Essay On Gender Structure

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Gender Structure
Throughout this paper you will learn about gender as a structure and gender relating to social institutions. You will also learn about Lorber’s insights of how gender differences relate to individuals and society as a whole. Gender structure has many factors that can lead to one identifying as a certain gender. A persons religion, childhood upbringing, peers, culture, and surroundings can all influence how one relates to gender, as each social group has what they consider to be norms for how men and women should behave and designated roles in society. Lorber relates to individuals following alike gender groups, leading to gender roles staying the same. She describes gender varying in society, but men and women always must be …show more content…

Gender structure is learned by gender socialization, as people are pushed into different avenues of life, leading to different attitudes and behaviors. Most people in their life think, behave, and feel certain ways to follow the guidelines or what is considered to be the norm in their culture regarding men and women. This can be in relation to gender social institutions, whither it be from race, religion, culture, peers, or one’s surroundings. Gender structure is made up by how one acts, dresses, and their demeanor. Roles of men and women can be learned from childhood. According to Henslin (2017) the gender roles that we learn during childhood become part of our basic orientations to life. Gender orientation is part of our everyday life, so parents generally teach what is expected of each gender, without even being aware that they are doing it. This relates to names, color of clothing, and toys. For boys it is generally ok for them to get dirty, be defiant, and play tougher. Girls are made to be dainty and compliant. In gender structure the norm is for men to be more masculine and women to be more feminine. According to Risman (2004) as long as women and men see themselves as different kinds of people, then women will be unlikely to compare their life options to those of men. This is all reinforced by one’s social …show more content…

In Lorber’s article she demonstrates how for individuals there is the expectation of sameness. Individuals tend to follow alike gender groups, relating to the same gender roles, making the expectation for men and women stay the same. Risman (1998) states at the individual level we learn who we are and want to be within a world where boys and girls are treated almost as though they were different kinds of creatures. Each individual follows the guidelines of their social institution regarding gender norms of how men and women should act, and their roles in society. According to Lorber (1994) gendered social arrangements are justified by religion and cultural productions and backed by law, but the most powerful means of sustaining the moral hegemony of the dominant gender ideology is that the process is made invisible; any possible alternatives are virtually unthinkable (Foucault 1972; Gramsci

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