Gender Role Behaviors In Devor's Becoming Members Of Society

1342 Words3 Pages

Are gender role behaviors a social construct that everyone must follow? Must we believe in these set of concrete beliefs and not in ourselves? In today’s society, gender role behaviors constrict teenage boys’ expression of themselves, and instead they act in a way that is expected by society. As a result, teenage boys are pressured to act towards women a certain way, believe certain genders have certain behaviors, and believe the idea that genders must dress a certain way. With this structured mindset, aren 't all teenage boys suffering from an identity crisis?
In Devor’s article, “Becoming Members of Society: Learning the social Meanings of Gender” one can better understand how society has a big impact on how gender is perceived. Understanding …show more content…

His work also sheds light on why different gender roles are hard for people to accept, due to the way they were brought up, and the culture they are surrounded by (Devor 8). With the belief that gender role behaviors are concrete, teenage boys believe that they must act according to their gender.
The idea that teenage boys should act a certain way towards females is usually instilled in them at a young age. According to Devor, “ Femininity must be expressed through modes of… action which communicate weakness, dependency, ineffectualness, availability for sexual or emotional service, and sensitivity to the needs of others” (Devor 6-7). In other words, men have to place women on a lower pedestal because of a woman’s so called “needs” (Devor 6). The “needs” that women express are feminine characteristics. The characteristics of females listed by Devor, does not show any sign of power or dominance. Since society believes gender is a patriarchy, females have no influence and need attention. This shows that men adjust their actions around women, since they believe that women need special attention. Furthermore, if a male possesses anything non-masculine,

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