While there are many competing theories surrounding the development of gender roles, this one fact is incontestable and unavoidable: men and women are socialized differently. There is not yet enough conclusive evidence to determine how large of a role biology plays in creating the gendered psyches, but, whilst scientists continue to explore the intricacies of neurology, we can draw conclusions about how social mores assist in instilling masculinity and femininity into our culture. The following pages will explore how U.S. culture affects the socialization of its males.The male infant born in the United States of America is born into a legacy of masculine expectations. From pre-industrial times until the 1960s, the good provider role of fathers dominated family ideology. Although all family members contributed to subsistence activities during pre-industrial times, men provided the dominant source of authority within the household. When the economy of the U.S. moved outside of the household during the industrial revolution, mens family roles became primarily concerned with economic support. Due to the nature of this necessary absence of the father from his family, sons (and daughters) viewed their fathers role within the family to be primarily that of the provider. While the mothers job was to provide emotional support and nurturing, the fathers job was to provide security in the form of finances.During the 1960s, women began to elbow their way into the work force in larger numbers while men simultaneously began a retreat from their instrumental role in financial security. This retreat manifested itself in two ways: men either increased their activity in child rearing and household duties, or turned away from those roles entirely. Within a household that has a father present, a son identifies his father as being akin to himself. If, as is the pattern with most families living within the U.S., the father remains the primary bre...
