Gender Norms

In the reading by Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet “Learning to be Gendered” it states “Women are not born, they are made. The same is true of men”. Everybody has their own gender, it’s either a male or female. We think that we were born this way, but in reality we are forced to become something we are not. We are the way we are because of society its self. It affects our daily lives to a point where people have lost the will of choosing who they are or what they want. In some parts around the world it is forbidden to date or marry the same sex. Now days everything is branded for either a male, female, or both.

Gender and gender roles are a somewhat complicated idea to understand. Contrary to popular belief, gender and sex are two different things in that “gender is not inherently nor solely connected to one’s physical anatomy” (“Understanding Gender”). When parents automatically assign their child a gender based on their sex organs, it leaves very little room for change later in the child’s life, because children born with female sex organs are not necessarily girls, just as children born with male sex organs are not necessarily boys. Rather, gender is based on mindset, personal identity, outward presentations, and behavior of the individual. Binary genders, or the broadly

How did this activity shape your understanding of how gender norms can shift across generations and over time?

People tend to conform to what we as of now have deemed acceptable in our society. Girls especially may feel pressured to look or dress a specific way, wanting to be “beautiful” in the eyes of society. Every so often I will walk around and see people who all dress in similar fashion, or all wear the same brands as though the name alone will make them more noticeable. Some groups, though they are harder to find as people are starting to try and be individuals, do it to the point where they all really just look like clones of one another as shown in the picture. Girls who look different from the norm, such as ones who wear baggy clothing or have a different body type or even dyed hair tend to stand out among the crowds. They don’t necessarily

The media is currently largely responsible in creating and reminding people of the existence of gender roles and social norms, which consequently influences children. Aside from media, parents are the most responsible in the upbringing of their child. That being said, parents can choose to control what they teach their child and steer them away from the societal norms of certain gender roles, but they don’t have control over the media’s content. Sometimes, parents can’t help if they give their daughter a Barbie doll and their son a Batman action figure, because they don’t realize it and they themselves were raised to understand that girls are supposed to like this and do that and boys are supposed to like that and do this. It’s all a chain

Why her sitting down would have made a scene can be traced back to the idea of gender norms, and when people go against what is considered to be normal, they face sanctions – “an action that indicates the approval or disapproval of conduct relating to a social norm" (Johnston et al. 2017). Miriam would have faced critical side-glances and Bernie may have had people approach him to ask what was wrong with Miriam. Similar to what Miriam and Bernie may have experienced, sanctions are usually not what people hear on the news today like new sanctions and ordinances being imposed on Russia, North Korea, or Iran, but are smaller actions that show disapproval. An example of sanctions that actually occurred in The Finest Hours took place before Bernie

What is a gender binary? Gender binary is where a person is classified by their sex and gender into two very distinct, opposite and disconnected forms of feminine and masculine. The gender binary is what most people feel that they need to fit into. For example, for a female is expected to act a certain way and “be a lady”, and males are expected to be tough and not show any emotion. In the book Gender Failure Rae Spoon talks about how he did not fit the gender binary of being a female and used the example of how his mother would ensure that he sat like a lady. Rae says “The sermon starts and we sit up straight with our hands in our laps, trying to concentrate on staring straight ahead. After fifteen minutes I’m like a cowboy straddling a fence.” (page 45) Rae had stated before that he was always told about chores were to be done by the girls in the family. Rae

During this week we have discussed the differences of how we describe masculine and feminine based on biological and cultural assessments of gender, while also looking at how media depicts these gender roles, and how it influences our understanding of sex and sexuality. Gender roles are drawn upon normative rules and standards that “society” create. When we distinguish between these roles, the Masculine role is more self-oriented or agentic, while the feminine role is communal. Males are understood of having a standard of being strong, aggressive, dominant, and most importantly being the provider. Females are thought of having the standard of being weak, fragile, submissive, nurturing, and subordinate. This gender socialization begins at birth starting when a girl is placed in a pink hat, while a boy is placed in a blue cap.

