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relationship between gender and sexuality
relationship between gender and sexuality
psychological effects of parenting styles
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Introduction
For over a decade, Sir Francis Galton, cousin of Charles Darwin, has puzzled scholars with the question of whether personality is determined by ones biology or environment (Galton, 1874). The term “nature versus nurture” quickly became a catch phrase to distinguish the difference between personality traits that are hereditary versus those that are built on environment. As a parent, I instill in my children an active lifestyle, intelligence, and independence to promote leadership. The qualities described may lead you to assume that I have two sons, but contrary to popular belief, I am raising two amazing daughters.
Gender should not to be confused with sex, although they are often incorrectly used as substitutes for one another. “Sex refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women” while “gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women,” as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2011). An individual’s sex can change through surgery, but their gender is a dynamic set of guidelines that are promoted by society, also called socialization. Scientists realize there are significant roles of both nature and nurture in personality; however, nurture’s role in adolescent development of gender is the concern of this paper. As parents, we want our children to succeed and have opportunities that we may not have been privy to. In order to do so, we often want our children to live normal and fulfilling lives that conform to society. This leads us to the question: as a heterosexual parent, how
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...her-toddler and Father-toddler Verbal Initiations and Responses during a Caregiving and Play Context." Sex Roles 63.5/6 (2010): 399-411. Social Sciences Full Text. Web. 20 Apr. 2011.
Robin Silbergleid. "An Introduction to Gender Studies: Pregnancy, Parenting, and Authority in the University." NWSA Journal 21.1 (2009): 131-150. Project MUSE. Web. 21 Jan. 2011.
Rosemary S. L Mills and Kimberley A Arbeau and Debra I. K Lall et. al. "Parenting and Child Characteristics in the Prediction of Shame in Early and Middle Childhood." Merrill-Palmer Quarterly 56.4 (2010): 500-528. Project MUSE. Web. 21 Jan. 2011.
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"WHO | What Do We Mean by "sex" and "gender"?." World Health Organization. WHO. Web. 20 Apr. 2011.
There is something to be said for heredity, and the traits that we inherit from our elders. With recent advancements in genetics, such as the mapping of the human genome and the study of epigenetics, scientists have a better understanding of what traits are inherited. There are the obvious traits such as eye color, hair color and skin color that are inherited from one’s parents and there are genes making a person predisposed to certain diseases such as breast cancer. However, the line becomes slightly blurred when it comes to behavior, mental psyche and intelligence. The nu...
"What do we mean by "sex" and "gender"?." WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
In today’s society, family structure has changed dramatically from the traditional nuclear family to the unconventional, such as single parenting or same sex families. Over the years, many individuals questioned whether or not a parent’s sexual orientation affected their child’s sexual preference. There is significant research that has shown that children with lesbian parents do not differ from children with heterosexual parents. Many individuals stated that it is the value of the parent’s relationship with the child and not the parent’s sexual orientation that affects the child’s development. Contrary to the popular belief, children raised by lesbian parents are not more likely to become gay than children who are raised by heterosexual parents. A parent’s sexual orientation has said to have little importance to children other than the family togetherness. In other words, the relationship of the parent and child is far greater important than the sexual orientation of one’s parents. To be a good parent to a child has nothing to do with one’s sexual preference, but how well one takes care of that child emotionally, physically, financially, and mentally. Before the 20th, century children were often seen as miniature versions of adults so there was little consideration to children development in cognitive and physical development. The interest of child development did not peak until the early 20th century. Conscientious parenting happens not only within traditional nuclear families, but also within homosexual families. Both traditional nuclear and homosexual families can have positive and negative effects on children’s cognitive, psychological or behavioral development due to their rearing.
The Battle of Nature vs. Nurture In Nancy Kress' "In Memoriam", the philosophical issue of identity becomes apparent. As a son pleads to his mother to take part in a medical procedure, which wipes your mind clear of memories, the question of "what makes me'me'?" arises. Set in the future, the mother is faced with a decision: whether or not she wants to die as a result of having too many memories, or as a result of having none at all. The son, Aaron, takes quite a different approach however as he feels that it is not a question of death, rather a question of life.
For this first analytical essay, I have decided to have a go at analyzing the Nature Vs. Nurture using my own viewpoint as a sibling. No doubt this is a topic that has been debated to mental death already, but I think it is something I will benefit from thinking about. Also, at the end of my main topic, I will quickly address a topic brushed on in the book.
In the well-received novel “Pudd’nhead Wilson,” Mark Twain skillfully addresses the ancient argument about the origin of one’s character and whether it’s derived from his nature or his surroundings. We can best see this battle between nature versus nurture by inspecting the plot lines that follow the characters Thomas a Becket Driscoll, Valet de Chambre, and Roxana the slave. Thomas was born into a wealthy white family while Roxy birthed Chambers into a life of slavery. It seemed as though each would have gone their separate ways into opposite walks of life, but Roxy secretly swapped the children, which destined each to their counterintuitive fates. Through their words and actions, Tom, Chambers, and Roxy have proven the idea that one’s behaviors and desires are a result of his upbringings and the environment he lives in rather than by his innate nature.
