Gender And Gender Aspects Of Gender Roles

​​Gender is defined as whatever behaviors and attitudes a group considers proper for its males and females. Unlike sex, gender is something that we learn from the day we are born. “Young children begin to acquire gender role stereotypes at about the same time they develop gender identity and by the age of 3 or 4 most children” (Amanda Youmans). Peers, community, media, religion and our upbringing all play a role in the understanding of our culture and what is considered acceptable for males and females. When the sex of a child is revealed, they are automatically placed into a gender specific role with certain expectations. There are things in this world such as colors, toys, media depiction and taught behaviors that play into these gender roles.

In many shops, there seems to be an obvious separation between boys and girls items, for example, the birthday cards, books, clothes, and toys. This is shown in a variety of ways the boy's items are mainly the color blue and the books have pictures of either action figures, superheroes or tools. Whereas the girl's items are mainly the color pink. The books show pictures of fairies, princess, and Bratz. The cards also have the theme of the color pink for girls and blue for boys. The girl's cards have a lot of sparkles and pretty pictures whereas the boy's cards are covered in camo kind of illustrations and also have action figures on the covers. The children's clothes are separated into sections where there are labels for the boy's clothes and labels for the girl's clothes. The girl's clothing is all pretty and pink, it is covered in sparkles. Whereas boys clothing has camo patterns, blue colors, and pictures of action figures.

In present day all around the world, society has certain expectations for the actions and behaviors of males and females. There are many factors in our everyday lives that contribute to the gender norms that society has set. This essay will discuss how situations in life can play a part in how people treat other people based on their gender. It is believed that males are the leaders of our world, but in present day woman can do as much as men can do. From The Journal of Marriage and Family, Hu states, “Differentiated gender roles in adulthood are rooted in one’s gender role socialization. In order to understand the persistence of gender inequalities in the domestic sphere, we need to examine the gendered patterns of children’s housework time.”(2015, P.1). Gender roles are society’s expectations of the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females that they must be taught. These roles define how females and males are viewed in society, their household, and workplace. In The Journal of Sports behavior by Hardin, he states, “Although gender role differences from biological and “Natural” exists in popular consciousness, research has long demonstrated that instead, many are long time socially constructed… Individuals understand their gender because they are given names and treated in particular ways, such as dress in pink for girls and blue for boys, that reflect social construction of gender. Bandura's social cognitive theory is key in understanding the factors in socialization”(2009, P.3). Bandura's theory of of social cognition is that behavior, environmental events, and cognitive factors are the main keys that shape attitudes and actions of an individual. Although, gender roles play a very big part in our society, specific genders are treated differently while dealing with peer influence, media influence, as well as employment.

Gender roles affect the way we view males and females in society. According to Public and Private Families an Introduction by Andrew J Cherlin, “sex” is described as the biological characteristics the distinguish the difference between man and woman such as their reproductive organs and hormones. “Gender” is described as the social and cultural characteristics that describe the difference between men and women. Gender roles in the United States have changed more for women than for men due to the asymmetry of gender change which is the bigger change in woman’s lives than males.

Most people believe gender is only based on being male or female. People believe gender is based on the physical and biological differences between women and men. Over the last few years, the term gender has changed. When some people believe gender is being male or female. Most people associate gender with gender roles and how people are supposed to function or perform based on society’s expectations. In other words, people believe males and females have to behave according to their gender or gender roles to be socially accepted. For instance, it is socially accepted for women to be housewives while men work. However, gender is based upon how people are viewed and accepted. In other words, gender is based on how men and women feel about themselves, what is expected from them based on their roles, and how they are socially accepted.

Since birth children are taught the necessary components of human interaction; the lesson of how to be a male and female is one that is never-ending in their development. Whether or not the parents choose to teach these barbaric messages of what is conventionally expected from a male or female, their children will be bombarded with this agenda by other aspects of western civilization’s culture. The machine, which is known as society, facilitates the media, our peers, and social interaction which will in result shaping its citizens as it sees fit. Steering clear of these messages is impossible, but the ability to recognize these lessons in gender for what they really are will be liberating and vital to an

Gender is a large facet of human life, evolving throughout history, and varying from culture to culture. Gender can be defined as the socially constructed concepts of behaviour that pertain to each sex (Leder, 2017). For example, in Western society, it is the wide consensus that females are to be stereotypically feminine, in that they do not have occupations that require physical strength, rather staying home to care for children, as females are viewed as emotional beings. On the other hand, males are seemingly expected to work many hours to earn a sustainable income, being the so-called breadwinners. While these notions of gender roles have shifted much since their conception, these traditional views still permeate Western society. Further,

Gender socialization often begins early once parents are shown the sex of their child; from then on, baby showers are planned according to gender “appropriate” colors, which are often pink for girls and blue for boys. Even differences in how children are spoke to can be picked up easily in Western cultures. Girls are called pretty and sweet, whereas boys are handsome and strong. Ultimately, the way children learn to identify with their gender culture is in part due to not only family and friends, media, schools, and religion, but also from the toys that may inexplicitly advertise gender expectations. Gender-typed toys may be bought for children as a way for parents to encourage and reinforce gender-appropriate behaviors. However, recent debates have engulfed toy manufacturers and major retailers, which has brought about changes in toy design and marketing in an effort to make reflect more realistic and gender neutral options.

