Gender: A Socially Constructed Ideal

2500 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender roles and social norms

Where does a boy learn to be a man and a girl learn to be a woman? If is impossible for one to pinpoint the exact moment in time where they learned what it means to be a boy or a girl. The reason? Gender roles are a result of constant exposure to gender socialization. From birth forward, we become susceptible to society’s opinion on what a male or female should consist of. The way we dress, the way we act, the choices we make, and the way we interact with others can all be linked in some way back to the gender roles present in our lives. While that may not seem like such a bad thing, gender roles can prove to be quite detrimental to the growth and development of a child. This is because gender roles provide stringent guidelines that one feels compelled to adhere to, leaving little choice and autonomy for a child growing up in our society.

In order to explore the origins of how gender roles are learned, a solid definition of gender versus sex must be developed. Sex is completely biological, and the physical sex organs one is born with are determined by nature. Gender, on the other hand, is not biological in any sense—it is in fact something that is decided and dictated by societal and parental influence. What it means to be male or female is something that we are taught. Contrary to popular belief, it is clearly not something that comes preprogrammed into our brains. The American Psychological Association defines gender as “…the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for boys and men or girls and women. These influence the ways that people act, interact, and feel about themselves.” This definition confirms that gender is learned, rather than inherited. As psych...

... middle of paper ...

...Web. 13 Nov. 2011.

Bruner, Jerome S., and Helen Haste. Making Sense: The Child's Construction of the World. Hoboken: Routledge, 2011. eBook

"Child Gender Identity." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. TVO Parents, 30 Apr. 2009. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.

"Gender Identity and Gender Confusion In Children." Healthy Children. American Academy of Pediatrics, 11 May 2011. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.

Hoffman, Jan. "Boys Will Be Boys? Not in These Families."New York Times 10 Jun 2011, n. pag. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.

Maes, Cheryl. E-mail Interview. 16 Nov 2011.

McDaniel, Sarah, Kelsi Caywood, and Natalie Wahl. "Should Children Be Raised Gender Neutral? (Our Turn Column)." Michigan Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - MLive.com. Kalamazoo Gazette. Web. 07 Nov. 2011.

Ya-Lun, Tsao. "Gender Issues in Young Children's Literature."Reading Improvement. (2009): 108-14. Web. 6 Nov. 2011.

Show More
Related

  • Public Validation of Gender in Euripides’ "The Bacchae"

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gender is not solely taught. It is perceived labeled and in some cases adopted. Gender recognition is taught through contrast. Unconsciously as I walk the streets of New York City, I mentally label everyone who walks by me. Yet I pause and acknowledge those who are less instinctively male or female (masculine or feminine). A man with long fine hair comes off to me as more effeminate.

    Read More

  • Defining Masculinity and Femininity: The Yin and Yang of Gender

    1572 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the article, "Becoming Member of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender" by Aaron H. Devor, Devor discusses how gender is formed in society. Normally, femaleness and maleness appear to be "natural," instead of something caused by socialization. Although, in this article, Devor finds that while there are obviously biological reason behind why one chooses the gender they choose, there are also social factors that play part in how maleness and femaleness are created. Throughout this article, Devor discusses what defines one as a male, and one as a female. Devor also touched briefly on how the two genders intertwine together to create a sort of communion. Devor should have further went into how male characteristics and female characteristics can be seen as having a yin and yang relationship.

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes In Pleasantville Betty Parker

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast Two Theories of Gender Role Development

    1366 Words  | 3 Pages

    Björklund, D. F. (2012). Children‘s thinking: Cognitive development and individual differences (5th Ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Society

    1030 Words  | 3 Pages

    Suggested roles of all types set the stage for how human beings perceive their life should be. Gender roles are one of the most dangerous roles that society faces today. With all of the controversy applied to male vs. female dominance in households, and in the workplace, there seems to be an argument either way. In the essay, “Men as Success Objects”, the author Warren Farrell explains this threat of society as a whole. Farrell explains the difference of men and women growing up and how they believe their role in society to be. He justifies that it doesn’t just appear in marriage, but in the earliest stages of life. Similarly, in the essay “Roles of Sexes”, real life applications are explored in two different novels. The synthesis between these two essays proves how prevalent roles are in even the smallest part of a concept and how it is relatively an inevitable subject.

