Gender Identity And Identity

​​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 “Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender” by Aaron H Devor,

He argues in the book that the human mind makes a difference between men and women, but they cannot be judged because of their genders and mental and physical abilities. Thought the thoughts of males and females are entirely different because of internal biological differences society and culture play a part in the standards these genders should conform to fit in. Socialization to gender roles impacts the shaping of the male and female minds in society, and this Pinker did not emphasize. Gender is defined as the socially constructed behavior, roles, attributes and activities that our societies consider appropriate for women and men. The development process that shapes the mind begins in life early and heightens during adolescence stage for instance; researchers discovered that gender expectation negatively influences psychosocial development of girls. Thus inferring the fact that men and females cannot be judged by their mental and physical abilities is true but minus the influence of influences of cultural and religious biases the male and females mind would not be that different.

We live in a sexually dimorphic reality, where one is required to choose either male or female when filling out everything from census questionnaires to credit card application forms. Similarly, medical records neatly report sex as male or female. Yet a significant number of babies are born each year with ambiguous genitalia and/or an unclear sex assignment, leading some to argue that gender is truly a continuum, not a binary. According to the Intersex Society of North America, 1% (1 out of 2000 babies) of babies physically differ from “standard male or female,” while 0.1-0.2% of babies require medical intervention and surgery to “normalize” their genital appearance.

A significant point in Bems’ (1993) chapter in Lens of Gender on gender identity was the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy when it comes to the treatment and development of young boys and girls in society. The first point discussed is how the ‘maternal instinct’ is not so biological as much it is women being confined to the private sphere, in turn having the most interaction with children. This point stood out as I was reading because I have known from a young age I did not want children. Many told me that my opinion would change when I grew older, and when you have your own child being a mother comes naturally. As I reflected I was reminded of the point later made by Bem (1993) that “adults in the child’s community

The word identity has become the most discussed idea in our society. It is described mostly, to be a word that stands for who we are. Therefore, because of who we are, identity has come to be a word that we use to claim and understand people’s actions in our society. So in this paper I will be analysing how social practices surrounding identity relates to gender in social, personal levels, through the work of three authors; by Ian Hacking on “kind making”, Margaret Somers on “Narrative construction of identity” and finally, Frederick Cooper and Rogers Brubaker on “beyond identity” . However, I will tilt more toward Frederick Cooper and Rogers Bruakers article on identity. This is because I feel that their article contributes better to my

Transgender can be defined as a person whose self-identity does not conform precisely to conventional notions of the male or female gender. This self-identity problem can usually be accompanied by numerous forms of treatment to change ones’ physical appearance, and make it more consistent with their identified gender identity. In many cases, the individual can identify with the gender of the opposite sex to the point one believes that he or she is a member of that gender group trapped in the wrong body. This is also called Gender Dysphoria or formerly known as Gender Identity Disorder. The person with gender dysphoria or GD at times does not know that he or she have an actual disorder but more of a general discomfort with his or her biological sex. This also creates complications in their everyday life, when they are unable to interpret their feelings or rationalize problems they experience in a social setting (Gender Dysphoria, 2014).

-each time we meet a new person we make a gender attribution and based on appearance and mannerisms we make a distinction between men and women

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.

In a recent South Park episode, titles “The Cissy”, in order for his own personal gain to use the girls’ bathroom and later to receive his own bathroom, Cartman dons a pink bow on his head to become “Erica.” Meanwhile, Randy Marsh (as known as Lorde to most and Stan’s dad) must battle with his gender identity and that of his music as women at his work are uncomfortable with sharing a bathroom with him, therefore he must receive his own against his wishes. While both Cartman’s and Randy Marsh’s struggles with their gender identity revolve around the use of a bathroom, through the juxtaposition of the actions of shooting a school and becoming transgender, the symbolism of the “executive bathroom,” and the final scene of Stan singing in the bathroom designated for “Cissys’” reveal society’s inability to comprehend gender- identity struggles, thus exposing the uselessness of gender- labeling.

This shows how inequality goes beyond just someone’s gender. This is somewhat stated in Critical thinking about inequality: An emerging lens by Ruth Zambrana and Bonnie Dill. The main point of that article is that inequality goes beyond just one single aspect that a person contains, meaning race, gender, and class all combined play a role in inequality (Dill, 2009). I also think this concept covers how gender and sex are intertwined and can create inequality together and not just one of them by itself. For example, different genders, like boys, girls, are treated differently on a single scale, but if you have a girl whose sex is anatomically female and a girl whose sex is anatomically male then they will be treated too even though they are under the same gender group. These identifications and technicalities lead to people treating them differently or inequality when mixed

The role movies played on gender identity in the twentieth century was substantial. Views that were defined by charismatic actors paved the way on how society accepted social standings. Religious groups and other dominant organizations controlled the content these films used to shape gender roles. Social pressure ensured these values were upheld and sustained.

There are a variety of ways people can identify themselves as. Through their clothes, the music they listen to, the major that they will choose to pursue in college, and hundreds of other choices. Each identity branches off into hundreds of categories that are unique in their own way. For clothes. people can identify themselves as punks, hipsters, preppies, and many more fashion styles. The same concept can apply to music, college majors, and even genders. In the 1950s, it was extremely typical and socially accepted that there was a male and female, but it is 2015 and times have drastically changed. Due to the concept of subcategories of different categories, I strongly believe that there can be more than two genders along with the male and

Gender identity is the personal conception of being a man or a woman and the society creates standards and comes up with gender roles basing them on existing norms and traditions which will in turn influence gender identity. For instance, most societies associate strength and dominance to be masculine roles while caring and assisting or subordination known to be feminine roles. This clearly makes gender identity be bred within the society. One’s identity is important as it influences his or her life through events like life experiences, how one is being taken or treated, how to do one associate or socialize with others, the type of job one will have to do and also opportunities that may come up favoring a certain type of gender identity. One is also likely to face obstacles or discrimination due to his or her identity.

Gender appears to be a fundamental category taken place in our identity and has emphasized to us at an early age. Going to Wal-Mart and Target we discovered that tons of our preferences are made for us before we are even born. As an infant, it seems that boys prefer blue and girls prefer pink. Because of our gender ideology and socialization, it is easy to differentiate which clothes/toys are for boys and which are for the girls.