Gender

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Research continues to be conducted on the interaction of gender, ethnicity, and our identity. This is a subject that has impact to us all. Since I am a female and thirty seven years old I have seen a lot of changes over the years in regards to this area.
Identity is defined as the concept of who a person is and represents a blending as well as an synthesis of our self understanding. Our identity can change as we age. This can be due to many influences in our lives. Our identity is an important part of who we are and is used to define ourselves. There are many aspects to identity that include our career, our political beliefs, our spiritual beliefs, our marital status, and our desire to achieve or strive for goals. It includes our sexual orientation, where we live, our activities, our characteristics of our personality, and our body image. All of these aspects come into play in our definition of identity. This our definition of who we see ourselves to be. (Santrock, 2011)
Gender contributes to identity formation in several ways. It influences how we perceive ourselves. This in part is due to stereotypes of gender. The image of little girls and little boys. Little girls like pink and play with dolls. Some of the old stereotypes that influence how we see not only ourselves but others. The first concept is wether we see ourselves as being more feminine of masculine. Many of the influences on gender and they way it is perceived comes from our society. (Santrock, 2011)
There are many theories on how gender develops in a society. Some of these hold some truth to the reality. Many believe that our biology is our destiny. Our hormones dictate how we will behave and how we will think. Other theories indicate that our society has a lar...

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...ptable in another. Some of this includes things such as eye contact or respect for ones elders. We have to keep in mind that in some cultures feminine modesty is still a very large part of their gender identity. (Santrock, 2011)
The role of gender and ethnicity in young minorities in British citizens was studied. The focus was on how they transfer into adulthood and the impact of both gender and ethnicity. Young people transition into adulthood has been shown to indeed be affected by gender and ethnic considerations. This interplay of gender and ethnicity should also include the influence of religion on how children will make choice on how to live their lives. It is best to remain cognizant about the differences and similarities between gender and ethnicity when it comes to policy and research. This is true not just in UK but in other cultures as well. (Basit, 2012)

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