I recently read an article entitled: Socialization to Gender Roles: Popularity among Elementary School Boys and Girls. As the title suggests, it talks about what classifies a child as "popular" in school. Most of us can recall very early memories of other kids in school who were more or less popular than us. But what did they all have in common? Were they good looking? Really mean? Really nice? Smart? Athletic? Rich? What was it about these people that made us want them to notice us? Why did we want to be like them and be accepted by them even thought they were mean or snobby? And as it relates to my blog, how and why are these questions being presented as early as elementary school?

If you can understand the gender roles that have been pressed upon everyone since birth, then the question of "what makes a kid popular in school?" can be more easily answered. To summarize, the reason is because of social status and gender roles. "Boys achieved high status on the basis of their athletic ability, coolness, toughness, social skills, and success in cross-gender relationships. Girls gained popularity because of their parents' socioeconomic status and their own physical appearance, social skills, and academic success. Although boys' gender images embody more active and achieved features than girls', which are comparatively passive and ascribed, these roles embody complex integrations of oppositional elements that expand and androgenize them." (Adler et. al., 169)


Adler, Peter, Steven J. Kless, and Patricia A. Adler. "Socialization to Gender Roles: Popularity among Elementary School Boys and Girls." Sociology If Education 65.3 (1992): 169-87. JSTOR. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.emich.edu/stable/2112807?seq=2>.

*Mia Evans*