“Gender is fundamental to the human experience, and society has created such a distinction between the two that the lack of neurological information regarding the differences between the developing sexes creates a remarkable paradox” (Glaeser, 2011, p. 2). Males and females are thought of to be vastly different in terms of “their personality, abilities, interests, attitudes, and behavioural tendencies” (Zell, n.d., p. 3), as well as their “interruption, risk taking, helping behaviour, leadership styles, body image, intelligence, occupational stress, jealousy, and morality, among other topics” (Zell, n.d., p. 9). However, it is society’s strict gender roles that seem to keep males and females from having close to anything in common with each other. “Gender roles involve the degree to which people adopt stereotypical masculine versus feminine traits, behaviours, and interests, rather than their gender identity (i.e., whether they identify as male or female” …show more content…
1). Due to our society considering gender to be predominantly binary “nothing apart from this dichotomy is typically tolerated, as society does not leave room for ambiguous gender expression or genderless people” (Glaeser, 2011, p. 1). Society’s strict molds on gender do not welcome people who exist outside the binary or those who fluctuate between within the binary and outside. Non-binary identities are often not taken seriously due to how easily some can change by experience or through time. Meaning that gender isn’t as concrete as once believed instead “we [should] view gender as sometimes fluid over time, recognizing that identity (internal sense of self) and gender expression (outward expression of gender) may modify over time” (Tishelman, 2015, p.
Burak defines gender socialization as “the process of interaction through which we learn the gender norms of our culture and acquire a sense of ourselves as feminine, masculine, or even androgynous” (Burack, 1). According to Burack, people of different genders behave differently not due to biological factors, but due to socialization that teaches individuals to behave in a particular way in order to belong to a certain gender. For example, women may tend to be nurturing, not because they are biologically programed to be caretakers, but as a result of society teaching them through toys and media to act as mothers. In this way, gender becomes a performance based on expectations rather than natural behaviors or biology, a phenomenon called “doing
1. In chapter two Judith Lorber argues how gender is human production and it is created and re-create by people in society who follow “gender doing”. In addition, Lorber explains how gender is taught at birth when a child is given a gender status. Parents use “gender markers” such as a child’s name and clothing to distinguish if they’re a boy or girl.
West and Zimmerman (1987) contend that gender is a socially constructed accomplishment that actively surfaces in every day human interaction, in which the ultimate goal is to ensure that one’s gender identity coincides with their biological sex. Due to this, it is argued that gender is both a social outcome and rationale for legitimizing one of the most important societal binaries: man and woman. Therefore, any behaviors that do not fall under predetermined gendered routines are seen as abnormal and unnatural. Nevertheless, West and Zimmerman (1987) argue that an understanding of the “cultural level of sex category and the interactional level of gender” (p. 147) is essential not only for reconceptualising gender, but also for significant social
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 is defined as “a social position; the set of social arrangements that are built around normative sex categories,” while sex refers to “the biological differences that distinguish males from females,” (Conley 279). Gender is often thought of as exclusively masculine or exclusively feminine. These two groups are often applied to the sexes – males and females respectively, and end up making gender and sex seem synonymous. Biological males, the physically stronger sex, are expected to have so-called masculine traits such as aggressiveness and dominance; biological females, the physically weaker sex, are expected to have feminine traits such as kindness and compassion. The difference between the two is that while biological traits are unavoidable, gender is a very fluid non-binary spectrum and is socially constructed.
Although some people believe that nature affects the gender identity, others argue that, based on the education an individual receives, it is actually nurture. For example, John Moore, a teacher at a female-only school, says, “My findings suggest that, in some senses, the single-sex school is strongly feminist” (Moore, 2005). On the other hand, many societies teach the children gender stereotypes to try and limit them from becoming against what the society feels is appropriate. Gender roles or stereotypes are “a set of qualities, behaviors, and attitudes that are considered appropriate for males and females based on their biological sex” (Whalen & Maurer-Starks, 2008). Most of the time, these stereotypes are taught and explained to the children in the early stages of learning, since as mentioned above, gender identity is most likely detected after the child is two years old.
