The Production of Gender and Sexuality by the Family

Simone deBeauvoir once said, "A woman is not born, but made." This famous quote refers to the socialization of gender, how one is taught how to perform one's gender by society. Embedded inside society, are the norms and rules for every institution, including gender and sexuality. Both gender and sexuality are products of socialization, although gender is what usually is spoken about. Gender and sexuality are both formed inside the family in many different ways. While one is not necessarily the product of the other, and indeed one can form to the norms for one institution, and against the norms for the other, gender and sexuality are linked.

Berk's concept of the gender factory is a prime example of how the family produces. The concept states that the family is a factory that produces gender. However, since gender and sexuality are linked, this would mean that family is also a factory of sexuality. Gender is produced through various manners such as the assigning of chores, and observing what roles the parents take on around the household and life. In the instance of chores, supporting the family myths inequalities where men get less work, boys would get the traditional masculine chores, while girls would be assigned domestic chores, such as washing dishes, cooking, and cleaning. Children observe what happens every day, when their mother comes home from work, and then still have to perform a "second shift" of work around the house by cooking and tidying up.