Gender identity is a private idea on how an individual identifies either as a male or female, some may also identify as both or neither. Gender identity is essentially self-identified, this is resulted by the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, i.e. induced by biological and social factors. Gender identity is a powerful aspect of self-concept that is formed in early childhoods and is very resistant to change in most adults, (Lips, 2001: 54).
Gender identity steadily develops in levels with age. It has been shown that from as early as 9-12 months, children have the capability to distinguish people by gender, they react to pictures of faces of males and females differently, (Brooks-Gunn, J., & Lewis, M. 1979). By 2 years of age, children
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The social learning theory of gender development understands that parents, media and culture act as socialising agents – as they explicitly teach children the significance of gender appropriate behaviour. Parents contribute towards gender development as they positively reinforce (reward) children when a gender-appropriate act is carried out therefore increasing the likelihood of that specific behaviour being repeated again (Lewis, 1975). Stereotyped gender behaviour is outwardly expressed in media and this creates a guide for appropriate behaviours, children learn and observe these through vicarious reinforcement (Gunter, 1986). Culture also influence gender mannerisms and also portray gender stereotypes, for example, western societies acquire a stereotypical concept which believes that men are aggressive and competitive whereas women and expressive and cooperative. Therefore, it can be argued that gender identity is not inherent but in fact it is manipulated by social and cultural environments, (Argosy University, …show more content…
One problem with the biological approach in explaining gender identity is that it is very deterministic. All behaviours are assumed to be innate and out of conscious control and the influence of free will is disregarded. Thus, the biological explanation lacks external reliability. The biological explanation has also been heavily critiqued by Durkin (1995), who highlighted that if sex differences are due to biological factors, they would be evident before social understandings begin. Children do not acknowledge sex differences until they have reached the social stage, this is primarily due to style of parent’s rearing practices which impacts how the child chooses to identify in terms of gender. The theory therefore should consider other factors before settling on a fixed concept.
There are also limitations regarding the social explanations for gender identity. One problem with this particular theory is that it is a reductionist approach. The social theory does not think about the influence of biological factors and only focus on the impact if situational factors as it fails to provide a holistic view on gender identity, this results in the social theory lacking in internal validity. Also, psychological critics have debated that the social theory does not explain learning styles and processes can change with
“We have been very conditioned by the cultures that we come from and are usually very identified with the particular gender that we happen to be a member of.” This quote by Andrew Cohen explains partially how gender identity develops, through the conditioning of our environments. The most influential factor of gender development, however, is still a very controversial issue. An analysis of the gender identification process reveals two main arguments in what factor most greatly contributes to gender development: biology differences (nature) or the environment (nurture).
When discussing the meaning of gender identity, each and every person has a different view and perception. Most times, these views are instilled upon them throughout their childhood whether they are fully aware of it or not. As a result, some children feel forced to conform to the stereotypical gender roles and identities defined by society. For me, however, that was never a problem.
Children reach the first stage, gender identity, in which they are supposed to label their own gender, by the age of approximately two years. Also, children tend to be able to label others, such as their parents as male or female. Nevertheless, their gender believes are still based on physical characteristics.
One of the most interesting aspects of young infants is the development of the sense of gender. Infants begin to understand gender from 18 months. They start to notice some distinguishable characteristics such as clothes or hair. The first gender concept they recognize is gender identity, which is simply labelling self and others as male or female. From the age of two, children realize that sex is something what we cannot change and it persist through our whole lives. People tend to misunderstand the term ‘gender’ with ‘sex’. Sex refers to biological state that differentiates organisms in two categories: male or female. We are born as males or females and there are many biological characteristics that differentiate us from each other, such as pairs of chromosomes or anatomy. On the other hand, gender is seen as socially determined difference based upon the biological differences between the sexes. It refers to the economic, social and cultural attributes associated with being male or female (Bee, 1995). In many societies being male or female brings many expectations such as wearing appropriate clothes, behaving or working in a manner that is either feminine or masculine. This essay will compare and contrast two theories of gender role development, psychoanalytic theory and social learning theory.
The actual timeframe in which kids discover their genders is open for debate, as not all scientists agree on the ages. Blum states, “some scientists argue for some evidence of gender awareness in infancy, perhaps by the age of 12 months. The consensus seems to be that full-blown “I’m a girl” or “I’m a boy” instincts arrive between the ages of 2 and 3” (Blum 208). Furthermore, the family environment plays a massive role in helping children discover their sex. Children living in a long-established family setting that has a father and a mother might develop their gender identities more closely. In contrast, children in a contemporary family environment might grasp a more diverse view of gender roles, such as everyone participating in cleaning the house and not just mom. As children grow older, they naturally develop behavior patterns of close relations with the kids of the same sex, and prefer to spend their time with them. Blum explains “interviews with children find that 3-year-olds say that about half their friendships are with the opposite sex” (Blum 208). In this stage of life, the boys want to hang out with other boys. Similarly, girls wanted to spend more time with the other girls. As a result, each gender has little or no contact with each other until they approach their teenage years. Overall, the question here is whether our gender roles occur naturally or affected by family and friends. I believe it is a case for both, because I remember growing up in a “traditional” household where I saw the distinctions between my mother and father. My father went to work every day and my mother took care of me and my brother. Furthermore, my understanding of gender carried on into my school years, as I preferred hanging out with other boys and did boy stuff until I started dating. I also understand that gender behaviors and roles do not stop at this point, and we continue to develop other behaviors
Identity is most clearly defined as a person 's own sense of self; their personal sense of who they are. Every individual has to start somewhere, and the beginning looks different for each person. Many start to question gender in a conscious way, while many others have tussled with it for years or decades. Masculinity and femininity are two terms, we hear in our every day-to-day life. “Gender is such a familiar part of daily life that it usually takes a deliberate disruption of our expectations of women and men are supposed to act to pay attention to how it is produced” (Judith Lorber, “The Social Construction of Gender,” in Kirk and Okazawa-Rey, Women’s Lives, p. 65).
