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Impacts of culture on development of identity
Impacts of culture on development of identity
Impacts of culture on development of identity
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Society today suggest that revealing the “gender” or “sex” of a child from the moment of conception forward is a necessity. But, in all actuality to some this is an invasion of their privacy and beliefs. Many believe that raising a child gender specific is not important to their upbringing or to their growth and development. Gender is defined with several different meanings such as the behavioral, cultural or psychological traits typically associated with the one sex. The sex of an individual, male or female, based on reproductive anatomy (the category to which an individual is assigned on the basis of sex) and the personal traits or personality that we attach to being male or female. Sex is defined as the biological distinctions determined by our genitalia. Determining whether to divulge the gender of a child should be a personal choice. Society should not dictate whether one chooses to disclose the sex of their child. At conception, the gender is determined by chromosome characteristics and it will be the male (male semen) that dictates whether the baby will be a boy or girl. Nowhere in any literature that has been read or published that it states that “society” is the determining factor whether a girl or boy will be conceived. Society suggests that knowing the gender is routine, but what may be considered routine for some is not necessarily customary for all. If one chooses to stray away from what is considered to be “normal” it poses or present an issue. Individuals are instantaneously met with opposition or back lash due to nondisclosure of the sex of their child whether it is unborn or born. A typical argument would be as to what color clothing to bring for the unborn or born child, should one bring pink or blu... ... middle of paper ... ...should be treated another way when in fact, both should be treated equally the same. If their decision is not harmful or bringing forth harm to another human being, leave them be. In conclusion, the Declaration of Independence sums this up perfectly. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. At the end of the day, the family just wants happiness for their child and not to be judged or ridiculed by another for their decision. Parents that choose to conceal the gender of their child want their child to be known, loved and associated by who they are or have become rather being labeled or tagged by society on what is between their legs. Therefore, it is only opinionated that gender doesn’t matter.
How do children learn to be men or women? Penelope Eckert is a professor of linguistics and anthropology at Stanford University and Sally McConnell-Ginet is a professor of linguistics at Cornell University. They wrote an article “Learning to Be Gendered,” published in 2013 in the book “Language and Gender.” The authors argue that society has many ways to shape children's gender by children’s behaviors since their birth. Eckert and Ginet show to the readers that the parent teaches their child’s behavior. The author is using ethos, logos, and pathos to support the thesis statement.
A gynaecologist can easily perform an ultrasound and tell parents what gender to expect their child to be. Reasonably, parents have the choice to learn the gender or to keep it a surprise. However, For parents to know they are expecting a daughter by chance or for them to choose that they want a daughter are two different cases. There are a variety of methods that allow parents to choose the gender of their child. In some cases, there may be fear of passing down a sex-linked genetic disease and so a certain gender may be preferred to protect the child’s health. However, a contentious issue is whether or not gender selection for non-medical reasons is ethically defensible. There are three positions that one could take: gender selection can never, sometimes, or always be ethically defended. In this paper, I intend to argue that gender selection is always permissible.
In today’s society, it can be argued that the choice of being male or female is up to others more than you. A child’s appearance, beliefs and emotions are controlled until they have completely understood what they were “born to be.” In the article Learning to Be Gendered, Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell- Ginet speaks out on how we are influenced to differentiate ourselves through gender. It starts with our parents, creating our appearances, names and behaviors and distinguishing them into a male or female thing. Eventually, we grow to continue this action on our own by watching our peers. From personal experience, a child cannot freely choose the gender that suits them best unless our society approves.
It is inherently unethical for parents to choose gender of their babies by using technology. Fairness and beneficence are the principles of ethics. Selecting the gender of a child before birth can be considered a sexual discrimination and prejudice. Gender preference is not rational, since any claim that is made for the parents' preference for one sex can be demonstrated to be provided also by the other sex. The parents who desire to choose the sex of their child might be motivated by discrimination attitudes toward a particular gender. Sex selection is a violation of ethical principles of fairness and beneficence, and it is unethical.
As part of human survival instinct, we tend to judge and label other individuals based on their physical appearance and gestures. But to understand one’s identity and interior self, we need to look beyond these physical factors. One of the first things that we assume upon meeting someone for the first time is usually whether they are male or female. However, what we sometimes do not take into consideration is that sex and gender are not the same. Sex is determined by an individual’s biological characteristics. Gender, on the other hand, is acquired and constructed. Sex and gender cannot be separated because both the biological and social factors contribute to making a person who they are. But sex and gender can be distinguished
Gender differences are best understood as a process of socialization, to organize the roles each individual have to fulfil in society. From parents to teachers, religions, media, and peers; we observe and make sense of the behaviors exhibited by the people around us since young. We imitate and construct our own understanding of how to be of a particular gender, and of how to position ourselves. Parents socialize their children based on their biological sex, and this process starts as soon as the sex of the baby is known. Gender is hence socially constructed.
