Throughout history, we have seen the same stereotypes placed on gender, men should be strong and brave. They are the ones that support their families while women are the caregivers and the nurturers and handling the household. According to Emily Kane in “Glamour Babies” and “Little Toughies”, “gender is not a straightforward amplification of underling biological differences between male and females; rather, gender is constructed through social processes and enforced through social mechanisms.” With that being said Kane feels that we should not limit ourselves to those preconceived notions of what men and women can do. According to Kane, we should not believe that men and women could not develop certain mental or psychological attributes merely because of their sex. This mean that we do not have to fall into the trap of preconceived notions, such as; if we are born a girl we will love the color pink and do poorly in mathematics.
What Influences Gender Role Specifics Within Society? Colleen Ann Jardine Thongsook College, July 2016 Abstract The family unit, education, and the media play a huge role in socially constructing genders to into specific behaviors and roles that are the expected and termed “norms” within society. Children are made aware of the cultural and societal norms through subtle messages at a very young age and it has been embedded in them by the age of 4 or 5. Children, being at a disadvantage accept it as a natural form of behavior which has lasting effects, good and bad right into their adulthood. Unfortunately, not all adults realize the true reality and continue the same cycle with their offspring.
How can the word ‘gender’ be defined? The American Psychological Association refers to gender as, “The attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex.” Gender is not to be confused with an individual’s sex, which is predicated solely on biological factors, such as genitalia and sex chromosomes. Gender has become a social construct, and society has absolute control in defining gender roles; stifling creativity and innovation. Gender construction is the distinction between the two sexes and attribution of traits and characteristics through gender roles. The culture within a society defines what is considered masculine or feminine.
Under the patriarchal society, inequalities in gender relations impact both men and women from social, emotional and material perspectives (Connell, 2001). The dominant belief that men are physically tougher causes them to dominate dangerous and toxic occupations in society with little attention addressed to the impact on their health status (Connell, 2005). Furthermore, the stereotype of hegemonic masculinity causes men’s sexuality to be more constrained by homophobia and a taboo of showing emotional signs of vulnerability and fear (Connell, 2005). However, the under-privilege of women suggests even greater inequalities between genders. Throughout history, women have always been supressed by men, especially when women were once viewed as being physically too delicate to participate in the public sphere.
A gender role is defined as a set of social norms dictating what types of behaviors are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on their actual or perceived sex (gender role). Gender roles have been present throughout all of history and it has varied significantly. At the moment of birth, we as humans are assigned gender roles. People learn from those who are around them. In society masculine roles are traditionally associated with strength and dominance, while feminine roles are traditionally associated with nurturing and subordination.
There is a widespread debate about how kids develop gender identities. The nature side of the debate argues that masculinity is inextricably linked with the male body. In this view, masculinity is associated with the biological male sex and having male genitalia, for example is regarded as a key aspect of masculinity. However some have suggested that while masculinity may be influenced by biological factors, it is also culturally constructed. Proponents of this view argue women can become men hormonally and physically and that many aspects that are assumed to be natural are linguistically and therefore culturally driven.
And the same goes for masculinity. One can choose to be more feminine or masculine simply through carrying yourself in a certain way or adopting specific traits and characteristics of the chosen and desired quality. Some people are more masculine than others, regardless of whether they are male or female,
Although societies differ in the specific task they assign to the two sexes (male and female), all societies allocate adult roles on the basis of sex and anticipate this allocation in the socialization of their children. Not only are boys and girls expected to acquire sex-specific self-concepts and personality attributes, to be masculine or feminine as defined by that particular culture (Barry, Bacon and Child, 1957. P.354). The process by which by which a society thus transmutes male and female into masculine and feminine is known as the process of sex
Gender Roles can be defined as roles society expects people to play on account of their sex life. Like all roles, gender roles are made up of sets of expectations, so they can be thought of as sets of expiations, so they can be thought of as sets of expectation that are attached to sex. (pp: 220 John E. Farley & Michael W. Flota). Gender roles are separate patterns of personality traits, mannerisms, interests, attitudes, and behaviors that are regarded as either male or female by one 's culture. Gender roles are also exist with respect to interpersonal behavior (it still common for men to ask women for dates than vice versa).
Gender is the socio-cultural definition of man and woman with roles and behaviour assigned to them by society. Gender is variable; it changes from time to time from culture to culture and from family to family. Sex defines a person as male or female but it is gender, which makes them masculine or