    Read More

  • Gender Expression and Social Norms

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    Therefore, the constrictive American ideals of male and female gender identities inhibits growth and acceptance of gender expression. Each gender is separated by rules and guidelines that they must abide by. This, in turn, creates inner tensions that inhibit personal growth. For males, this may be, or is, an extraordinarily arduous task. More often than not, it is other male figures, such as the father, that administer and enforce these certain rules.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Society

    379 Words  | 1 Pages

    Society places ideas concerning proper behaviors regarding gender roles. Over the years, I noticed that society's rules and expectations for men and women are very different. Men have standards and specific career goals that we must live up to according to how others judge.

    Read More

  • Awareness in Boys and Girls by Alice Munro

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is not an easy task for a child to understand the obligations that accompany their assigned gender, yet while they encounter difficulties processing these thoughts they are also achieving a greater sense of identity. Different stages of life consist of social rules that encode how one is to behave, however, it is not clearly defined when the transition should occur from young girl to young woman. It is not surprising that learning about gender roles and their associated responsibilities is not an easy part of a young child’s maturation and is often the result of a very emotionally charged collection of experiences.

    Read More

  • The Gender Binary And Social Construction

    1237 Words  | 3 Pages

    I will be examining the very much discussed topic of whether the gender binary is universal or a social construction. First, I will discuss the concepts of gender and the gender binary. Second, I will touch on whether I believe the gender binary is universal or a social construction. Third, I will analyze what gender means for individuals and society. Using the information, I will conclude my examination with final thoughts for my claim.

    Read More

  • Learning To Be Gendered: An Analysis Of Gender Dichotomy

    353 Words  | 1 Pages

    In “ Learning to be Gendered” authors Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet both argue that being a man or a women is more than a sexual organ it's the way society and parents have taught you what male and female should be.This is shown when the authors state “thus the dichotomy of male and female is ground upon which we build shelves from the moment of birth.(737)”In this quote the authors urge whether the separation or contrast between men and women dependent on the way they are taught to be from birth.The authors insist that society begins to gender you from birth.According to the authors society does this when as soon as the child is born in the “hospital nurseries provide pink caps for girls and blue caps for boys.(737)”In other words

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Society

    1583 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since the beginning of time men have played the dominant role in nearly every culture around the world. If the men were not dominant, then the women and men in the culture were equal. Never has a culture been found where women have dominated. In “Society and Sex Roles” by Ernestine Friedl, Friedl supports the previous statement and suggests that “although the degree of masculine authority may vary from one group to the next, males always have more power” (261). Friedl discusses a variety of diverse conditions that determine different degrees of male dominance focusing mainly on the distribution of resources. In The Forest People by Colin Turnbull, Turnbull describes the culture of the BaMbuti while incorporating the evident sex roles among these “people of the forest”. I believe that the sex roles of the BaMbuti depicted by Turnbull definitely follow the pattern that is the basis of Freidl’s arguments about the conditions that determine variations of male dominance. Through examples of different accounts of sex roles of the BaMbuti and by direct quotations made by Turnbull as well as members of the BaMbuti tribe, I intend on describing exactly how the sex roles of the BaMbuti follow the patterns discussed by Freidl. I also aim to depict how although women are a vital part of the BaMbuti culture and attain equality in many areas of the culture, men still obtain a certain degree of dominance.