A set of social norms that are generally accepted, appropriate, or desirable based on a person’s sex or sexuality are referred to as gender roles. Gender roles play a large role in how a society and its people are shaped and how people should behave according to their sex. Gender roles are based on social norms or standards that are created in a society. In many cultures, being masculine is traditionally associated with having or showing strength, aggression, dominance, and to never reveal any significant signs of emotion that may show weakness. On the other hand, being feminine is traditionally associated with passivity, nurturing, and being submissive.

I trudged into this class the first day unaware that I was going to be hit in the face with the reality of social gender norms and how awful they are. It’s as if we’re put in a trance growing up that puts us in specific lanes that we need to stay in called gender norms one lane is titled “female” and the other is “male.” I was asked “What is a woman?” and the first few things that popped into my head were well long hair, breasts, makeup, and a vagina. None of these things are what should define a woman although a vagina is something a female is born with at birth. What I’ve learned so far has made me look at things differently or more like the right way. We fall into these roles that society developed throughout the years and we’re expected

It is undeniable that socially constructed gender norms reinforce the ingrained patriarchal ideology that runs rampant throughout society. Indeed, our society has established strict roles which essentially determine how individuals are expected to act, speak, dress, and conduct themselves based upon their assigned sex. These films highlight the societal impact of gender norms and gender stereotyping that is internalized early in life and continues to be entrenched within society through generational customs as well as various forms of media and entertainment, such as advertisements, movies, video games, and so forth.

Something that struck me reading this article was the claim that gender is determined by societal norms. What gives society the right to deem the color pink a girly color and black a boy color. What gives society the right to determine playing with dolls is for girls and playing with cars is for guys? Why do we have to put labels on things? This is part of the reason there are so many people who are confused with their identity in the world. A guy may have some habits that are considered “girly”. All of a sudden he thinks he needs a sex change because society is telling him he acts like a girl. While we cannot allow ourselves to be defined by society any longer, we cannot allow ourselves to define other people. The only way to stop the stereotypes

The authors suggest that gender identity transitions through various stages much like cognitive development. As children age from toddler toward more maturity into adolescence they move from less gender awareness towards a complete awareness of differences in sexual make up. Typically many of us have been socialized to participate in groups, dress and play with toys that are gender specific. Some examples that explain this is the way in which we bring babies home from the hospital. Girls are dressed in pink and boys are dressed in blue. This continues

Women are told to keep busy with housework, while men go out and become breadwinners for their families. These are typical gender norms that affect society. Throughout my life I have been introduced to gender norms, whether through the toys I was supposed to play with, how I ought to dress, or what extracurricular activities I should involve myself with. In my opinion, I often broke any gender norm I encountered. I was somewhat of a tom-boy growing up, so I did not play with Barbie’s or wear pretty dresses. I even played on an all-boys baseball team. Now I am pursuing a degree in engineering. This contradicts the many gender norms often associated with what are thought to be serious and male orientated professions. Foremost that women are not capable of succeeding in the engineering fields in this day and age, an idea that is cultivated by society and the culture that surrounds us.

November 24, 1922 12pm.: Ever since I cut my hair I’ve never felt so free. I refuse to wear the corsets that I have been obligated to use since childhood. You cannot believe how relived I am to not have to wear those tight close fitting undergarments. So instead I have started wearing loose dresses that I feel more comfortable in. My mother always told me that men liked women with a slim waist and emphasized breast and with my new look no man will want to marry me. Of course she is livid. Not only at the fact that I cut the “beautiful long cascade of never ending long dark hair” as she says, but mostly because I’m rebelling against society’s norm. I’ve decided that it is time to take a stand for my rights and fight for my independence. I refuse to comply too these social norms. The submissive woman, restricted from freedom due to her traditional modest, accustomed, womanly gender roles. I will not be that woman. I will be the change. I’ve seen my mother, grandmother do it for years and I’ve had it. We have been repressed, and made slaves of the household generating a perspective that all we have to offer is pleasing our men and doing chores. But these social conventions will finally come to an end. Thanks too many women who have decided to be the change for today’s society. The Voting right for women has already commenced. And I can’t find the words to describe how incredibly joyful I am that now we have the right to vote. As of now we have a whole new sector of power and