Gender Is Socially Constructed By Society

Gender is defined as the state of being male or female. In most instances, this state is determined based on the biology of an individual’s genitalia. Those born

Gender as a Social Construction This annotated bibliography is focused on research that supports the idea that gender has been socially constructed. Haslanger’s chapter offers an understanding of what is meant by the term ‘socially constructed’ and how gender can be defined from this viewpoint. Zimman complements Haslanger’s argument by explaining that it is our discourse that influences our perceptions of gender. Eckert and McConnell-Ginet’s chapter is helpful when explaining how gender is socially constructed by exploring how from birth we are treated and labeled according to whether we’ are male or female.

When it comes to gender, it is as easy to determine as quantum physics; all the pieces are there but it is impossible to put together. Without hard evidence, all people can do is to make assumptions. The two biggest arguments on how gender is determined right now is based upon social and biological construct. Arguing for the sociological aspect is Aaron Devor, writer of the article, “Gender roles behaviors and attitudes”. Dover believes that, “People use femininity and masculinity to claim and communicate their membership in their assigned, or chosen, sex or gender” (Devor 505). Devor considers that society has certain roles that are predetermined towards males, females and anyone in between. A man has to act a certain way to be masculine and a female a certain way to be considered feminine. On the not so opposite side of the spectrum is Deborah Blum, author of the work, “The gender blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over?”. Blum doesn’t necessarily disagree with Devor, but asks the question, “Do the gender roles of our culture reflect an underlying biology, and, in turn, does the way we behave influence that biology” (Blum 512). Blum is arguing that maybe it was our genetic makeup that built the foundation on how a gender should act. Both authors present valid points for their arguments, but in the end, it is Blum who comes over on top with her usage of tone, evidence, and the use of a counterargument.

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 roles determine the way society works, and the way it views people. Whether it is considered unfair or not, there are many factors that are created from gender roles. Almost all parts of English life from 1674 to 1913 was influenced by gender(Clive, 1.) This way of life made a lasting impression, causing the years to follow to develop and abide by what is known as gender roles. Although gender roles have become a lot more diverse in society, there are still stereotypes and misconstrued gender identity, gender-specific expectations, and gender-specific separation and gaps that still exist today.

When I reflect on chapter 5, what I call the social constructionist chapter, there are numerous concepts that I remember. Michael Kimmel says in the book that gender identity is socially constructed, our identities are a fluid assemblage of the meanings and behaviors that we construct from the values, images, and prescriptions we find in the world around us. In my opinion, Kimmel means that people behave in a way that they chose to, influenced by what they see in their surroundings, or the communities they live in. Additionally they behave the way they do because of fear of disapproval. These social constructs made by people. The idea of doing gender is caused by society. In the lecture, Kimmel’s definition meant identities are changeable

In general, gender is socially constructed in many ways. One example would be through gender norms. Gender norms are actions that we perceive to be acceptable or accepted for a specific gender. For example, it is thought that women are supposed to be stay at home mothers and care for the house. There are also gender norms in crime.

In the article of “Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender” by Aaron Devor suggests that gender is socially constructed. The author stated “as children, and later adults, learn the rules of membership in society, they come to see themselves in terms they have learned from the people around them” (Devor). Society is what makes us all learn to adapt the social norms that aren’t considered through a lesson but more of leading into categorized ourselves as part of a gender group. Our gender role associate with idea of “generalized other” as a function to guide individuals how to appropriately behaves in expectations. Each of an individual, however, plays a different role to meet others’ needs in determine what our gender role

“The social construction of gender comes out of the general school of thought entitled social constructionism. Social constructionism proposes that everything people "know" or see as "reality" is partially, if not entirely, socially situated. To say that something is socially constructed does not mitigate the power of the concept. These basic theories of social constructionism can be applied to any issue of study pertaining to human life, including gender. This is

According to social construction theory, gender is formed by our own beliefs and actions. For instance, many people would believe a farming job would be for a male but it can also be a female job as well. Usually women do house work while men do other duties outside such as landscaping. The definition of gender clearly states ‘“ the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex or one’s sex.”’. (Lecture 3, Page 2). Many people would believe that gender has to do with gonads or reproduction organs but it actually refers how an individual clearly view themselves. A female could be born by sex but then could identify the gender as a male because in their life, there could be masculine acts involved. Other words, socially constructed also means that “society or culture creates an idea, a physical object, a

The way society is taught to be socialized is salient and goes unnoticed, therefore it is valid to claim that gender is socially constructed through our everyday practices, whether we are aware of the construction or not. With socialization beginning the instant a child is born, the process is continuous through out adolescence and varies dramatically across the two genders. With guidance from institutions and arenas such as education, sports, music and the mass media gender seems to be coerced, as it comes with a scripted set of behaviors and attitudes. This essay argues that gender is socially constructed on an everyday basis. To further explain this thesis the essay will draw on early childhood socialization of masculinity and femininity,

I am a strong believer that gender roles are a social construct. However, gender identity is not. Therefore, it is very important to know the difference. Gender roles are defined as “theoretical constructs involving of social and behavioral norms that are widely considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex. The perception of gender roles includes attitudes, actions, and personality traits associated with a particular gender within that culture. Gender roles are predominantly considered within a family context as well as within society in general”. I believe that gender roles and gender expression are social constructs. There is almost nothing that is intrinsically male or female and merely things that are coded as male or female by the culture we live

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.

First, when it comes to social interactions, it play a big role on what it means to do gender. “Social interaction is the process by which people act and react in relation to others” (Macionis 2015: 114). As humans we assign meaning to everything that we see, for example when we see nail polish and makeup we automatically categorize them as things that are associated with women. This is also what it means to say gender is a social construct because a social construct is “the process by which we

Social construction of gender. Gender roles and stereotypes are socially and culturally constructed. Every culture and society places a different meaning on what it is to be a man or a woman, masculine or feminine. According to Module 2 - Gender Roles and Gender-Identity Development, “gender roles are complex groupings of stereotypes brought about by cultural