ways in which older adults could be inte-
grated into the larger society, the second generation of theorists focused on sources of

social conflict between older persons and society (Hendricks, 1992). Like other theorists
who studied social conflict in U.S. society during the 1970S and early 1980S, these theorists
conflict theories
stressed the ways in which the larger social structure helped shape the opportunities avail- of aging
able to older persons; unequal opportunities were seen as creating the potential for conflict.
Arguments that empha-
According to this view, many of the problems of aging—such as poverty, poor health, size the ways in which
and inadequate health care—are systematically produced by the routine operation of social the larger social structure
institutions. A capitalist society, the reasoning goes, favors those who are most econom- helps to shape the oppor
ically powerful. Although certainly some older adults have “made it” and are set for life, tunities available to older
adults. Unequal opportu
many have not—and these people must fight to get even a meager share of society’s scarce
nities are seen as creating
resources. Among persons age 65 and older, those who fare worst tend to inelude women, the potential for conflict.
low-income people, and ethnic minorities (Atchley, 2000; Estes, 1986, 1991; Hendricks,
1992; Hendricks and Hendricks, 1986). For example, though overall poverty rates among
older adults have plummeted over the past 60 years, with roughly 9 percent of older adults
living in poverty today as compared with 35 percent in 1959, (the poverty rate is as high
as 40 percent among unmarried Black and Hispanic older women (Semega, Fontenot,
and Kollar, 2017; Carr, 2010).
THE THIRD GENERATION OF THEORIES: LIFE COURSE PERSPECTIVES CONCEPT CHECKS

Life course theorists reject what they regard as the one-sided emphases of both func-
1. What factors or
tionalist and conflict theories, where older adults are viewed either as merely adapting to
processes should we
the larger society (functionalism) or as victims of stratification systems (social conflict). keep in mind when
Rather, life course perspectives both maintain that older persons play an active role studying aging or the
in determining their own physical and mental well-being and recognize the constraints meaning of being oíd?
imposed on older persons' lives by social structural factors. 2. Summarize the three
According to this theory, the aging process is shaped by historical time and place; theoretical frameworks
factors such as wars, economic shifts, and the development of new technologies shape used to describe the nature
of aging in U.S. society.
how people age. Yet this perspective also emphasizes ageney, where individuáis make
choices that reflect both the opportunities and the constraints facing them. The most 3. What are the main
criticisms of
important theme of the life course perspective is that aging is a lifelong process:
functionalism and
Relationships, events, and experiences of early life have consequences for later life.
conflict theory?
What Are the Challenges of

Aging in the United States? <
Evalúate the experience
Older individuáis make up a highly diverse category about whom few broad generaliza-
of growing oíd in the
tions can be made. For one thing, the aged population refleets the diversity of U.S. society contemporary United
that we’ve noted elsewhere in this textbook: They are rich, poor, and in between; they States. Identify the physical,
belong to all racial and ethnic groups; they live alone and in families of various sorts; they emotional, and financial
vary in their political valúes; and they are LGBTQ as well as heterosexual. Furthermore, challenges older adults face.
like other Americans, they are diverse with respect to health: Although some suffer from
mental and physical disabilities, most lead active, independent lives.
What Are the Challenges of Aging in the United States?