"We used to think our fate was in our stars. Now, we know, in large part, that our fate is in our genes." ---James Watson
How does a person become wicked? When a baby is first born, some people believe the baby is pure innocence, only to be contaminated by his or her environment. Others think heredity predetermines whether a baby is good or evil. Does the environment in which children grow modify their future, or is it within their genetics? As kids grow up, the effect that their environment has becomes obvious. These nurturing effects are evident in both Perry and Dick in the novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Both of these men grew up in households that lacked appropriate parenting, which affected the development of each man. Considering how both Dick and Perry’s upbringings resulted in the creation of two murderers, children’s futures rely heavily on the nurturing from their childhood because this influences their thoughts and actions.
Either way, social scientists have been struggling for centuries deciding whether our personalities are born or made. Tests are done often on identical twins that were separated to see how they are influenced. In the past twenty years, it has been discovered that there is a genetic component to about every human trait and behavior (Pinker, 2002). However, genetic influence on traits and behavior is partial because genetics account on average for half of the variation of most traits (Pinker, 2002). Researchers are finding that the balance between genetic and environmental influences for certain traits change as people get older (Pinker, 2002).
“Some findings, assuming they can be repeated, will not satisfy gay groups who want homosexuality to be seen as purely a genetic trait. Nor will they please commentators who see homosexuality as a choice made by "sinful" people. What they do show is human sexual behavior in all its splendid complexity.” (inspire.in.gov) Nature vs. Nurture is the debate on whether or not an individual is born homosexual or is homosexual based on who they are influenced by and the environment they are in or surrounded by. The ‘nature’ side of the nature vs. nurture debate is based on if an individual is born homosexual. The ‘nurture’ side of nature vs. nurture is if an individual is taught, influenced, or is affected someway by the environment and/or place they live in and who they live with. Either way, the individual is still homosexual.
The child may feel the need to perform and excel in every area of their life in order to get recognition. Not only does the child then appreciate recognition when a goal or accomplishment is achieved, but sometimes they feel the need to control the outcome of their accomplishment by continuously seeking new ways to earn recognition. Continuous extrinsic motivations such as these may result in the child feeling that by enhancing their performance and getting recognition from their actions and accomplishments they can control what people think of them. In simplest terms, the danger of becoming a people pleaser is put into play. While an authoritative parent monitors and would most likely intervene to change this developing belief system, unfortunately, a non-authoritative parent may not be the first to take this initiative in their child’s life. This parenting style typically leads to behaviors in the child where they may perform well in school to please their teachers, however they may also feel anxious, withdrawn, and have a general unhappiness. They most likely will have trouble dealing with the frustrations in life, will generally follow traditional roles of social expectations, and will enter into adulthood with a general lack of the warmth, unconditional love and nurturance that children require as they
The Effects of Nature and Nurture on Shaping of Behavior The nature/nurture investigation has been studied for many years by psychologists and it is a subject that is still in debate today. It brings up the question, how is our behaviour shaped, and the two sides of the answer are nature and nurture. Behaviour in the context of a human being can be described as; the way humans act and think in situations. What is meant by nature and nurture?
Undoubtedly, humans are unique and intricate creatures and their development is a complex process. It is this process that leads people to question, is a child’s development influenced by genetics or their environment? This long debate has been at the forefront of psychology for countless decades now and is better known as “Nature versus Nurture”. The continuous controversy over whether or not children develop their psychological attributes based on genetics (nature) or the way in which they have been raised (nurture) has occupied the minds of psychologists for years. Through thorough reading of experiments, studies, and discussions however, it is easy to be convinced that nurture does play a far more important in the development of a human than nature.
Scientists and biologist have argued the Nature versus Nurture debate for decades. This debate is about the degree to which our environment and heredity, affects our behavior and developmental stages. According to this debate, nature can be described as, the behavior of a person is occurring because of their genetic makeup. Since the behavior of a person is due to their genetic makeup, then, it (nature) should also influence a person’s growth and development for the duration of their life. However, the nurture side of the debate says, the cause for an individual’s behavior is because of environmental factors. This would mean that the influence from our family (immediate and extended), friends and other individuals would mold our behavior. Ultimately, no one knows if nature or nurture affects behavior more; or if it is a combination of both nature and nurture dictating an individual’s behavior; or if neither nature nor nurture affects a person’s behavior. This paper will examine the nature versus nurture debate through the topics of violence, intelligence and economics, and sports.
The Biological approach to personality places emphasis on the genetic influences related to the development of an individual’s personality. Some may believe that children and their parents can have very similar personalities, for example a young boy having his father’s anger (Stelmack, 1990). Though this approach has often been questioned by psychologists, it is not disregarded all together. Some believe that genetics do have a role in an individual’s personality development; however environments, as well as personal experiences all work in forming personality.