Heteronormartive notions of gender create challenges and issues that require a complex process of resolving gender inequalities. In particular, one of the challenges is resolving the inequalities that are reinforced by male and female gender norms. The notion of gender creates a dichotomy in male and female roles. Through socialization processes, we learn to identify specific behaviours as 'masculine' or 'feminine', and boys and girls are taught to perform and display these traits, which become a dominant part of their identities. Western society has constructed gender roles that promote and maintain notions of suitable behaviours and expectations. For instance, males and females are required to act a certain way according to their

Gender roles play an important role in society whether it is for good or for bad. These roles have been placed in society since the beginning of time. The term gender is socially created and it therefore categorizes men from women. How is gender defined, and what makes it different from the term sex? “…sex refers to the biological characteristics that distinguish women and men: sex chromosomes, reproductive organs, sex-specific hormones, and physical characteristics…Gender… refers to the social and cultural characteristics that distinguish women from men” (Cherlin, 2008, p. 81-82). The terms sex and gender are sometimes used interchangeably, although there is a clear distinction between the two. Gender is known to be socially constructed and is learned through social interactions and through the influences of the people around us. Gender roles are therefore sets of behaviors that are considered appropriate or acceptable for a man and for a woman, exclusively. These roles are socially created as well. For example, men play football and women play volleyball. Gender neutrality on the other hand is a term that is trying to push out these socially constructed roles. “Gender neutral language and gender inclusive language aims to eliminate (or neutralize) reference to gender in terms that describe people” (Gender, 2015). As the word indicates, gender neutrality refers to the idea that all genders should be equal and that all genders must have the same opportunities without

For centuries discussions about the expectations of genders have been extremely taboo. All of our lives, we are sculpted to believe that men are strong, mysterious, authoritative protectors and women are delicate, beautiful, caretakers.

A gender role is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the role or behavior learned by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by the prevailing cultural norms.” For generations, this confining social construct has dictated how people from both main genders should act and think, keeping them from reaching their full potentials. Though we have made progress over the years, these sexist mindsets are still embedded into the hearts of many today. I am here to point out the negative consequences brought about by gender roles and gender inequality and how they affect mental and emotional health, cause a less accepting world, and prohibit our societies, both western and eastern, from fully advancing. It is often believed that the main victim of gender roles are females, and though this was true for the majority of our history, males are increasingly becoming discriminated against by gender roles as well. Because you are male, you cannot publicly enjoy colors associated with femininity or else western society sees you as less of a man. Because you are male, you have some unspoken obligation to earn more than your female spouse. And because you are male you are taught from a young age to suppress your feelings. Males are becoming more victimized by gender roles, however that does not in anyway mean that gender roles do not still affect women. Because you are female, you automatically have to take more care of your appearance or society makes you feel unattractive. Because

and girls when women already earn less than men in economic spheres (“Fact Sheet”, 2010). The underlying gender roles and gender inequality that persists in South Africa help not only to explain their unbelievably difficult daily burdens but it also aids in the understanding of the lack of economic and political representation of women in the region (Bentley, 2004).

Gender roles play an important aspect in shaping the experience of personhood in the United States. Throughout history, distinctions between male and female have been made by society that was placed on individuals. For example, this meant we were expected to act, speak, and behave based upon our assigned sex. Women are generally expected to dress in feminine ways and be nurturing while men are generally expected to be strong and aggressive. These social norms hindered the future and potential of people. As a result, this created different spheres between male and female, where each sphere had social rules that define society’s expectations of

Generalized gender roles are created through gender stereotypes. These stereotypes can be considered erroneous ideas of the male and female attributes. In other words, roles are based off the individual’s desires, beliefs, feelings, and knowledge; therefore, attributes may vary for everyone. In addition, while some don’t condone nor believe in gender roles, others are guilty of presuming them to be true. For instance, some people truly believe that all women should want to be married and have children, and that all men should be the source of protection and affluence. In addition, women are also expected to be emotional, while men are usually expected to be aggressive. Women are expected to cook for the family and clean the home. while men are expected to make sure everything in the home is repaired.