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Masculinity and femininity in society
Masculinity and femininity in society
Stereotypes of masculinity and femininity
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When I think about the differences between men and women, there are many different ways to go about listing their individual distinctions. Although we are both human beings, men and women are in fact totally opposite. Supplementary to the obvious difference, sex type, there are numbers of other subjects left waiting to be analyzed.
When it comes to males, there are scores of behaviors that come natural for them. Males are naturally independent figures. They prefer not to depend on anything but themselves. A man would rather stay lost for days than ask a gas station manager for directions. Men work alone as autonomous beings. It seems that a man would rather fix the kitchen sink himself and do it the wrong way ten different times, than hire a professional who could do it right the first time. They would rather buy a new swing set and put the whole thing together, without reading the instructions, just to have the whole thing fall apart the moment their kid sits on it, than take five minutes to read over the instructions before they start building. Men, being the stubborn, prideful,...
In this paper, I will discuss Wasserstrom’s arguments relating to the unimportance of gender and how differentiating people based on their gender promotes the harmful ideology of sex roles. I will then present Schlafly’s arguments which regard the differences between men and women as justifiable due to the fact that these differences are not only natural, but also practical and obligatory, and show that they are inferior to Wasserstrom’s arguments. I will argue this by elaborating on Wassertrom’s argument of how there is no such thing as “natural” while providing reasons for why this is so.
This doesn’t occur just in their relationships, but in every facet of life. Men are constantly in a struggle for power and control whether it is at work, home, during sports, or in a relationship, this remains true. So the only way for them to get this power is for them to be “men”; tough, strong, masculine, ones that demand and take power. Where does this thirst for control come from? Is it the natural structure of a man, or is it a social construct?
“Ultimately, women have become dependent on men” to perform simple tasks and for resources necessary for survival and reproduction (Lorber, 1994). The two sex-based body types—man and woman—have led to corresponding gender roles and characteristics, which are different lifestyles where certain behaviors are expected based on one’s gender.
Society has taught its people that men are supposed to have certain and different characteristics than women and vice versa. What is difficult to understand is why society split the uncomplicated human characteristics in to two categories. Jensen brings up two important questions in this text pertaining to the separation of characteristics, “What makes these distinctly masculine characteristics? Are they not simply human characteristics?” These questions are really important to discuss because whether an individual is male or female they are still a human and all humans have access to the same set of characteristics. Males and females can express masculinity and they can both express emotions because they are each human. Jensen’s main point about characteristics is that any characteristic can apply to males or females because characteristics are not sex based, they are human
Introduction The topic of gender differences must understandably be approached with caution in our modern world. Emotionally charged and fraught with ideas about political correctness, gender can be a difficult subject to address, particularly when discussed in correlation to behavior and social behavior. Throughout history, many people have strove to understand what makes men and women different. Until the modern era, this topic was generally left up to religious leaders and philosophers to discuss. However, with the acquisition of more specialized medical knowledge of human physiology and the advent of anthropology, we now know a great deal more about gender differences than at any other point in history.
Therefore, they can become demanding, resentful, judgmental, and intolerant of each other (13). However, when men and women learn to respect each other’s differences, they can live in tranquility (Tannen, Talking 40). Men and women react and behave differently when expressing difficult feelings, dealing with stress, and evaluating their self-worth.
Gender differences are influences on gender behavior in the way that one must fit through the assumptions and inevitable confusion to distinguish the reality of the assumption. Men and women are obviously different inherently, but not in what they can and cannot do. Men and women are different and have different roles because this is society presented them to the world. Women have the most difficulty getting through these complicated times. There should be equality among all men and women of all races and ethnicity. This is a never-ending issue. We as a society should always know and act on the importance of gender roles, gender equality, and challenges with education in developed and developing countries.
