Gender Identity Research Paper

We are made by how people looks at females and males in today’s world. When we are first born we are labeled by colors, boys gets blue and girls gets pink. We don’t ask for any of this and yet we are forced into this because we have no power what’s so ever. Whenever you see a male wearing female clothing in public, it seems weird or unnatural to some people. It’s unnatural to some because of the world they were raised around, which was males wear male clothes and females wear female clothes. Clothes are intended for everyone but people make it seem like it’s either for males strictly or it’s for females. Society chooses what we can wear and what we can’t wear. People are

Gender is defined as being male or female as defined by roles, social status, and attitude. The perception of oneself and what characterizes gender identity. Included in gender identity is hormone and behavior interaction, along with the examination of psychological, biological, and environmental influences on sexual separation.

Janet Mock not only feels the pressure from society, but also from her beloved family members. The important lesson her mother, grandmother and sister taught her in her early childhood is that hiding true identity can help her to keep away from laughter and scold, especially those with malicious intent. Her family members believed that they were rising a boy child, and a boy should not act or wear anything that is feminine. “This [Western culture’s gender binary] system proclaims that sex is determined at birth,” Janet Mock claims. “You should act

Julie Greenwood, a transgendered woman, explained that, if you steer away from the social norms about women there could be consequences. She also explained that social norms are learned at a very young age. As we learned about in class, the gender role theories are roles that are learned in childhood, which can affect many of people’s choices. The social norms of gender can affect how people dress, the division of labor and essential differences. Men are usually expected to be independent, assertive and competitive while women are supposed to be passive, emotional and supportive of their male counter part. These gender norms can interfere with the careers women

Now this has changed, people now refer to them as “jorts” and they make fun of men who wear them. For this assignment, the two social norms I chose to break were, dressing differently than expected and talking to myself in public. When I chose to dress differently than expected, I was curious as to what people would say when they saw me. I did not necessarily break a social norm but rather a personal norm that I have created in the past year and a half since I have been at Lynchburg.

As societal human beings, we are constantly immersed in a world of gender norms. Gender norms are behaviors that include ways of speaking, ways of presentation, and even types of body language that are associated with certain genders, typically to the resilient two-category system of men and women. Sociologists West and Zimmerman describes the action of performing these gender norms in daily, social interactions as “doing gender” (35). Gender norms are an essential part of society, to the extent that the general population will only notice and acknowledge the presence of gender when the norms are breached and questioned. For this particular assignment, I have decided to enact a gender norm violation of demonstrating masculinity by wearing a tie, sitting while taking up as much room as possible, and building furniture with an aggressive, loud and assertive approach. My uncharacteristic behavior at my workplace, a conventional law firm, drew both subtle and unsubtle reactions from my coworkers and I was eventually held responsible for my actions. This report of my experience also reveals the conflicting responses of respect and reprimand towards the consequences of breaking a gender norm.

Because of these misconceptions, I want to dive further into the taboo around gender to explore how gender performance influences the way we perceive and treat others. If these practices are exposed, perhaps we can begin mending the ties that separate us from those whose life experiences are different than ours.

On October 6, 2017, I woke up and for an hour I thought about what social norm I was going to challenge for this assignment. After giving it careful thought, I decided I was going to challenge the gender roles, identity, and stereotypes that society has. “Gender roles are sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one’s status as male or female.” (Conley, 2017, p.133) I was going to challenge this with my clothing. So, I decided I was going to dress up like a man for the whole day. Gender roles are cultural and personal. They determine and control how males and females should think, speak, dress, and interact within the context of society. In the United States, these gender roles are

Moreover, Lang (1999) successfully demonstrated that young women within sorority clubs do gender as their role of adopting their traditional feminine characteristics become gender obligations in order for them to fit in that particular society. Therefore, the example of dress illustrates that individuals within society are deeply controlled by their body since non verbal communication has become a form of social control (Lang 1999). For instance, it enables users to project their identity and allow agents of social control to interpret their identity through their style of clothing (Arvanitidiou and Gasouka 2013). To conclude, the example discussed above highlights how garments are devised by humans which offer a clear distinction between how

