The Social Construction Of Gender Identity

Gender Identity

Brian Williams

Middle Georgia State University Abstract

Gender is something that we don’t place much heavy thought on. Although we don’t think about it much, we don’t realize how important it is to many of our daily activities. The expectations that are placed on us are due to the ways of society. Our parents and other outside influences normally place these expectations on us. This can have a major impact on a person’s social identity. There are many individuals who choose to break these gender roles that are assigned to them out of curiosity of the unknown. We live in a world where powerful people control the way we perceive each other. This is why the discussion of gender is so prevalent in our society.

Human beings are very intrigued with labeling individuals and will not be satisfied until they can properly do it. For example, if you see a child with a blue shirt and dark blue pants, you will automatically consider the child to be a male. This is the process of doing gender. In Judith Lorber’s article, “The Social Construction of Gender”, he describes how we do gender without even realizing it. In this day and age, gender roles are changing. This has been strongly influenced by the media’s representation of men and women. Fathers are taking care of their children, boys and girls wear unisex clothes, and women are working similar jobs (Lorber, 2004, p. 55). Today, the representation of women as housewives or workers of low status is a thing of the past. Women are represented as successful individuals with power. Young women now have role models to look up to in the entertainment industry. This has helped women become more confident in who they really are. They strive to be financially secure and don’t have to rely on men to take care of them or their

This discrimination that I’m referring to is something that is very common. If we want a change to occur, we must behave in a respectable manner. How will we initiate this change? Certain gender beliefs can lead to personal biases about individuals. “Children themselves become active participants in this gendering process by the time they are conscious of the social relevance of gender, typically before the age of two” (Kane, 2006, p. 150). The first time this process occurs is when a child is being taught what is right and wrong. The gender ideas than many parents have are strongly influenced by what they see in the media. In some aspects, we should let children be who they really are. We deny this from ever occurring by placing a tremendous amount of pressure on them. Children are now learning about themselves as a result of society’s depiction of a male or female. Parents use the information that is presented to them In this day and age; women are achieving the same things that men are normally praised for. Although this is a reality, society still expects many women to stay at home while men handle all of the hard