The most important thing I learned in this class is that gender is a social construct. Social construction shows that “as a society we create standards to identify and categorize normal behavior from deviant behavior” (Sosa’s gender and biology lecture). This can be seen in children before they can walk by categorizing genders and dressing females in pink and boys in blue. Social construct can be as simple as labeling and categorizing eggs, bacon, and toast as a breakfast meal and a hamburger as a lunch or dinner meal. As discussed in Asbell’s lecture social construct is reinforced through many types of discourses. For example, females are often described or implied to be the weaker sex, gentle, and sensitive in contrast to men which are described …show more content…
This consists of gender polarization, androcentrism, and biological essentialism which has no explanation for homosexual or Transgendered people. This shows that our culture has influenced and constructed the way we view gender by what we’ve been taught by our peers. For example, we condition our children to behave in a way that is appropriate for their sex by criticizing them in ways that shape their behavior. An example of this is telling a boy that he is a girl for crying or showing weakness. These concepts of social construction are significant to me because I grew up with a social influence that being part of the LGBTQ community was something to be ashamed of and I feel that if more people would get educated on gender they would have more respect for others and there would be less violence, hate crimes, and overall less negativity. I always felt that my peers were wrong for judging others for owning their sexuality and if I conformed to their homophobic beliefs I would be another person making the world a harder place to live in for those who choose to be …show more content…
For example, if someone told me that eggs are only for breakfast I would question if I should believe them and see what the real reason behind it is. So, when someone tells me it is “bad” or “wrong” for someone to be gay or transgender I will see their reasoning behind it because most of the time they don’t even know why they believe it’s something wrong they just conformed to other beliefs. I also think it is important to acknowledge that those who do not fit into the normal category are not inferior or less than those who are considered normal. I feel as if someone who dresses differently or acts differently than what is considered normal is actually a normal thing to do. I also think they are brave and courageous because they have the guts to stand out of the crowd and be themselves and have their own voice in society. Now that I learned about social construct I will make sure that my own children understand that it’s okay to not fit into the normal category and it’s something normal and they should not feel afraid or embarrassed for being
Gender is not solely taught. It is perceived labeled and in some cases adopted. Gender recognition is taught through contrast. Unconsciously as I walk the streets of New York City, I mentally label everyone who walks by me. Yet I pause and acknowledge those who are less instinctively male or female (masculine or feminine). A man with long fine hair comes off to me as more effeminate.
For example, “Transgender face huge mostly unaddressed discrimination in education, employment, healthcare, and public benefit”. Transgender children end up in foster care or homeless. They can’t go to adult homeless shelter because they get turned down due to their identity. Youth face harassment and violence in schools that leads them to dropping out and difficult for them to pursue higher education because how society reacts around them. They face discrimination in work places because of their transition. It’s difficult for them to reach out for resources because they face discrimination or there’s not enough resources to help them find someone who will. Secondly, “During the Stonewall rebellion, sexual and gender outsiders were tired of being abused by cops, arrested for cross-dressing, beaten, raped for going to clubs/bar.” People of color and gendered outsiders were tired of being targets. They didn’t want cops to be abusing their powers and wanted legal protections. Transgender people faced discrimination where it makes it harder for them to get jobs, welfare, SSI, disability, etc. This relates back to the long battle for same sex marriage where recently it’s legal in the
Gender, race, and sexuality are socially constructed systems that act as guidelines, or rules, for how people interact with each other. A social construct often appears to be reality. However, when you step back and look at these systems critically, it is easy to see that gender, race, and sexuality do not represent a true reality. An easy example of a social construct is the game of basketball. Our society has created the game of basketball; we have rules for how to play, what to play with, and what to wear. However, if you stop and think about it, you could actually play basketball any way you’d like, but the game is only called basketball when you play by the rules. The rules define the game and give it meaning. The same is true for social
Around the world gender is genuinely seen as strictly male or female. If you step out of this “social norm,” you could be considered an outcast. This disassociation includes, biological males/females, interssexed, and transgendered individuals. These people are severely suppressed by society because their gender identification, behaviors, and even their activities deviate from the norm. Most Americans are exceedingly devoted to the concept that there are only two sexes. Therefore, the constrictive American ideals of male and female gender identities inhibits growth and acceptance of gender expression.
In this article, Shaw and Lee describe how the action of labels on being “feminine” or “masculine” affect society. Shaw and Lee describe how gender is, “the social organization of sexual difference” (124). In biology gender is what sex a person is and in culture gender is how a person should act and portray themselves. They mention how gender is what we were taught to do in our daily lives from a young age so that it can become natural(Shaw, Lee 126). They speak on the process of gender socialization that teaches us how to act and think in accordance to what sex a person is. Shaw and Lee state that many people identify themselves as being transgendered, which involves a person, “resisting the social construction of gender into two distinct, categories, masculinity and femininity and working to break down these constraining and polarized categories” ( 129). They write about how in mainstream America masculinity and femininity are described with the masculine trait being the more dominant of the two. They define how this contributes to putting a higher value of one gender over the other gender called gender ranking (Shaw, Lee 137). They also speak about how in order for femininity to be viewed that other systems of inequality also need to be looked at first(Shaw,Lee 139).
