Analysis Of Playing In The Gender Transgression Zone

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In the reading, Playing in the Gender Transgression Zone, McGuffey & Rich argue that the ways youth build their “hierarchy” in school, camps, etc. can explain the way ‘gendering’ in society’ happens and why. It discusses how boys are seen as the high status members of society. This is a result of the ideology of hegemonic masculinity. This says that there is a predominant way of doing gender relations that elevates the status and privileges of masculinity over femininity. This establishes a socially constructed level of male social power and explains why male dominance continues on past the middle school ages. Men still have high status in higher level of social organization, especially political/ governmental institutions.
This institutionalized oppression of females that began in the young ages of 5-12 is still present in our everyday lives. I have noticed it more this as I observed …show more content…

Of course, at that young age in my life I had no knowledge of the ideology that gender is actually behaviors and attitudes shaped by socially defined roles and ideas because at that time I just saw gender as simply boy or girl. Looking back on gender in middle school through my my adult lense though I notice now how what I have learned about stereotypes and dichotomies in Unit 2: P.O.P was actually very present in my life when I was in middle school. I was always very interested in the sciences but the stereotype that girls can not succeed at science followed me even as a young 10 year old. Through gender socialization at such a young age, different behaviors and attitudes were encouraged and discouraged in boys and girls. Girls were taught to play with their dolls and have desire to cook, none of which I took even the slightest interest

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