Differences Between Penelope Eckert And Sally Mcconnell-Ginet

“Is it a boy or a girl?” is a question that is commonly used in a world where roughly 350,000 babies are born each day. Questions such as the one previously stated are what helps to determine what gender a child would be. “Learning to Be Gendered” by Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet focuses mainly on the factors that potentially influences gender. These factors can include names, colors, voice change and the societal norm of what a boy and girl should be. Eckert’s main argument is that being gendered isn’t something one can to gain based off of physical characteristics but rather on their own and through their interaction with society. Names and clothing are just a small part of the symbolic resources used to support a consistent ongoing

Throughout many studies, researchers have said that gender develops from families, which is part of the social construction in children. According to Coltrane and Adams, Gender is defined as “To what it means to be a man or a woman in a specific time and place” (Coltrane and Adams). People in this world think that gender is automatically part of biological sex, but according to Coltrane and Adams, it is not a direct result of biological sex. The term is defined as “to refer relatively distinct biological differences between male and females such as genitals, hormones, and chromosomes” (Coltrane and Adams). For gender it is also social and it refers to how a person thinks that someone should look, act and feel (Coltrane and Adams). On the daily life, people will usually assume that a person “is” the gender that corresponds to his or her sex: females are feminine and males are masculine (Coltrane and Adams). In addition, gender also describes how the typical man and woman are supposed to present themselves. A man presenting himself as masculine and a woman presenting herself as feminine in particular cultures (Coltrane and Adams). In other words how women should act and how men should act.

Gender is an age-graded event that affected my childhood. Being able to identify as a woman and learning society’s expectations for women was critical for my development. At the age three, I discovered that society does not have the same expectations for males and females. Therefore, I had to learn how to act like a “lady”.

In “Becoming Members of Society:Learning the Social Meanings of Gender,” Aaron H. Devor battles the topic of gender identity with an excerpt from his book, Gender Blending: Confronting the Limits. Children grow up being defined by a certain gender. From birth, they learn the language and how to act if you are a male or a female. Boys turn into men and should act masculine. Females turn into women and should act feminine. There is no middle ground for the gender identifications to intertwine. Everyone learns to behave in accordance with their gender identity and it is a lifelong process. And as people move through life, society demands different gender performances.

Gender has been a big issue in society. Sex is biological, and it is through sex that gender is produced (which according to West and Zimmerman, “gender, we said, was an achieved status: that which is constructed through psychological, cultural, and social mean” (West and Zimmerman 1987, 125) - in other words, it is the categorization of both sex to act in a certain and acceptable way by the society, also known as norms) and can be recreated through human interaction and social life. All of this is being constructed by our environment; Inequality is being formed through identity. Everything all begins from when we are born. In society, it is believed that boys are tough while the women are believed to be soft and nurturing. There

The book Learning to Be Gender points out a serious question of gender norms in our society in which both men and women should behave appropriately in their desire gender. For instance, we learn how to act, talk and dress up like our gender. Then when we grow up and have kids and

With ultrasound technology we are able to correctly identify the sex of a baby at just four months. With this knowledge, expecting parents will go out and buy all the pink or blue things needed for their little boy or girl. These new parents are expecting their sons will grow up big and strong and their daughters beautiful and smart. By one year after birth a baby can distinguish male and female voices and faces. It is only around the age of two, a child begins to identify the differences in in toys meant for boys and girls. By the time a child is three they begin to label themselves and others as male or female. By age four, a child’s identity is stable, and they know they will always be a boy or a girl. Between ages four and six, children begin to adopt gender role and categorize activities as female or male.

Everyone at some point in their lives have been negatively impacted based on their gender; whether you are male or female. We are expected to be our gender; Dress and act like a woman or dress and act like a man. The common phrase “be a man” is telling men to act tougher and to show less emotion. Another common phrase is “Stop being such a girl”, as though being a woman is a bad thing, it is seen as an insult, but also degrades women. These sayings usually are not understood as mean, rather than motivators. We are raised to believe how members of each gender are supposed to act, this socialization begins in the home, with those who raise us. A study conducted by John F. Peters shows how teens perceive gender stereotypes from their parents.

When It comes to gender spectrum, most people believe that when the sex is determined for a baby, they come up with a preconceived notion of the child’s gender. However, gender is not just based on the sex of the child, there are a few more qualities that are to be taking into consideration. How one identifies themselves, the emotions and experience one goes through in their own body, and also gender expression all play a role and how one can identify their gender. Gender is the state of being male or female but is also considered a social and psychological reflection of one’s self-image that cross references with one’s sexual nature.

What is gender? Most people feel as though gender consists only of the terms “boy“ & “girl“ , but it’s so much more than that. Gender is a very complex reality that is not just about what genetalia you have. In this paper I will explore all the subcategories and misconceptions of gender.

There are many theories that discuss the meaning of gender in relation to children and here they will be discussed. Gender as a definition, is ‘the state of being male or female, and only often used with reference to social and cultural difference, rather than biological differences’ (Murray et al, 1961). It has been previously observed that it is early years’ settings that provide the first environment where children are ‘institutionally socialised’ (Gestwicki and Bertrand, 2011). Children begin to develop gender schemas predominantly in the first few years, and the way in which they perceive gender is influenced by those who have an active role in their development (Martin and Ruble, 2004).

Gender is so much more than biological differences between men and women and can be classed as the social construction of masculine and feminine, this process of forming gender identities is dynamic, ongoing and changeable rather than a static or fixed

Gender Roles are evident, but may not be consciously recognized during the early years of life. “In order for a developing child to comprehend information related to another’s sex the child must have some concept that males and females are different” (Stevenson, p. 8). “Each child is expected to learn how to act according to sex and by what seems appropriate, and to avoid what isn’t for that sex” (Stevenson, p. 4). Joseph F. Fagan did a study conducted on

This paper explores various articles and their take on how children perceive and develop their genders. The articles explore the ways in which children express themselves and fall into specific gender roles or stereotypes. The manner in which children are gendered and taught to think in gendered terms is looked into as well. This paper also aims to clarify the difference between sex and gender, and the impact that outside forces such as parents, media, school, and society place pressures and rules on how children see themselves and are expected to behave in our culture.

The minute we are born in this world, our gender is introduced. Our society identify us either a boy or a girl. One way to identity our gender is by distinguishing certain characteristics such as our sex organ. Our society characterized our gender in certain roles and expectations as soon as we are born. For example, once a parent delivers a boy, the parents may dress the baby in blue and decorate the baby’s room with sports or animal cartoons. The color blue is believed to be a masculine color and sports scenery is portrayed to be tough. In contrast, if it’s a girl, the baby may be dressed in pink because the color pink is seen as a softer and feminine. In our society, choosing different colors, clothing or type of toys are ways to identify once gender. In addition to appearance or types of materials once gender use, our society also identify someone’s gender by their attitude, behavior or position. (Rusiano, 2013)