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Children's gender identity is learnt through their parents and society
Social construction of gender in childhood
How socialization affects the development of identity
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Gender Bender Essay For my gender bender experience I wanted to dress as “boyish” as I could and go to a place where I would not only be seen in my outfit but where my outfit would be the focal point of every conversation I had so I went to a suburban mall. Being a frequent visitor to any and all malls I am very much used to being treated kindly from retail workers. Normally, when I walk into a store I am greeted with a warm smile and an offer to help me find whatever I am looking for, during this experience that was not the case whatsoever. I quickly realized that due to my appearance different types of people from different generations were not only confused by me but also felt the need to treat me much differently. I walked into Macy’s department store wearing my boyfriend’s baggiest sweatpants, t-shirt and a pair of tennis shoes. My plan was to dress like a boy while I shopped in the men’s department to see if the workers, who are suppose to be there to help everyone, would treat me differently than they do when I walk into Macy’s in a pair of heels and carrying a purse. As soon as I walked into the store I saw four or five Macy’s employees standing around talking to each other. I noticed most of them were probably around thirty-five to fifty years old but one was a friendly looking young nineteen year-old girl (I asked …show more content…
78). This theory says theory posits that children learn about their respective gender identities by being rewarded when they behave as their respective gender expects them to and are punished for “gender-inappropriate behavior” (Renzetti, p. 78). It is interesting to consider this theory when thinking about Lauren and Trish’s separate reactions towards me an obvious woman dressed in men’s clothing. Because Lauren did not “punish” me for acting gender-inappropriately but Trish did, it shows that this social learning theory could possibly become irrelevant in the future since society’s perception of gender norms is
In his essay, Updike 's character Lengel says to the girls "that makes no difference . . . We want you to be decently dressed when you [the three girls] come in here." (90). The girls were called out because of what they were wearing. If that is the store policy then Lengel had every right to tell them they needed to put something more appropriate on. However, Lengel was very uncouth and rude to the girls for no reason. They were doing nothing wrong besides not wearing clothing that was a little revealing. The way he talked to the girls was very cold and condescending in a way that made the young women embarrassed. He made a scene when he could have just said it politely and asked them to put on more appropriate
Jesse Worthington develops the central idea of Barneys case stirs talk of ‘shopping while black’, she talks about how big the issue of racism is by talking about the personal experiences of African Americans while shopping at Barneys. Washington explains racism and stereotyping that is being pushed on black people who shop at high end, expensive department stores. Stereotypes such as not being able to afford something so just shoplifting it. (Washington ,3)“... One study
Today, labels are placed upon people as fast as a blink of an eye. One of the most common labels being placed upon people is their perceived gender. Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet, the authors of “Learning to Be Gendered”, argue that gender is not based on biology; instead, it is a binary meant to categorize people for how they should live their lives. Eckert and McConnell-Ginet have effectively written about the societal pressures and expectations placed on children to fulfill their “specific” gender role. Through the rhetorical strategies of tone, ethos, logos, and pathos, the authors thoroughly explain the effects gendering has on children.
Us girls feel personally attacked by the dress code policies simply because even if so much as a centimeter of skin from under our jeans, or a portion of my bra strap is showing we get sent to the office and we are given the lecture of needing to keep a better image of ourselves, and being more conservative about our bodies. Well from coming from a girl's perspective, we feel like we have to bow down to the boys just because they think inappropriate thoughts if any part of a girls skin is showing. Well, we have society and adults to thank for this simply because when boys are caught doing something they aren't supposed to do or watch something they are not supposed to be watching, adults simply say, “Oh boys will be boys.”. Now adults have conditioned boys to think that thinking these thoughts is a way of life and that it is okay to think them just because they are boys. God made us girls the way we are for a reason, why are we letting guys discriminate us women in such a way that we basically have to dress like a boy in order to keep them from thinking these sinful
Instead, I stood up and handed the desired two-liter of orange Fanta to the confused, uncomfortable woman. As a group of three teenage guys started walking down the aisle, their conversation ceased and proceeded to stare. Feeling sheepish, the one boy left to obtain something on another aisle while the other two proceeded to get some cases of cokes. The weirdness and creepiness of my actions were clearly evident on the faces of passersby because we’re instilled by our parents that you can’t just sit on the floor of a grocery store. Although I had gotten permission from the manger to perform my act of social deviance, the employees had no knowledge of my social experiment. They nervously avoided the aisle I had occupied and occasionally would walk past to see if I was still there. Throughout the experiment, I refrained from most eye contact relying on my peripheral vision or staring at people’s feet and only talked if I was spoken to. I sat and occasionally laid down in the aisle for about 40-45 minutes at
My research opened my eyes to the struggle of women in the job market. The differences range from how we speak, what we wear, to where our priorities exist in business. One of the first books I came across was Managing Like a Man by Judy Wajcman. The title alone highlights the severe psychological separation of men and women in the workplace. Everyone faces difficulty at some point or another in a working environment. Unfortunately for women, workplace issues can range from not getting along, not keeping the job, or simply not getting the job. ‘Bust through the glass ceiling’ is a term coined in regards to women and the seemingly impossible climb up the ladder of success. Multiple books and studies about women seeking leadership roles give the theory a legitimate hype. The female gender has to fight for their role in the workplace, even when they have more education, more experience, and a newly found focus on equality for women. Extended research is still being done because the issue has not been completely eradicated; even now in the 2000’s.