The most exciting part of a pregnancy is finding out the sex of the baby. Most people say that it does not matter if their baby is a boy or a girl, they will still love them the same. However, what if their baby was neither boy or girl? In the articles “The Five sexes: Why Male and Female are not Enough” and “Duelling Dualisms”, Anne Fausto-Sterling makes readers question about the so called “genders” we know in society today. The Key concept that Anne Fausto-Sterling argues in “The Five sexes: Why Male and Female are not Enough” is that the three mixed sexes, herm, merm, and ferm, should each be considered it’s own sex. She continues on to say that sex is influenced, gradually changing, and cannot be restricted to just 5 categories. In her second article “Duelling Dualisms”, the key concept Fausto-Sterling argues is that
When expecting parents want to identify the sex of their child, occasionally the doctor will inform them to paint the nursery blue or pink rather than tell them the actual sex. More often than not they know which to expect, a boy or a girl, dependent on the color, and how to stock the nursery, with trucks or dolls, why is it that children are separated according to gender, and so early in life too? Sex is a reflection of biological organs, while gender is a state of mind. The concept of gender is so deeply rooted in society it becomes difficult to pinpoint its effects as learned rather than natural occurrences (Devor 383). It seems just natural for women to be the care givers and men the providers. Behaviors people become comfortable with are exhibited openly towards their children. Susan D. Witt states:
Medical and non-medical are the two categories people have for wanting to select the sex of their offspring. On the ...
Gender identity has been a delicate issue when it comes to determining if a person's gender is set at birth or develops and changes as a person ages. A person’s gender is not as simple as being classified as either male or female. There’s a considerable amount of external factors that can influence someone’s identity. Although society has a major role in gender identity, sex assignment at birth is not final; furthermore, a person's gender can be influenced by psychological, physiological differences and undergoing changes to the human body. A common misconception many people believe is that gender and gender are the same or go hand in hand with one another.
As a child grows and conforms to the world around them they go through various stages, one of the most important and detrimental stages in childhood development is gender identity. The development of the meaning of a child’s sex and gender can form the whole future of that child’s identity as a person. This decision whether accidental or genetic can effect that child’s life style views and social interactions for the rest of their lives. Ranging from making friends in school all the way to intimate relationships later on in life, gender identity can become an important aspect to ones future endeavors.
Over the decades, a significant mark of the evolution of gender is the increasing social phenomenon in how society conceptualizes gender. Gender is a system of social practices for characterizing people as two different categories, femininity and masculinity and arranging social relations of inequality on the basis of that difference (Ridgeway & Correll 2004). Gender-neutral parenting (GNP) refers to raising children outside of the traditional stereotypes of girls and boys. It involves allowing children to explore their innate personalities and abilities rather than confining them into rigid gender roles that society has shaped. It can be argued that it is through socialization children discover how to operate in gendered structures, learn
In order to grasp the concept of social construction of gender, it is essential to understand the difference between sex and gender. Biologically, there are only two reproductive genital organs that are determinants of sex: the vagina and the penis. Sex is established solely through biological structures; in other words, genitalia are the basis of sex. Once a sex category is determined, gender, a human categorization socially attached to sex, is assigned based on anatomy. Gender typically references social or cultural differen...
Final Paper Gender in our society is commonly understood to be male or female. However, those labeling terms are the sex of an individual, which is based on genitalia and internal organs. The misconception that gender and sex are one has altered the daily functions male and female. Therefore, our expectations of each gender is tainted.
Sex and gender are terms that are mixed up from day to day and seen as similarities rather than differences. Sex is what distinguishes people from being either male or female. It is the natural or biological variations between males and females (Browne, 1998). Some of these variations are genitals, body hair and internal and external organs. It is the make-up of chromosomes, men have one X and one Y chromosome and women have two X chromosomes, these are responsible for primary characteristics (Fulcher and Scott, 2003). Gender on the other hand refers to the sociological differences between male and female. This is teaching 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. On the other hand, boys show their masculinity through aggression, physical strength...