Race has a powerful influence on the lives of older persons. White people, on average,
live nearly four years longer than African Americans, largely because Black persons have
much greater odds of dying in infancy, childhood, and young adulthood. Black Americans
also have much higher rates of poverty and, therefore, are more likely to suffer from inade-
quate health care compared with White Americans. As a result, a much higher percentage
of White people have survived past age 65 compared with other racial groups. The com-
bined effect of race and sex is substantial. In 2015, the life expectancy for a White woman
was 81, compared to 72 for a Black man (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017a).
Currently about 14 percent of the older population in the United States is foreign born
(U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2018a). In California, New York, Hawaii, and other States that
receive large numbers of immigrants, as many as one-fifth of all older people were born
outside the United States (Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, 2013).
Integrating older immigrants into U.S. society poses special challenges: Most either do
not speak English well or do not speak it at all. Some are highly educated, but most are not.
Most lack a retirement income, so they must depend on their families or public assistance.
Finally, as people live to increasingly older ages, they are diverse in terms of age
itself. It is useful to distinguish among different age categories of the 65+ population, such
young oíd as the young oíd (ages 65 to 74), the oíd oíd (ages 75 to 84), and the oldest oíd (ages 85 and
Sociological term for older). The young oíd are most likely to be economically independent, healthy, and active;
persons between the ages the oldest oíd—the fastest-growing segment of the age 65+ population—are most likely to
of 65 and 74. encounter difficulties such as poor health, financial insecurity, and isolation (U.S. Bureau of
the Census, 2011a). Not only are these differences due to the effects of aging but they also
reflect cohort differences. The oldest oíd carne of age during the post-World War II period
oíd oíd
of strong economic growth and benefited as a result: They are more likely to be educated;
Sociological term for per
to have acquired wealth in the form of a home, savings, or investments; and to have had
sons between the ages of
many years of stable employment. These advantages are much less likely to be enjoyed by
75 and 84.
the young oíd, partly because their education and careers began at a time when economic
conditions were not so favorable (Alwin, 2008; Idler, 1993; Mantón et al., 2008).
oldest oíd What is the experience of growing oíd in the United States? Although older
Sociological term for per persons do face some special challenges, most older people lead relatively healthy, satis-
sons ages 85 and older. fying lives. Still, one national survey found a substantial discrepancy between what most
Americans under age 65 thought life would be like as older adults and what life was actu-
ally like for those over 65. We next examine some of the common problems that older
adults confront and identify the factors that put older persons at risk for these problems.
Health Problems
The prevalence of chronic disabilities among the older population has declined in recent
years, and most older adults rate their health as reasonably good and free of major disabilities
(Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, 2016). Still, older people suffer from
more health problems than most younger people, and health difficulties often increase with
advancing age. In 2015, nearly one-third of all people age 65 and older who live independently
reported suffering from arthritis, 29 percent had heart disease, and 27 percent had diabetes
(Administration on Aging [AOA], 2018). The percentage of people needing help with daily
activities increases with age: Only 4 percent of adults between the ages of 65 and 74 report
needing help with personal care, yet this figure rises to 9 percent for people between
75 and 84 and to 20 percent for people over 85 (AOA, 2018).
96 CHAPTER 3 Socializaron, the Lite Course, and Aging

Globalization
by the Numbers
The world population ¡s aging rapidly, or "graying." In 2019, nearly 9 percent of the global population was over 65;
that proportion ¡s expected to rise to 12 percent by 2030. Graying is the result of two long-term trends: people having
fewer children and living longer.
Older population by country