In the short story “A&P” by John Updike, a young store clerk named Sammy observes three young girls walking into the store, and in great detail describes the appearance of each girl. He obsesses over these girl’s every move throughout the story. Eventually the girls go to cash out only to be halted by the manager who tells them they need to be “decently dressed” when shopping at his store. After Sammy rings the three girls up he tells the manager he quits in order to impress the girls. Unfortunately they don’t notice and when he leaves the store he realizes the girls are gone, and that he has made mistake. The author paints the protagonist as an individual who despises his job, and as a very cynical person who loathes the average customer at
Some features people label someone else is clothing, voice, social groups by what people hang out, and toys. Lorber explained that one day she was on the train and saw two babies and tried to identify was the gender of the babies because one was wearing a white crocheted cap and white cloths and blue t-shirt and the father put on a Yankee’s Hat. She assumes it was a boy but when the bay turn it was a girl by the earring. “Societies vary in the people 's extent to which they use one or the other of these ways of allocating people to work and to carry out other responsibilities, every society uses gender and age genders” (Lorber 25). The general public burst out when they see a young boy’s when they play with feminine toys because they judge the boys as homosexual. “Sex, doesn’t come into play again until puberty, but that time sexual feelings and desires and practices have been by gendered norms and expectation” (Lorber 20). Lorber suggest that many young children, like boys do not understand what they they, so therefor when the boys play with dolls the boys assume you can play because it is a toy. Making judgments of people identity can have many qualities for mistakenly a person
I had to ask the lady to go to men 's fitting room when she replied that she was female but left the fitting room because of the hostile environment. Even though she really was a woman but because people could not get a womanly cue from her them they assumed that she was a male thus their hostility towards her entering a woman 's only
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,
When first getting out of my car with my friends to head into Meijer’s I initially felt nervous. Entering the store, I felt several eyes on me, the appearance of the bystanders’ faces were that of confusion, skepticism, and straight up judgment. My friends even joked about pretending not to know me and keeping
Hoover, Gary et al. “At Nordstrom Stores, Service Comes First – But at a Big
...ss comes out and yells at them. The cashier goes and stands up for them and quits his job for the three girls. The theme of this story is sort of anger and confidents because the cashier is angry at his boss and is confident that his way is right about the girls. The tone of this story is kind of sexist because there women and the boss said their wearing nothing get out of my store. This relates to everyday items because they are used to that kind of situations in the beach areas like Florida and California.
It was a Saturday afternoon, when my friend Jalissa came over and wanted me to go to the mall with her. Jails had just gotten hired at the mall and hadn’t been on a shift since. On the car ride to the mall, she mentioned that she had gotten the job at Aeropostale and that the manager was still looking for employees. Being desperate for a job and money, I took it all in and as soon as we got to our destination, I was ready to put on my professional mask. Walking into the store, which I hadn’t shopped there in years because it was always so expensive. I noticed a tall, lean, and handsome guy in the back folding shirts,that guy was Cornell Brown, the store manager . I had spoken with him and mentioned that I wanted an opportunity to work for the company and he nonchalantly handed me an application and I quickly ran to a nearby store for a pen to fill it out. After about five minutes, I was back with the piece of paper that could be my golden ticket for a job. Cornell began to ask me questions, the question t...
“Gender bender” is known as a person who bends the rules and standards of what is not expected from his or her gender. Gender roles are the biased ideas that society has placed on females and males. To break the bias standard that is placed on genders, I decided to bend the rules somewhat by asking a guy out on a date. I have personally never asked a guy out due to the conceived thought that the guy should always ask the girl. Before performing this task, I felt out of my realm,and a sense of desperation. While then carrying out the date, awkwardness seemed to over take me as I began falling out of my comfort zone. Through this process I learned that I have been warped by societies definition of gender, as I did not feel right taking the main role of the guy. Gender bias has socially constructed men and women into a preconceived standard on how they should present themselves.