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Impact of gender stereotypes in society
Impact of gender stereotypes in society
What are the physiological differences between men and women
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Gender Differences
When each of us was in our mother's womb and shortly after we were conceived we did not have anything or anyone influencing the way we acted. After birth within a couple of months, although we do not remember but we can observe, our fathers and mothers were bearing an influence on our lives. While we were growing up and still to this day our surroundings influenced the way we think and behaved in our daily lives. We know people who are different in many ways and people who are similar to us in many ways. These differences and similarities take on different characteristics some are more subtle and some are very out right noticeable. However, for each individual the differences and similarities from one person to the next are going to vary in different ways. People all have relationships and these relations are how we identify with our friends and other people. One of the most noticeable characteristics between all people is the fact that some are male and some are female. On the other hand the masculine and feminine traits in people are not nearly as noticeable even though all people show characteristics of both.
The differences in males and females to most people are obvious; their biology is different causing them to have different sexual traits. They have different organs and different chemicals that make a man a male and a woman a female. However, biology is not selective within one generation and does not choose the characteristics males and females portray throughout their lives. I say one generation because an example of color blindness is brought up on page 16, but this is a random selection of one generation to the next generation in males. Also, some characteristics are learned and ...
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...re well defined for most use in common-day language. The author of the first article, Gentile (pg. 14), went overboard in trying to think of 5 terms to describe these two different words. I agree more with Deaux (pg. 22) in the sense that a clarification of each word could be taught, like "sex linked" or "gender linked." This clarification would help people better understand that male and female roles do not have to be quite as closely associated as people believed in the past. This would alleviate much of the societal pressures and influences that come with the masculine and feminine definitions used to describe a person's traits.
Bibliography:
Man-Made medicine and Women's Health: The Biopolitics of Sex/Gender and Race/Ethnicity. In: Questions of Gender: Perspectives and Paradoxes. (Anselmi, D.L., A.L. Law, editors), McGraw Hill, 665-689.
Mary Zimmerman framed that women have not had ultimate control over their own bodies and health as a fundamental assumption underlying women’s health movement. Men control and dominate a huge portion of the of decision making roles in the healthcare field, such as health related research, health policy etc. Whereas women are more seen in social positions. According to the article “The Women’s Health Movement” by Mary K. Zimmerman, the concept of medicalization is the “increasing tendency to apply medical definitions and control to phenomena not previously thought of as medical problems (Zola, 1972; Conrad and Schneider, 1980). In the 1950’s a drug called Thalidomide was created by a German company, claiming that it was safe for pregnant women. Although many women were still using this drug during this time, in 1961, reports began to surface that this drug was causing several birth defects and other health problems. The author presented the Thalidomide case as an example of medicalization by showing us the potential consequences of a style medical
While sex refers the biological characteristics that make up a person, their gender is determined by the behaviors and attitudes considered “proper” by society according to their sex.
The clusters of social definitions used to identify persons by gender are collectively known as “femininity” and “masculinity.” Masculine characteristics are used to identify persons as males, while feminine ones are used as signifiers for femaleness. People use femininity or masculinity to claim and communicate their membership in their assigned, or chosen, sex or gender. Others recognize our sex or gender more on the basis of these characteristics than on the basis of sex characteristics, which are usually largely covered by clothing in daily life.
The human species is qualified as a man and women. Categorically, gender roles relative to the identifying role are characterized as being either masculine or feminine. In the article “Becoming Members Of Society: Learning The Social Meanings Of Gender by Aaron H. Devor, says that “children begin to settle into a gender identity between the age of eighteen months and two years (Devor 387). The intricate workings of the masculine and feminine gender roles are very multifaceted and at the same time, very delicate. They are intertwined into our personalities and give us our gender identities (Devor 390). Our society is maintained by social norms that as individuals, we are consciously unaware of but knowingly understand they are necessary to get along out in the public eye which is our “generalized other” and in our inner circle of family and friends which is our “significant others” (Devor 390). Our learned behaviors signify whether our gender
Connell: Chapters 4 “Sex Differences & Gendered Bodies”: I found this entire chapter quite intriguing, but I really appreciate the way that Connell approaches the ways in which males and females differ and yet she also points out how there is no significant difference in brain anatomy and function between sexes. I found the statement by neuroscientist Lesley Rogers incredibly interesting, she states, “The brain does not choose neatly to be wither a female or a male type. In any aspect of brain function that we can measure there is considerable overlap between females and males” (p.52). This statement when paired with information about the affect social processes have on the body it is mind boggling to realize, as Connell states, “biology bends to the hurricane of social discipline” (p.55). It is unnerving to think that I am merely a product of my society. Not only has society shaped my beliefs, values, manners and religion, but it has also shaped my physical body? If I understand this correctly, it is incredibly disturbing.
People often believe a person 's gender is based on their biological sex; biological sex is defined as the anatomy you are born with. Gender is the identity of a person based on their environment and how they have been influenced. Which shows that the biological makeup of a person and what gender they identify with has nothing to do with each other. Today gender and sexuality has become so fluent that gender role stereotypes should be changed too; over decades of powerful movements have been made to change stereotypes but the work is not over.
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.
If we try to categorize human by the term “gender”, people will be divided into two groups, males and females. Using this kind of categorization, it is considering people who belong in the same group are similar, and these two groups are very different from each other. However in real life, men and women’s characteristics tend to overlap (Crespi) . Even people who are in the same group may have different characteristics and personalities which are formed influencing by the environment and experiences.
Riska, E. (1993). Gender, Work, and Medicine: Women and the Medical Division of Labour. London: Sage Publications.
The physical differences between males and females are pretty obvious. Males have deeper voices, more hair, and usually big bodies. Females are more petite, have softer voices, and less testosterone. In addition, both males and females have very different sex organs. Both genders think and learn differently in many ways. Everyone has a left and a right side of their brains, but some are more dominant to one side or the other. Males usually think more spatial or mathematical about things, where as, females are better at understanding language and social subjects. When we act out in behavior the difference between sexes is quite amazing. Testosterone greatly affects our personality and behaviors. The more testosterone may make someone break out in aggression or be different in how we
I do not pretend to be a complete expert in the vast world of men and women. However, as one of these creatures, I decided early on in life to do my best to figure out the relationship between us and our counterparts. This was very interesting to me because, unlike most people, I do not believe that we simply "evolved" to become what we are today. I believe we were created the way we are by a very big God who knew what He was doing, and did it for a purpose. After a mere 18 years of observation, I have concluded that we as humans are trying to look too deeply into the purpose of "man" and "woman." We make the relationship too complicated. We need to stop prying into why men like football and women like quilts, and simply accept that we do. That is the way it is. And as I shall point out, that is the way it is best.
...sight into them both entirely. It would be an obvious assumption to assume that sex and gender have a very close relationship by just looking at the biological side. However, after conducting an independent research, it is obvious that this is not the case. Gender is a socially constructed concept. From the moment you are born and whether or not you are dressed in pink or blue is the beginning of your gender being socially constructed. However, although it may be seen that some of these construction are a problem, I believe that people can tend to fall into some of these theories without realising. Overall after looking at theories of both men and women I believe that their sex and their gender are not related. I also believe that society is now having a larger hold up the relationship between sex and gender especially now after the recent declaration in Australia.
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.
When looking at the biological make up of male and females, there are both similar physical characteristics