we engage. Yet socialisation is also at the origin of our very individuality and freedom. In the course of socialisation each of us develops a sense of self-identity, and the capacity for independent thought and action. How Gendered is Socialisation?
We boys used the streets for so many different things — as a place to stand around watching, to run around and play, try out the manoeuvrability of our bikes. Not so for girls. As we noticed all the time, for girls the street was simply a means to get straight home from school. And even for this limited use of the street they always went in clusters, perhaps because behind their purposeful demeanour they carried the worst fears of being assaulted (Kumar ).
Activity We have completed four chapters. Read the text of the next page carefully and discuss the following themes : The relation between individual and society in the girl’s rebellion against grown-ups. How the normative dimensions of culture are different in town and village? The question of ascribed status in that the priest’s daughter is permitted to touch.
Conflict between socialising agencies for example in the text note: “thankful none of her school friends could see her like this”. Can you find any other sentence that illustrates this? Gendered = combing hair + escort + not playing football Punishment = “tight-lipped silence” + conspicuous absence of pappadams An unusual sense of excitement pervaded her visit to the temple this evening. There had been an argument over lunch, between her and the grown-ups, when she had announced her decision to ring the bell in front of the sanctuary.
‘If Thangam can ring it, so can I,’ she debated hotly. They protested in shocked voices. ‘Thangam is the daughter of the temple priest, she is permitted to touch the bell.’ She responded angrily that Thangam came over to play hide-and-seek every afternoon and behaved no differently from any of them. ‘Besides,’ she added, goading them deliberately, ‘we are equal in the eyes of god.’ She was not quite sure whether they had heard this bit, for