(proportion 65+)
2030 O Median age'
27.9%
Sweden Bosnia & Chile

Herzegovina
China Tunisia Afghanistan
Median age of population 2020 (estímate) report drafted in 2019.
Older population in the United States
65-74 58% ■ White
■ 75-84 29% ■ Black
■ 85+ 13% Asían
Hispanic
Source: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population División, 2019a; United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
Population División, 2019b.
Paradoxically, there is some evidence that the fastest-growing group of the elderly pop-
ulation, the oldest oíd (those 85 and older), tend to enjoy relative robustness, which partially
accounts for their having reached their advanced age. This is possibly one of the reasons why
health care costs for a person who dies at 90 are about one-third of those for a person who dies
at 70 (Angier, 1995). Unlike many other Americans, persons age 65 and older are fortúnate in
having access to public health insurance (Medicare) and, therefore, medical Services.
Nearly all (93 percent) of older Americans are covered to some extent by Medicare
(AOA, 2018). But because this program covers about half of the total health care expenses of
individuáis age 63 and older, 62 percent of older people supplement Medicare with another
type of insurance (Barnett and Berchick, 2017). The rising costs of prívate insurance have
unfortunately made this option impossible for a growing number of older adults. On aver-
age, older Americans paid $5,994 out of pocket for health care in 2016—an increase of
38 percent since 2006. Despite Medicare, health care costs still compose 13.1 percent
of older adults' total expenses (Administration for Community Living, 2018).
When older adults become physically unable to care for themselves, they may move
into assisted-living facilities, long-term care facilities, or nursing homes. Only about 1 per-
cent of people age 65 to 74 Uve in institutional settings such as nursing homes, a figure that
rises to 3 percent among people 75 to 84 and to 9 percent for those over 85 (AOA, 2018).
Because the median cost of a private room in a nursing home is now over $102,200 a year
(Genworth, 2019), the nonpoor older people who require such institutionalization may
find their lifetime savings quickly depleted.
Even if the problems of social isolation, prejudice, physical abuse, and declining health
affect only a relatively small proportion of all older persons, the raw numbers of people
facing these challenges will increase as the large baby boom cohort enters oíd age. The baby
boom cohort refers to the 75 million people born between 1946 and 1964 in the United
States; the oldest boomers turned sixty-five in 2011. This large population will present
unforeseen challenges for government-funded programs, such as Social Security and
Medicare, while reinventing the very meaning of oíd age. The baby boom cohort is more
educated than any generation that has come before it; American society will no doubt
benefit by incorporating rather than isolating future cohorts of older adults and drawing
on their considerable reserves of experience and talent.
Eider Abuse
Mistreatment and abuse of older adults may take many forms, including physical, sexual,
emotional, or financial abuse; neglect; or abandonment. Eider mistreatment is very dif-
ficult to measure and document. Older adults who are embarrassed, ashamed, or fearful
of retaliation by their abusers may be reluctant to report such experiences. As a result,
official prevalence rates are low. Worldwide, it is estimated that 15.7 percent of older adults
experience some form of abuse in a community setting (Yon et al., 2017; WHO, 2018).
One national survey of older adults (2008) found that 9 percent of older adults reported
verbal mistreatment, 3.5 percent reported financial mistreatment, and less than 1 percent
reported physical mistreatment by a family member. Women and persons with physical
disabilities were most likely to report abuse.
It is widely believed that abuse results from the anger and resentment that adult
children feel when confronted with the need to care for their infirm parents (King, 1984;
Steinmetz, 1983). Most studies have found this to be a false stereotype, however. Most
mistreatment is perpetrated by someone other than a member of the elder’s immediate

family. National studies have found that of those who reported verbal mistreatment,
26 percent named their spouse or romantic partner as the perpetrator, 15 percent named
their child, and 57 percent named someone other than a spouse, parent, or child. Similarly,
56 percent of older adults who reported financial mistreatment said that someone
other than a family member was responsible; of family members, though, children were
mentioned most often, while spouses were rarely named (Laumann et al., 2008).
Social Isolation
One common stereotype about older adults is that they are socially isolated. This is not true
of the majority of older people: Four out of five older persons have living children, and the
vast majority can rely on their children for support, if necessary (Federal Interagency Forum
on Aging-Related Statistics, 2013). More than nine out of ten adult children say that main-
taining parental contact is important to them, including the provisión of financial support if
it is needed (Suitor et al., 2011). The reverse is also true: Many studies have found that older
parents continué to provide support for their adult children, particularly during times of
difñculty, such as divorce. Most older adults have regular contact with their children and Uve
near them; about 85 percent of older persons live within an hour of one of their children.
However, relatively few live with their children. Most older adults prefer to remain indepen-
dent and reside in their own homes. They want “intimacy at a distance" (Gans and Silverstein,
2006). However, social isolation was an especially acute problem during the 2020 pandemic.
Despite its subjective nature, loneliness is a serious problem for many older adults; it is
linked to sleep problems, poor cardiovascular health, and elevated blood pressure, each of
which carries long-term consequences for mortality risk (Cacioppo et al., 2002). Loneliness
also may be a particularly serious social problem for older adults in future generations.
Smaller families and increased rates of divorce and childlessness among future cohorts
of older adults may create a context where older persons maintain objectively fewer
relationships (Manning and Brown, 2011). More important, however, some have argued
that current cohorts of midlife adults have unrealistically high expectations for what
their social relationships should provide (e.g., one's partner should be one’s “soul mate”);
if these lofty expectations go unfulfilled, then older adults may report higher levels of
emotional loneliness as well (Carr and Moorman, 2011).
In 2018,34 percent of older women and 21 percent of men lived alone (Administration
for Community Living, 2018). Women are more likely than men to live alone, in part
because they are more likely to outlive their spouses; in 2018, 32 percent of older women
and only 11 percent of older men were widowed. Women are also less likely than men to
remarry following widowhood or divorce. So, while 70 percent of older men are married,
the same can be said of only 46 percent of older women (Administration for Community
Living, 2018). Part of the reason why older women are less likely than men to remarry
is the highly skewed sex ratio among older adults. In 2018, there were 123 older women
for every 100 older men; for those 85 or older, this ratio increases to 189 women for
every 100 men (Administration for Community Living, 2018). The fact that women outlive
men means that older women are more likely to experience problems of isolation.
The mere presence of social relationships does not ward off loneliness. An estimated
29 percent of older married persons report some symptoms of loneliness; this pattern
is particularly common among persons whose spouses are ill, who have a dissatisfy-
ing (or nonexistent) sexual relationship, or who have infrequent or conflicted conversa-
tions (AARP, 2012; de Jong Gierveld et al., 2009). As de Jong Gierveld and Havens (2004)
What Are the Challenges of Aging in the United States? 99