Judith Butler is a famous American academic who is famous for her theories of the performative nature of gender and sex, who firmly believes that gender is socially constructed rather than being innate. One of her most popular beliefs was that there is no ‘proper’ gender, and that gender is a ‘doing’, but not a ‘doing’ by the individual. Gender performativity is not a singular act, but actually a set of repetitions and recitations; through gestures, a way of dressing, and a way of speaking; that become ritualized where the effects observed by others make the gender appear natural. Butler takes a stance on believing that gender is socially constructed and that society influences expectations and characteristics of being a ‘man’ or a ‘woman’,

The first community engagement event I attended was called “The Vagina Monologues” which took place on February 17th, 2016. The event was held in the HUB room 302, was hosted by the UC Riverside Woman’s Resource Center, and began at 7pm. When I arrived I was a bit hesitant to go because all of my female friends who I had invited to come with me had class obligations that night and although the flyer had said everyone was welcome, I couldn’t help but feel I would be out of place. All I knew about this event was that it was supposed to be filled with skits meant to empower woman, and being a man in that environment mad me uneasy. After a few moments of internal debate I decided that it didn’t matter what I thought or felt I needed to go to the event and get

When first receiving the instructions for this assignment intending involvement in a public women-centered event in order to review and analyze it – I was overwhelmed by intimidation. I was perplexed by the realization that for a woman in my thirties, this was to be the first time I would find myself in the enclave of true womanhood…and it terrified me. The closest I had ever come to a ‘women-centered’ event was during my twenties, and it involved a bunch of girls and two hired male exotic dancers. You see; I realized that, despite being a woman, I have always found women intimidating. Nonetheless, I set out to make an appearance driven to overcome some personal challenges including the task of writing this paper.

Ironically, when we were given this assignment I had the perfect opportunity to violate a gender norm. I attended my cousins’ baby shower this weekend and all the guests were in for a surprise when my cousin began to open her gifts. I decided to buy my new baby boy cousin a pink onesie and a dollhouse. When my cousin pulled the gifts out of the bag everyone had puzzled looks on their face. My cousin even asked me if I had given her the wrong gift. Everyone thought I was crazy for buying a baby boy what is deemed as girl things by society. In the world, we live in pink and dolls are for girls and blue and cars are for boys. If you buy your child anything that society deems for the other sex you break many gender norms. I received a lot of

“Why is she with him?” is the question we find ourselves asking our peers. To judge a book by its cover as to judge a human by the layer that covers his or her skin. Often in our culture today, we as Americans tend to follow the never ending trend of fashion. It plays a role on what we wear, how we talk, and even who we date. In California, you come across vast styles of fashion, races, and cultures all in one place. Most of the time we find similarities between the couples we see, but in other circumstances like the experiment of a well-dressed female dating a very poor looking male, would this be a norm in society? My boyfriend and I decided to purposely disguise ourselves in completely opposite social class appearance such as clothing in order to feel people’s reactions, comments, and overall judgment on what most would consider taboo. The experiment took place in three different areas that involved being surrounded by people. These areas most importantly had to have a diverse group of people, so I chose; the mall, a restaurant, and Best Buy. My determination was to not seek acceptance but to determine whether we as a whole play a role in society on what is normal from the abstract.

Throughout today’s society, there are multiple views and opinions on whether or not there are more than two genders or if gender is even just a social construct. Each person has their own individual preference on how they express their gender. Therefore, we can no longer assume what someone identifies as just by looking at them. Over the years I have learned more about gender expression and gender identity as I gained friends who were homosexual as well as transgender. I feel as if I was introduced to all of these ways of life at a young age, therefore I can, in some ways, teach those who are uneducated and do not know what to think. I have personally never really thought about the different gender identities I could label myself as but as of right now I identify as a cisgender female