One of the most obvious and important differences is how gender-related roles are developed within society, and how these roles influence our characteristics and behaviour traits as early as infancy. The clear differences between both sexes is what socially constructs gender. For instance, males are thought to be aggressive and strong, while females are considered sensitive and weak. In one study, men and women were asked to watch videos of infants that were presented with four different stimuli. Participants had to describe each infant by determining factors such as gender and emotion (reference).
If there is a group of men who are rolling strollers in a park, are we going to eyeball them if they are a group of women? For the reason that nurturing a child has always been considered the mission of the mother in previous centuries, the concept of men being full-time caregivers is still new in this society. With the shifting of gender role away from the gender norm, the society is slowly recognizing their contribution, but this change is still unacceptable in some cultures. Regard the society’s belief, more and more men are willing to stay home as househusbands. The population of househusband has doubled in the last ten years, approximately 7 million, which equals to 32 percent of married fathers, according to Athomedad.org.
Nature vs. Nurture Nurture dominates nature in determining gender roles One of the oldest arguments is the nature vs. nurture debate in determining gender roles. However, by now it has been established that both nature and nurture plays a role in determining gender roles. The question arises which one dominates the other. It is important to know the difference between the two terms Sex and Gender first.
Discuss the issues associated with non-traditional gender roles and identity. Research into men taking up non-traditional gender roles is predominately based on the challenges associated with masculinity (McDowell, 2015). Nursing is inherently a female based profession, deemed appropriate by society for individuals with feminie characteristics. This consequently has potentially devastating effects on males in this profession by making them as though their masculine identity is frequently under threat (Rajacich, Kane, Williston, & Cameron, 2013). Rajacich and colleagues (2013) sate that male nurses are subjected to stereotypical masculine strategies to display their masculinity.
Children and young adults are identifying with gender roles at a young age due to mass media. Children develop within a society that is gender-specific when it comes to social and behavioral norms. These come from the family’s structure, how they play with others and by themselves, and school. Girls were expected to be more passive while boys were to be more aggressive and expressive with masculine behaviors. “Before the age of three, children can differentiate toys typically used by boys or girls and begin to play with children of their own gender in activities identified with that gender.
For many centuries, there has been distinctions between females and males in the fashion industry. In society these kind of distinctions have always been seen as an imagery of what represents each individual depending on one’s gender, but when roles are switch around everyone seems to be mined gasped. Since it is not of norm standards, especially in advertising and well-known brands in fashion. Especially, after watching the YouTube video I myself can say that it is kind of weird when roles are switched between males and females when it comes to the norms of fashion. As for in this century times seem to be changing and people are exploring different senses of fashion and people in the community that are not as liberal are being more open to
Gender Stereotyping suppresses an individual to believe that they are not perfect and will not be accepted by society unless they follow the societal norms. The most shocking part about gender stereotyping in children, is that adults instill it in them without even realizing they do. Consider a person’s life for example. From the moment he/she born, that one word defines most if not all of their life choices starting with the clothes they wear to the decorations in their room to the toys they play with. “Children develop gender-typed patterns of behavior and preferences as early as age 15 to 36 months” states a psychological viewpoint on gender stereotyping in children.
The importance of being earnest, a play by Oscar Wilde, is infamously known for having challenged the traditional ideas of gender. The traditional views of gender relations in the Vidtorian Era was that men were active, manly, and independant, whilst women were passive, pliant and dependant. **** This is not shown in the play whatsoever. The men are passive, pliant and dependant whereas the women are strong, or rather strong willed, as well as being far more masculine and independant. Oscar Wilde challenged the traditional views by reversing the roles on most, if not all, of the characters in the play.
The Effect of Gender Roles on Character Development Classic British literature from multiple eras and times provide a host of layered and complicated characters displaying impressive success in embodying the complexities of humanity, still in quite early times of the written form of the art of storytelling. Such characters are also presented through varying forms and styles. For instance, while The Canterbury Tales is a comical novel about the collection of very different people come together on a pilgrimage, "The Duchess of Malfi" is a tragic play involving people of politics brought together by their various individual motives. Even between these two different styles of writing as well as separate eras of origins, similarities can be