The Social Construction of Gender

In his article Devor states, “People use femininity or masculinity to claim and communicate their membership in their assigned, or choose, sex or gender. Others recognize [individuals] more on the basis of these characteristics than on the basis of sex characteristics,” (505). This quote insinuates that in order for society to recognized one as male or female one must meet the requirements of what it means to be feminine or masculine because the structure of one 's anatomy alone is not significant enough to matter. People fear that by failing to exhibit these set gender traits they will fail to fit into a category of male or female. In Nelson’s article she announces how, “Tall women tell [her] they won’t wear heels because they don’t want to appear taller than their husbands or boyfriends, even by an inch,” (525).

When really they were supposed to be born the same sex as their gender, but ended up being born the wrong sex. This causes lots of problems for people who aren’t cisgendered, it makes people less accepting of them, they have more issues acquiring a job, more often suffer abuse/cruelty and lack many rights. Unfortunately even within the LGBTQ movement Trans people can face hatred. People who are Trans tend to face hatred for dressing and behave according to their gender instead of their birth sex. And many people still consider them to be their birth sex even after going thru the entire sex change procedure.

Alice Dreger believes in the odd occurrences of how a person can be a female on the outside but have internal male reproductive organs. She believes that an individual who that happens to has a right to still play his or her external gender role. She believes that just because an individual happened to be born with different internal reproductive organs that the circumstance shouldn’t change how others view them. An individual can still live their lifestyle as what they are externally but they just won’t be able to reproduce that way. The fact that not everyone will know this ... ... middle of paper ... ...ow society that their specific gender can achieve what society said they couldn’t.

Gender stereotypes have damaged communities by backing people into a corner. Both genders should be treated equally because there is something they have in common, having humanity. Gender roles have been defined and it seems almost impossible to shift the scale of the role for men and women. Men are supposed to be strong and women are supposed to be fragile. Michael Kimmel said when asking young women what they think it means to be a woman, they give him a puzzled look, and basically say whatever they wish.

In other words, it means that sex is what we are born with; either a male or a female and is difficult to change, whereas gender is the character given to us by the society. Indeed, nowadays, it is not a surprise to see man behaving in a feminine way or a woman acting like a man. Some people do not feel comfortable in their actual skin to the extent that they want to do sex change operation. Gender inequality Gender is an important aspect of our social life; it comprises of power relations, the division of labour, symbolic forms and emotional relations (Connel, 2000). Wharton (2005:21) views gender as a ‘system of social practices’ which gives rise to gender distinctions and maintains it.

Although many parents would disagree, there is mounting evidence to suggest that raising children to fulfill strict gender roles is a major contributor to continuing gender inequality in American society. For the sake of clarity, let’s define the word “gender.” Socially, we associate the word “gender” very closely with the word “sex”, to the point where most people think the words are interchangeable. The word sex refers primarily to the external genitalia someone was born with. Gender, however, is a socially invented construct, in which American society in particular “…assumes that there are [only] two sexes, male and female, and flowing from those two sexes are two genders, masculine and feminine, and that all people fall into one of those... ... middle of paper ... ... Examining Gender Roles in Television Commercials Targeted at Children in India and the United States.

Often as children queer people get a sense that they don't fit with society's codes. It may not be completely clear to some individuals at first in what way they don't fit; instead they feel a vague sense o... ... middle of paper ... ...interpret for them. The term gender is a little sexist because it associates sex with social status. As for me I think that gender is a little out dated. Sex is a sufficient enough classification to separate men, women, and the people who are confused about what they are.

Gender role socialization often reinforces gender inequality because men and women are expected to fulfill their specific “gender roles”. We live in a society where there are only two perceived genders. Gender is implicated in homophobia more generally and in “fag discourse” specifically. In this paper I will talk about the connections between gender and sexuality. The article “What it Means to be Gendered Me” by Betsy Lucal examines how gender is structured and socialized in the US.

Around the world gender is genuinely seen as strictly male or female. If you step out of this “social norm,” you could be considered an outcast. This disassociation includes, biological males/females, interssexed, and transgendered individuals. These people are severely suppressed by society because their gender identification, behaviors, and even their activities deviate from the norm. Most Americans are exceedingly devoted to the concept that there are only two sexes.

Throughout this paper there will be a repetition of terms that have lost their meaning due to their overuse. For example gender, a term often interchanged with sex, does not actually refer to the biological assignment of male or female but is each person’s perception of what society deems as “male” and “female” and how each person associates themselves. Although there are plenty of different accepted genders in society (third gender category) the two in focus will be male and female. The focus falls on the ultimatum settings of male or female as they are the most socially accepted gender roles. There ought to be equality for all genders alike, but the fact that society has yet to master equality between male and females only shows lack of tolerance, an... ... middle of paper ... ... & Vanneman, R. (2004).