Gender is not about the biological differences between men and women but rather the behavioral, cultural and psychological traits typically associated with one sex. Gender is socially constructed meaning it 's culturally specific, it 's learned and shared through gender socialization. What it means to be a woman or man is going to differ based on the culture, geographical location, and time. What it meant to be a woman in the US in the 19th century is different than what it means to be a woman in the 21st century. As cultures evolve over time so are the ideals of what it means to be man or woman.
In chapter 1 of his book, Kimmel discusses how these differences are applied to men and women. We are
As we discuss the articles of Anne Fausto- Streling, “The Five Sexes, Revisited” and Marjorie Garber, “The Return to Biology” in class we came to see how these two articles could bring up such controversy. As they question our perspective on human nature as we have always known it to be, from “The Five Sexes, Revisited” stating “absolute dimorphism disintegrates even at the level of basic biology” (176), to “The Return of Biology” saying “Society mandates the control of intersexual bodies because they blur and bridge the great divide” (184). We see many different aspects on how human biology or culture is more than what meets the eye. All I can begin to say is everything we, as the human species, do revolves around dimorphism no matter the questions or contradictions that may arise. The idea that only two sexes exist is still firmly maintained in our society as how things are suppose to be aka the “norm”.
Communication is an essential part of human life. People perceive things in a different way because of ethnic background differences, attitudes and beliefs, etc. These differences may affect our ability to communicate with our counterpart. Therefore, it is necessary to keep our mind open so that we can reduce the risk of communication breakdown. Men and women are different as everyone knows that. However, their differences are no just physiological and anatomical. Recent researches have concluded that there are remarkable differences between the two genders in the way their brains process information, language, emotion, cognition etc. Scientists have discovered the differences in the way men and women carry out mental functions like judging speed, estimating time, spatial visualization and positioning, mental calculation. Men and women are strikingly different not only in these tasks but also in the way their brains process language. This could account for the reason why there are overwhelmingly more male mathematicians, pilots, mechanical engineers, race car drivers and space scientists than females. On the other hand, there are areas in which women outperform men. Women are naturally endowed with better communication and verbal abilities. They are also effective than men in some of the tasks like emotional empathy, establishing human relations, carrying out pre-planned tasks and creative expressions (Kimura 1999).
Historically, the roles of men and women have evolved overtime. For thousands of years, static gender roles were the accepted norm. In the 18th century “the idea that women and men naturally possess distinct characteristics” was a view that many people had (Emsley). Women were believed to be controlled by their emotions whereas men were thought of as
Sex and gender are terms that are mixed up from day to day and seen as similarities rather than differences. Sex is what distinguishes people from being either male or female. It is the natural or biological variations between males and females (Browne, 1998). Some of these variations are genitals, body hair and internal and external organs. It is the make-up of chromosomes, men have one X and one Y chromosome and women have two X chromosomes, these are responsible for primary characteristics (Fulcher and Scott, 2003). Gender on the other hand refers to the sociological differences between male and female. This is teaching males and females to behave in various ways due to socialisation (Browne, 1998). Example: masculinity and femininity. Girls are supposed to show their femininity by being non-competitive, sensitive, dependent, attractive and placid. If and when some girls don’t succeed in keeping this image they will be referred to as a tomboy. On the other hand, boys show their masculinity through aggression, physical strength...
Males and females are generally distinguished from their nature and their abilities to perform certain jobs. Females are addicted to fashion but males are not addicted to this materialistic world. Males and females both have their own ways of entertaining themselves. Males are generally considered to be strong according to strength. Thus, both males and females are differentiated using the terms masculinity and femininity.
Gender roles and identity are constantly shifting throughout different societal generations. Men and woman both have notable similarities and differences in genders and they each contribute to their personalities and actions. In the past men have been viewed as a more dominant sex in society over women, both in careers, home life, and sexually, however, today women have bridged many of the gaps and society is accepting a more equal view of genders. The following examines the similarities and differences between men and woman by looking at biological characteristics, gender roles, and sexual responses.