    Read More

  • The Social Construction of Gender

    1508 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gender is a very strange topic in today's society. Many people don't know what to do with people who are transvestites or transsexuals and they often times hate them because they are different. People always think that there can only be two types of gender: masculine and feminine. People also feel that these genders most always correspond to a person's sex. So if the person is a male, then most people wouldn't accept that person into society if they acted feminine. 'For human beings there is no essential femaleness and maleness, femininity or masculinity, womanhood, or manhood, but once gender is ascribed, the social order constructs and holds individuals to strongly gendered norms and expectations. Individuals may vary on many of the components of gender any may shift genders temporarily or permanently, but they must fit into the limited number of gender statuses their society recognizes.? (Lorber, Night To His Day: The Social Construction of Gender, For Individuals, Gender Means Sameness, Page 463) ??a defining feature of reality construction is to see our world as being the only possible one.? (Kessler & McKenna, Gender: An Ethnomethodological Approach, The Primacy of Gender Attribution, Page 475) Many people don?t realize that gender is a socially constructed accomplishment. People make up methods in their heads about ways that people should be and if one doesn?t act they way the other person deems that one should, then they do not fit into that person?s reality. ?Every society classifies people as ?girl and boy children??? (Lorber, Night To His Day: The Social Construction of Gender, Page 460) People always try to guess what gender a person is. If one doesn?t know and is unsure of another?s gender than they keep on looking at them trying to find clues on about that person?s gender. I often times see people, usually children, and I can?t decide whether they or male or female, or should I say masculine or feminine. ?Then we are uncomfortable until we have successfully placed the other person in a gender status; otherwise, we feel socially dislocated.? (Lorber, Night To His Day: The Social Construction of Gender, Page 460) In other countries this might not even be the case, some countries have more than two genders. These other genders are often called berdaches, hijras, or xaniths. ?Some societies have three genders-men, women, and berdaches, or hijras, a...

    Read More

  • The Social Construction Of Gender

    3360 Words  | 7 Pages

    Gender is such a ubiquitous notion that humans assume gender is biological. However, gender is a notion that is made up in order to organize human life. It is created and recreated giving power to the dominant gender, creating an inferior gender and producing gender roles. There are many questionable perspectives such as how two genders are learned, how humans learn their own gender and others genders, how they learn to appropriately perform their gender and how gender roles are produced. In order to understand these perspectives, we must view gender as a social institution. Society bases gender on sex and applies a sex category to people in daily life by recognizing gender markers. Sex is the foundation to which gender is created. We must understand the difference between anatomical sex and gender in order to grasp the development of gender. First, I will be assessing existing perspectives on the social construction of gender. Next, I will analyze three case studies and explain how gender construction is applied in order to provide a clearer understanding of gender construction. Lastly, I will develop my own case study by analyzing the movie Mrs. Doubtfire and apply gender construction.

    Read More

  • Social Construction of Gender

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    defining our gender. Our gender starts to define as soon as we are born. If a boy is born

    Read More

  • Gender and Society

    2171 Words  | 5 Pages

    Society has stamped an image into the minds of people of how the role of each gender should be played out. There are two recognized types of gender, a man and a woman, however there are many types of gender roles a man or a woman may assume or be placed into by society. The ideas of how one should act and behave are often times ascribed by their gender by society, but these ascribed statuses and roles are sometimes un-welcomed, and people will assume who they want to be as individuals by going against the stereotypes set forth by society. This paper will examine these roles in terms of how society sees men and women stereotypically, and how men and women view themselves and each other in terms of stereotypes that are typically ascribed, as well as their own opinions with a survey administered to ten individuals. What I hope to prove is that despite stereotypes playing a predominant role within our society, and thus influencing what people believe about each other in terms of their same and opposite genders, people within our society are able to go against these ascribed stereotypes and be who they want and it be okay. Through use of the survey and my own personal history dealing with gender stereotyping I think I can give a clear idea as to how stereotypes envelope our society, and how people and breaking free from those stereotypes to be more individualistic.

    Read More

More about Gender: A Socially Constructed Ideal

Open Document