EMPLOYING Activities Director at a Nursing Home
YOUR
SOCIOLOGICAL People are living longer than ever before in the United States and worldwide. By the
year 2030, one in five Americans witl be age 65 or older. As a result, nearly every
IMAGINATION profession—from medicine to marketing—witl need at least a basic knowledge of aging.
For some professions, such as geriatric medicine or nursing, it's crucial for workers
to understand the biology of aging. Other professions, such as geriatric social worker,
nursing home administrator, activities director at a sénior center, or even personnel
officers charged with hiring older workers, require a strong grasp of the challenges
facing many older adults, such as ageism and social isolation, both of which intensified
dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The activities director at a nursing home or long-term care facility may find the themes
and concepts of life course sociology especially relevant to their work. There are currently
more than 30,000 long-term care facilities in the United States which are home to more
than 1 million residents (Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, 2016).
These residents, many of whom moved in after living in their own homes for decades,
may find their move difficult. The facilities staff to ease the transition and make life as
fulfitling as possible for its older residents by providing them a schedule of age-appropriate
activities. These activities might inelude lectures from local cotlege professors, outings
to local museums and concerts, and book clubs for older adults with good physical and
cognitive health. In periods when infectious diseases are ranging, activities directors also
develop innovative ways to deliver activities virtually, such as Zoom lectures of book
discussions. Yet in dementia-care wings or for patients who are starting to experience
steep physical or cognitive declines, the activities may be more basic, such as chair-
based fitness ctasses or movie screenings. The nursing home activity director plans this
> full slate of live and virtual activities to keep residents engaged and entertained.
noted, loneliness depends on one’s “standards as to what constitutes an optimal network

of relationships." That is, it’s getting less support than we want rather than the objective
number of social ties that matters when it comes to loneliness.
Prejudice
ageism Discrimination on the basis of age, or ageism, is now against federal law. The Age
Discrimination or Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) proteets job applicants and employees
prejudice against a person 40 years of age and older from discrimination on the basis of age in hiring, firing, promo-
on the basis of age. tion, and pay. Nonetheless, prejudices based on false stereotypes are common. Older adults
are frequently seen as perpetually lonely, sad, infirm, forgetful, dependent, senile, old-
fashioned, inflexible, and embittered (Palmore, 2015).
There are a number of reasons for such prejudice. The American obsession with
youthfulness, reflected in popular entertainment and advertising, leads many younger
people to disparage their elders, frequently dismissing them as irrelevant. The new infor-
mation technology culture undoubtedly reinforces these prejudices because youthful
ness and Computer abilities seem to go hand in hand. In the fast-paced world of Twitter
and Snapchat, young people may come to view older adults as anachronistic. These stereo
types are harmful, especially if they transíate into discriminatory or ageist treatment.

