Gender Identity And Gender Role

Sex, gender- gender roles and gender identity, are words that one might assume to mean the same but in reality they don’t. It is an incorrect assumption and everyone should understand the difference. They each have their own distinct meaning, for a reason and purpose. The definitions are concrete and make sense once a person hears and applies them.

​​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.

Now, I will be looking at how identity relates to gender at the personal level. The article speak of Identity on a personal level mostly, it is when they are looking at how ideas are impacting people, on an intimate way and looking at the motivation of peoples actions. For example, Somers analysis on the new political identity (pg. 219); New political identities are positions and political activities that are more self-centered. They are motivated by people who have

“One’s sense of gender resides in the brain” (“Gender Identity Disorder”), and this sense of gender is often there before you are born. Dr. Eric Vilain, a professor at the University of California, “identifies fifty-four genes that play a role in the expression of sex in a fetus before hormones are even released” (Windfeild 71&73). One of the biggest mental health issues that are out there is gender identity disorder which “may be as old as humanity (“Gender identity Disorder”). This disorder cause a person, normally a kid, to have a feeling of being the opposite sex . Another reason people need to be aware of people who have gender identity disorder is because if they feel as if they are not safe they may turn to a thing like suicide. “Suicide attempts and substance abuse are common” (“GID”) in people with Gender Identity Disorder. This is so because they often grow up feeling out of place or rejected by family and friends. To help with the mental health of these people with GID people should learn more about

Gender identity display people’s understanding of themselves according to cultural definitions of female and male. In this essay I will attempt to enhance our understanding by exploring different aspects of gender identity, gender roles & sexual identity issues. Relying mostly on my research that is conducted in the U.S.

Gender roles are the norms for a specific gender that influences how you act according to your gender. Gender identity is how you identify yourself to the world. In these days, you are not simply a boy or a girl. There are many ways to identify yourself and they are becoming more socially acceptable and creating new norms for our society. The toy industry I believe is catching onto these new norms a little slower than we would like but is getting there with making more toys non-gender specific. According to the article, androgyny is a mix between characteristics of we assume are male and female meaning gender neutral. It says that more children growing up in androgynous households will result in adults being more intimate and close between each other,

Normal gender roles for women are characteristics of motherly qualities such as kindness, softness and the quality act of caring. Whereas men are expected to have boss-like qualities such as aggressiveness and a stern leadership role. Sexual identity is quite different as it is how a person categorizes themselves in relation to sexual intimacy and romantic relationships. A female could identify more as a male due to their preference in dating woman when in prospect of having more than a friendship. In reference to both of these topics, gender roles are following the ordinary guide on how a certain sex should act and sexual identity is what you categorize yourself in relation to a romantic

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.

These characteristics are shaped by society”(Gender Identity). Gender roles can be as simple as thinking about the genders’ and talking about one should being doing something that the other can not do because it is masculine or feminine. Also, since gender roles and gender identity is interconnected with one another that they are often confused and switched around. Gender identity is “how we feel about and express our gender and gender roles like clothing, behavior, and personal appearance”(Gender Identity). Gender identity is often used when people express that they are girly or manly.

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

One area of social interaction within a culture that is symbolically dictated by images and expectations is gender identity. Because western society recognizes a two-gendered system, there exists a dichotomy between the characteristics and objects associated with both males and females. Notably, the colour blue frequently conveys masculinity while pink is instead aesthetically feminine. Likewise, where boys traditionally play with action figures as children, girls receive dolls. Belief in these signs—even if they are oversimplified—influences the language surrounding these gender roles and subsequently, produces assumptions of acceptable behaviour and actions. For instance, since action figures usually personify the characters of superheroes or soldiers, men, similarly become seen as being tough or brave. Furthermore, these images encourage them to perpetuate those traits. Contrastingly, dolls as models of babies, illustrate a view of women as being gentle and domestic figures. As such, in communities that distinguish between more than only two gender types, this polarity in the impressions of males and females would probably vary, or not exist at all.

Physiological or physical distinctions between males, females, and persons that are intersexual is referred to as the “sex” of that individual. Whereas a person’s “Gender” is the social or cultural differences having to do with their biological sex that was assigned to them at birth. Male babies that are born are assigned as boys and Female babies that are born are assigned as girls. Babies that are born intersex can be designated to either category. Scholars regard gender as a Social Contrast, which means it is a concept that was made up from culture and society norms and that it doesn’t exist naturally.

What comes to mind when you think about your life and how the roles you play shape how much power you have? When i think about mine my identity and gender are the first two things i think about. The reason why i do is because sex and gender are the primary categories through which people are assigned identities and social roles. Being assigned a particular identity limits power and the roles that people play in a culture. Identity can work to organize society, to create a division of labor, to give more or less power and to reduce a choice. In many countries within the Hispanic culture machismo and marianismo are two role descriptions used to describe gender roles. Machismo is about being manly and independent, in other words “having a strong sense of masculine pride”. This pride comes from responsibility to provide, protect, and defend his family. It is also a way of showing the power men have over women. An example of machismo is when men don’t let their wives work and say that “women were born to stay home not to go out and work”. Marianismo refers to femininity and to the ideals of women being modest, restrained, and nurturing. It can also be referred to a woman's role as a mother. It is thought that women are to be caretakers first and foremost, with their needs being less of a priority. At times it is said that some women support machismo by being submissive to men because they are dependent on men and obedient. More to that point, marianismo is also portrayed though