The children, who were 4-10 years old, and adults were then asked what characteristics the child would have at age 10 in each of the given scenarios (Taylor 1558). This study was different from previous studies in that it does not ask the children to explain the origins of gender differences, but encourages them to view how they picture the outcomes of a scenario where biological and social factors conflict with each other (Taylor 1558). One hundred sixty children participated in this study, where eighty were assigned to the opposite sex environment scenario and eighty were assigned to the same sex environment scenario (Taylor 1559). Additionally, 32 college students participated in the study through completing a questionnaire (Taylor 1559). Children were tested in isolation by a female experimenter, who told two stories, one with a female character and the other with a male character (Taylor 1559). The children were then asked a set of questions about approximately 20 properties of the character, of a gender-neutral name, would have when he or she turned age 10 (Taylor 1559). Twelve properties related to stereotypes, while four questions related to biological properties; and in addition to those, the children were also asked about four “environmental control” items, which evaluated the children’s memory of the stories (Taylor
Completion of this assignment requires me to identify what gender identity is and how society may identify our gender identity as acquired or ascribed. I will use relative forms of information such as text books and the internet to discuss the macro and micro sociological views towards gender identity.
While our current society has become more accepting of other genders that do not conform to the typical male and female genders it holds, it is still quite persistent in that act of gendering certain items, behaviours and attributes as feminine or masculine. This gendering occurs even before birth with events such as the baby shower where the baby 's sex is revealed, but it is mostly recognizable in the toys advertised and sold to children. Burack states that, “ gender socialization is the process of interaction through which we learn the gender norms of our culture and acquire a sense of ourselves and feminine, masculine or even androgynous”, children therefore experience the effects of gender socialization from their toys and the society they grow up in and often keep the mindset that they have learned throughout their lives (Gender Socialization).
In today’s society, it can be argued that the choice of being male or female is up to others more than you. A child’s appearance, beliefs and emotions are controlled until they have completely understood what they were “born to be.” In the article Learning to Be Gendered, Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell- Ginet speaks out on how we are influenced to differentiate ourselves through gender. It starts with our parents, creating our appearances, names and behaviors and distinguishing them into a male or female thing. Eventually, we grow to continue this action on our own by watching our peers. From personal experience, a child cannot freely choose the gender that suits them best unless our society approves.
Without a doubt, many truly believe that one 's biological sex is invariably tied to specific gender characteristics, as if these qualities are encoded in X and Y chromosomes. The inability to consider gender characteristics as distinct from biological sex is rooted in the fact that from birth, a child is socialized into the gender role that is paired with their biological sex. Of course, these gender roles may differ from culture to culture, but what remains constant is the early process of socializing a child into a restrictive gender role based on whether they are male or female. Crespi (2014) elaborates on this phenomenon by explaining that gender polarization has segmented men and wome...
Green, R. (1971). Diagnosis and treatment of gender identity disorders during childhood [Abstract]. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1(2), 167-173. doi: 10.1007/BF01541061
At a tender age both girls and boys grow up with perceptions in their minds about what it means to be a girl or a boy. This has also engraved limitation...
Even though it is not often that someone tries to segregate themselves from a gender physically, people distinguish genders and almost segregate themselves from the features of the opposite gender. Society always chooses to apply gender aspects into individuals. As mentioned by Barbara Risman and Georgiann Davis (2013: pp737), “Babies assigned to male category are encouraged to engage in masculine behaviours, offered boy-appropriate toys, rewarded for playing with them, and punished for acting in girlish ways” this shows that society forces gender features on individuals. This similarly also applies to girls who are raised in a feminine way. It is up to the society how both genders get characterised and how they are differentiated by
It would seem that gender is simple to understand. When most people think of gender they think of the basic characteristics of being male or female but Gender Theory calls for more than just thinking about gender in a way that has only two categories. When talking about theories of gender it requires a separation of sex and gender. One must reject the stereotypical attributes that are associated with belonging to a certain sex. This essay will identify and define four approaches to gender development under the biological, interpersonal, critical and cultural theoretical approaches to gender. I will then specify the one that I believe is most valid.