Think about the theories you've learned in this chapter, and the research findings
you’ve read about; these lessons are very helpful to activity directors. Sociological stud-
ies tell us that data do not support the claims of disengagement theory, so few activity
directors would insist that their oldest residents simply sit quietly all day, waiting to die.
Rather, a knowledge of continuity theories help activ ties directors to plan recreation and
enrichment programs that match their residents’ preferences. For instance, if the activi-
ties director notices that many residents are retired schoolteachers, he or she may try to
arrange regular tutoring activities at a local school or Zoom tutoring sessions. A knowl
edge of continuity theory also helps her to advise family members as they move their loved
one into their new room at the facility. She may suggest ways to set up the furniture or
decorations in the room so that ¡t resembles the place the older adult called home prior to
their relocation.
Yet activities directors’ jobs are not all fun and games. Another key task is supervising
staff. A knowledge of sociology is especially helpful when devising programs and proce-
dures to ensure that direct care staff, such as nursing assistants and doctors, do not behave
in an ageist manner toward residents. As we learned in this chapter, ageism refers to dis-
criminatory or unkind treatment on the basis of one's age. It often takes subtle forms, such The U.S. population is rapidly
as health care providers' tendency to use "elderspeak" or the infantilizing language and tone graying, creating a demand for
workers who can effectively
that people may use when speaking to older adults. A sing-song voice, unnecessarily loud
work with and care for older
or stow explanations, overly simplistic language, and seemingly benign greetings tike "how
adults. An activities director at
are you today, young lady?” are viewed as condescending and disingenuous by older adults
a long-term care facility would
and gerontologists alike (Leland, 2008). Sociological studies further show that when older
benefit from an understanding
adults are treated like children, their mental and even physical health may decline. Sociology
of sociological theories of aging.
makes us sensitive to the fact that even seemingly harmless microagressions can compro-
mise the well-being of older adults. In these many ways, sociology provides an important
/\
knowledge base that will be critical in helping to meet the needs of the large and rapidly
growing population of older adults in the United States and worldwide.
The actions of the aging baby boom cohort may help chip away at outdated and
inaccurate notions of what oíd age is. Older adults are becoming an increasingly large
presence online. In 2018, two-thirds of Americans 65 and older used the Internet, and
more than one-third (37 percent) used social networking sites such as Facebook
(Pew Research Center, 2018a). Experts agree that baby boomers may play a critical role in
further helping to dissolve stereotypes of the frail, senile older adult.
CONCEPT CHECKS
In many ways, older adults face some of the same problems experienced by Coy Mathis
and Caitlyn Jenner, whom we met at the beginning of this chapter. Young boys are expected to 1. Contrast young oíd, oíd
be strong and tough—not “sissies.” Girls, but not boys, are believed to like pink, wear skirts, oíd, and oldest oíd persons.
and behave in a “feminine” way. Likewise, older adults are stereotyped as being old-fashioned 2. Describe at least three
and out of tough. Even thougch these two examples are very different—one involving the common problems that
youngest stage of the life course, the other involving the oldest—they both reveal the power older Americans often
of social expectations. However, social expectations can change over time, and as older gener- confront.
ations die out and are replaced with younger generations holding more contemporary beliefs, 3. Define ageism and
we might expect that stereotypes—whether based on age or gender—will slowly fade away. provide one explanation
for this form of prejudice.
What Are the Challenges of Aging in the United States? 101

CHAPTER 3 Learning Objectives
■U
The
Big Picture
Socialization, the Life Learn about socializati on (including
! gender socialization), í¡nd know the most
Course, and Aging How Are
i important agents of so cialization.
Children
Socialized?
p. 75
Thinking Sociologically Learn the five major stages of the life course,
and see the similarities and differences among
What Are the different cultures and historical periods.
Five Major
1. Concisely review how an individual
becomes a social person according
Stages of the f---------------------------------------------
Life Course?
to the two leading theorists discussed N»
¡n this chapter: George Herbert Mead p. 88
and Jean Piaget. Which of these two
theories seems more appropriate and
correct to you? Explain why.
2. Conforming to gender-typed
A Understand that aging is a combination
of biological, psychological, and social
processes. Consider key theories of aging,
How Do particularly those that focus on how
expectations regarding clothing, hair, People Age? society shapes the social roles of older
and other aspects of personal people and that emphasize aspects of
appearance is one of many things we p. 91 age stratification.
do as a result of socialization. Suggest
how the family, peers, schools, mass
media, and social media help establish
the desire to conform with (or reject)
typically "male" versus “female" What Are the \ —i
expectations for appearance. Which of Challenges of
these forces is the most pervasive? Aging in the Evalúate the experience of growing oíd
Explain. United States? ¡n the contemporary United States. Identify
the physical, emotionat, and financia!
challenges older adults face.
Terms to Know Concept Checks
socializaron • social reproduction

