Gender Roles From An Early Age

What does it mean to be a woman or man? Whether we a man or a woman, in today’s society it is not determined just by our sex organs. Our gender includes a complex mix of beliefs, behaviors, and characteristics. How do you act, talk, and behave like a woman or man? Are you feminine or masculine, both, or neither? These are questions that help us get to the core of our gender and gender identity. Gender identity is how we feel about and express our gender and gender roles: clothing, behavior, and personal appearance. It is a feeling that we have as early as age two or three. In the article, “Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meaning of Gender,” the author, Aaron Devor, is trying to persuade his readers that gender shapes how we behave because of the expectation from us and relate to one another. He does this by using an educational approach, describing gender stereotypes, and making cultural references. He gets readers to reflect on how “Children’s developing concepts of themselves as individuals are necessarily bound up …to understand the expectations of the society which they are a part of” (389). Growing up, from being a child to an adult is where most of us try to find ourselves. We tend to struggle during this transition period, people around us tell us what to be and not to be, Jamaica Kincaidt in her short story, “Girl” tells just that, the setting is presented as a set of life instructions to a girl by her mother to live properly. The mother soberly

How did your parents influence the development of your gender role? In what ways did you model yourself after your same gender parent? In what ways are your conceptions of appropriate gender roles similar to or different from those of your parents? During high school, what influences did your peers have on your gender role development? How important were your boyfriends or girlfriends in developing your sense of yourself as a woman or man? Who are the people who most influence your gender-role concepts today? As a parent, what gender roles will you model for your children?

When thinking of gender roles in society, stereotypes generally come to mind. Throughout history these stereotypes have only proven to be true. Major historical events have had a huge impact on the way men and women are seen and treated. In this way, women have always been secondary to males and seen as the fragile counterparts whose job is to take care of the household and most importantly, be loyal to her husband no matter the circumstance. Gender roles throughout history have greatly influenced society. The slow progress of woman’s rights throughout humanities led to an explosion of woman’s rights throughout the 20th century and that trend will only continue on into the rest of the 21st century.

Your _____ depends on whether you were born with distinct male or female genitals and a genetic program that released either male or female hormones to stimulate the development of your reproductive system.

In their article, Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet describe some of the variances between a boy and a girl and how they are treated which is essentially the idea of being “gendered” is all about. Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet make some incredibly well supported arguments to illustrate that our gender is a very important trait and it’s development is a lifelong process. Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet talk about how adults act towards boys and girls in which they

Introduction In general, social psychology looks at how people think about one another, but as well as how they influence and relate to each other (Myers, 2014, pg. 554). Gender plays a fascinating role within our social settings. Biological sex defines gender, however biology and social characteristics help define a male and a female (Myers, 2014, pg.154). Gender roles are behaviours that a culture would typically expect from both male and females (Myers, 2014, pg.159). Our expectations for things like the parent that stays home with the children, shopping, driving, and who pays for dinner on a date come from these gender roles.

There was a time in history when men played the roles of women in plays and theatre. This was due to males being the dominant gender throughout most of history. However, just because men have played the roles of women before that doesn’t mean that they truly understand women. It’s easy to act and to play a part but to actually feel and understand women takes more than just good acting skills. This can apply to any media through which a woman is interpreted by a man. To truly understand someone, you have to physically be them and go through the situation they go through. What most do is infer and predict what the response of a woman will be, many of the times it can be correct but it won’t always be. To say that men understand women is an is wrong, not all women are the same. When you say women, you’re talking of half of the world’s population.

A week ago, I observed couples in the food court at the mall displaying characteristics of gender. However one, in particular, stood out. A presumed Hispanic couple with three children demonstrated a perfect example of gender norms and distinguished interactions between both partners. The couple sat directly across from each other and engaged in a conversation with their primary language being Spanish. The woman dressed in a light teal colored shirt, concealed with a black jacket on top of it and also wore faded colored jeans along with everyday white boots. The man wore a dark blue shirt and jeans alongside black boots and sunglasses resting on his head. Both partners acquired brown hair and shared a Chinese meal together while the children

GENDER ROLES ARE SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED Gender and sex are commonly mistaken for the same thing however, gender refers to “the attitudes feelings and behaviours that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex”. (APA, 2011) Whilst sex “refers to a person’s biological status and is typically categorised as male, female or intersex”. (APA, 2011) Since gender refers to the acts and behaviours of a person gender roles are basically a set of social norms (including behaviours and acts) that are based on an individual’s sex.

I observed three different children’s television programs through watching and listening at times to see how gender roles were portrayed, specifically towards children. The first observation that I made that was consistent throughout each of the different programs where that the females were either: bossy, deceitful, or very gentle. Males that were portrayed within the programs were either: aggressive, confident, or passive. I noticed that when the girls were being bossy (or sassy) they were viewed as “just being girls” rather than mean or acting inappropriately. However, if the boys within the programs were acting assertive (or bossy) they were being portrayed as mean, and acting in an inappropriate way.

In today’s society, there are many types of viewpoints between both females and males on many things in life. Most of the viewpoints would have to go towards the males, because people view them to do so much in life. One main example of this would have to be the male’s role in relationships. To society, everyone sees the male’s role to be the one to protect his loved one as well as provide for the both of them and their family. Society also sees that the man’s main role is to be the “man of the house” when it comes to relationships and not letting their wives do much. Males are even seen as fearless and not afraid to show any emotions. This can make young people absorb that the men are the individuals that have to do everything in a relationship which can cause them overdo things or it can cause young males to not even want to do these things because it is overwhelming for them as an individual.

When parents direct children away from toys that are associated with the opposite gender, they reinforce the skewed perceptions and attitudes of the expected social norm. Children tend to assimilate parents and caregivers’ messages concerning gender roles, therefore, by directing children towards gender specific toys, the parents define the roles of societal gender expectations, thus contributing to the negative reinforcement of the ideas of gender identity. In some instances this could be considered damaging as the social learning theory claims; learning is a cognitive process that occurs through observation or direct instruction. When desired behavior is rewarded, the child then learns the relationship between their behavior and the consequence. Although this reinforces gender roles and conditions gender specific behavior, it also gets in the way of expression by encouraging change (in behavior) for the sake of others, or in general society.

Gender roles begin early in life; I believe that babies are able to identify gender roles as young as 8 months old. For instance, at the age of 9 months, my nephew was able to differentiate male from female faces. As an illustration, my nephew would cry every time my husband went near him. The environment my nephew was raised in has a big influence to why he prefers women over men. Providing that information I can see how small children are able to distinguish the gender of males and females.

has begun to form. When we meet a new person, we are instantly judging whether they are male

Society today places many ideals when it comes to proper behaviours regarding gender roles. These are considered societal norms that are widely debated and controversial. Society has created a norm, which encompasses specific expectations and rules that change the daily lives of men and women, giving them specific tasks and behaviours to abide by. These standards are known as gender roles, which are defined as distinguishing actions, thoughts, and feelings of males and females. Gender roles are said to be a result of nature, which is a natural process, every male or female is to follow. On the other hand it can be a result of nurture, which changes ones way of thinking and adapting their lifestyle to fit their environment. Either way gender roles are a part of someone’s life from the moment of their birth, as they develop, and long after that, this proves that gender roles are influential to a person’s life and development. This essay examines how media such as music, family life, and different parenting styles encompass gender roles and teaches behaviours regarding them. Therefore, gender roles define males and females are a result of nurture and not nature.