In our present world, people understand and view gender in different perspectives, or “lenses.” The idea of gender that we see specifically in our present society today is very extensive compared to what it was years ago. We see a variety of different kinds of gender, whereas only years ago it was two: male and female. Personally, I have seen this in our society because I have met people that identify as many different genders that aren’t specifically just male or female. The word “gender” holds an important place in our language, specifically in today’s society, because it has determined who we are, how we identify ourselves, and ultimately our roles in society.
I want you to become aware of what we have done and take action to stop people to be happy, to respect their way of thinking, acting, and living. My purpose in writing this paper is to present my points of view on how society has changed as the years go by. Also how homosexuals have fought for many years and all the different struggles they have managed to get the rights they deserve and one day had which were then taken away because they became themselves and also because of the ignorance of some people.
The terms sex, gender and sexuality relate with one another, however, sociologists had to distinguish these terms because it has it’s own individual meaning. Sex is the biological identity of a person when they are first born, like being a male or female. Gender is the socially learned behaviors and expectations associated with men and women like being masculine or feminine. Gender can differentiate like being a man, woman, transgender, intersex, etcetera. Sexuality refers to desire, sexual preference, and sexual identity and behavior (1). Sexuality can differentiate as well like being homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, etcetera. Like all social identities, gender is socially constructed. In the Social Construction of Gender, this theory shows
In western society males are taught what it means to be masculine and females are taught what it means to be feminine. Lorber (1994:57) states “Individuals are born sexed but not gendered, and they have to be taught to be masculine or feminine.” As we grow older we are taught what is expected of us on the basis of what gender were identify as and/or what gender other people perceive us as. For instance, a woman is expected to cook, clean, and have occupations such as a nurse, or secretary. A man is expected to have be either have top jobs such as a surgeon or have a tough labor jobs, and be the bread winners. Western society expects each gender to stay within their gender role. Lorber (1994:61) argues “As, a structure, gender divides work in the home and in economic production…” Once an individual goes outside these expectations breaking they are out casted. Gender is a process that creates what is man and what woman based off of what other perceive what is expected of and should be expressed by each gender, making gender socially constructed. Lorber (1994:60) argues “As a process, gender creates the social differences that define ‘women’ and ‘man.’ In social interaction throughout their lives, individuals learn what is expected, and see what is expected act and
Gender is such a ubiquitous notion that humans assume gender is biological. However, gender is a notion that is made up in order to organize human life. It is created and recreated giving power to the dominant gender, creating an inferior gender and producing gender roles. There are many questionable perspectives such as how two genders are learned, how humans learn their own gender and others genders, how they learn to appropriately perform their gender and how gender roles are produced. In order to understand these perspectives, we must view gender as a social institution. Society bases gender on sex and applies a sex category to people in daily life by recognizing gender markers. Sex is the foundation to which gender is created. We must understand the difference between anatomical sex and gender in order to grasp the development of gender. First, I will be assessing existing perspectives on the social construction of gender. Next, I will analyze three case studies and explain how gender construction is applied in order to provide a clearer understanding of gender construction. Lastly, I will develop my own case study by analyzing the movie Mrs. Doubtfire and apply gender construction.
Social Construction of Gender is a process, stratification system and structure. The day to day interactions emphasize gender as opposites. Take for instance, conversations, formalities of daily life, sayings, and so on. The social construction of gender is created through social interaction – through the things we do and say with other people. This means that gender it is not a fixed or inherent fact, but instead it varies across time and place.
Social Construction of Gender Today’s society plays a very important role in the construction of gender. Gender is a type of issue that has raised many questions over the years in defining and debating if both male and female are equal. Today, gender is constructed in four different ways. The The first way gender is defined is by the family in which a child is raised.
According to Crapo, (2013), “Gender defines the social statuses and roles into which people are socialized based on cultural concepts about the sexes” (sec. 5.1). Society considers the sex of a person and then determines how they should act and the roles they will play. Humans are considered to be male or female, and their roles or gender is determined by the society in which they live. Cultural differences shape the way that women and men are perceived in their social environment, and these differences also influence how gender is
Society has planted a representation into people’s minds on how each gender is supposed to be constructed. When one thinks of the word gender, the initial responses are male and female but gender may be represented in many additional terms. As defined, “Gender refers to the social expectations that surround these biological categories.” (Steckley, 2017, pg.256) Gender is something that is ascribed,
Gender, on the other hand, refers to the sociological differences between male and female. This teaches males and females to behave in various ways due to socialisation (Browne, 1998). Example: masculinity and femininity. Girls are supposed to show their femininity by being non-competitive, sensitive, dependent, attractive and placid. If and when some girls don’t succeed in keeping this image, they will be referred to as a tomboy.