resocialization • desocialization
1. What is social reproduction? What ar e some specific ways that the four
main agents of socialization contribi te to social reproduction?
cognition • social self • self-consciousness • 2. According to Mead, how does a child develop a social self?
generalized other • iooking-glass self • 3. What are the four stages of cognitive development according to Piaget?
sensorimotor stage • preoperational stage • 4. How do the media contribute to gene er socialization?
egocentric • concrete operational stage • formal 5. What are the main components of ra :e socialization?
f
operational stage • agents of socializaron •
nuclear family • hidden curriculum • peer group
social roles • social identity • self-identity •
gender socialization • race socializaron
1 1. What is meant by the term life course?

' 2. What are the five stages of the life course, and what are some defining
i features of each stage?
3. How is midlife different from the life course stages of childhood and later life?
f life course
aging • social gerontologists • disengagement I fi 1. What factors or processes should wc keep ¡n mind when studying aging
theory • activity theory • continuity theory 1 1 or the meaning of being oíd?
• conflict theories of aging 1 2. Summarize the three theoretical franneworks used to describe the nature
|j of aging ¡n U.S. society.
: 3. What are the main criticisms of fuñe ionalism and conflict theory?
young oíd • oíd oíd • oldest oíd • ageism
1. Contrast young oíd, oíd oíd, and oldest oíd persons.

2. Describe at least three common probtems that older Americans
often confront.
| 3. Define ageism and provide one explanation for this form of prejudice.

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Transgender student Coy Mathis and her parents

THE BIG QUESTIONS

How are children socialized?

What are the five major stages of the

Socializaron, Ufe course?

the Life Course, different cultures and historical periods.

How do people age?

and Aging biological, psychological, and social processes.

What are the challenges of aging in

Life Course Transitions /\

Graying of the World

Socialization, the Life Course, and Aging 73

74 CHAPTER 3 Socialization, the Life Course, and Aging

How Are Children

How Are Children Socialized?

76 CHAPTER 3 Socialization, the Life Course, and Aging

question with ease.

How Are Children Socialized? 77

78 CHAPTER 3 Socialization, the Life Course, and Aging

How Are Children Socialized? 79

THE MASS MEDIA

80 CHAPTER 3 Socialization, the Life Course, and Aging

How Are Children Socialized? 81

82 CHAPTER 3 Socialization, the Life Course, and Aging

How Are Children Socialized? 83

84 CHAPTER 3 Socialization, the Life Course, and Aging

New Apps Challenge Kids—and the Gender Binary

Toys today are still typicatly packaged and

86 CHAPTER 3 Socializaron, the Life Course, and Aging

How Are Children Socialized? 87

88 CHAPTER 3 Socializaron, the Life Course, and Aging

sexual development generally seems easier to negotiate. Adolescents in such societies

Midlife or “Middle Age”

What Are the Five Major Stages of the Life Course? 89

90 CHAPTER 3 Socializaron, the Life Course, and Aging

How Do People Age? <

The Meanings of “Age”

Growing Oíd: Trends and Competing social

How Do People Age?

Growth of the Older Population ¡n the United States

92 CHAPTER 3 Socialization, the Life Course, and Aging

27.4 (2018) mL. 27.8

Mean age of women, 2017 data

THE SECOND GENERATION OF THEORIES: SOCIAL CONFLICT

94 CHAPTER 3 Socialization, the Life Course, and Aging

THE THIRD GENERATION OF THEORIES: LIFE COURSE PERSPECTIVES CONCEPT CHECKS

What Are the Challenges of

What Are the Challenges of Aging in the United States?

96 CHAPTER 3 Socializaron, the Lite Course, and Aging

Older population by country

2030 O Median age'

Sweden Bosnia & Chile

China Tunisia Afghanistan

Median age of population 2020 (estímate) report drafted in 2019.

Older population in the United States

65-74 58% ■ White

■ 75-84 29% ■ Black

■ 85+ 13% Asían

98 CHAPTER 3 Socializaron, the Life Course, and Aging

What Are the Challenges of Aging in the United States? 99

noted, loneliness depends on one’s “standards as to what constitutes an optimal network