Gendered Lives By Julia T. Wood Summary

Gender has been described as masculine or feminine characteristics that encompass gender identity sex as well as social roles (Nobelius 2004). According to sexologist John Money, there is a difference between gender as a role and the biologically of differences in sex (Udry 1994). Within scholarly disciplines, cultures and contexts, gender frequently has its own mean, contextual frame of reference and the manner in which it is used to describe a variety of issues and characteristics. The sociocultural codes, conventions and the suggested and literal rules that accompany the notion of gender are vast and diverse. There has been and continues to be much scholarly debate regarding the idea of gender and how it has been viewed historically; as well as changes in the grammatical use of the

Gender relations and gender identities are critical aspects of culture because they shape the way daily life is lived in the family, but also in the larger community and within the workplace. Gender (like race or ethnicity) functions as an organizing principle for society because of the cultural meanings given to being male or female. This is apparent in the overall understanding of gender. In most societies, there are obvious patterns of “women’s work” and “men’s work,” both in the household and in the wider community, and cultural explanations support this. The patterns and explanations vary among societies and change over time.

Devor starts by be explaining how gender identity starts between eighteen months and two years. Children then start to understand which specific group the fall into when it comes to gender. Culture also plays a large role in this because different cultures have different thoughts as to how gender is perceived. Masculine and feminine characteristics are usually believed to be opposites of each other. Masculine attributes consist of being competitive, aggressive, and territorial. On the other hand, females are maternal, caring, and sensitive. Gender identity can also be seen through the way individuals speak, their body posture, and personal goals. Society plays a big role in the definitions of masculinity and femininity since children learn values based on the settings around them.I agree with Devor when it comes to the belief that society shapes how individuals understand gender.Gender role characteristics reflect the conceptions that our society sees

What does it mean to express ourselves as women? Gender shapes our interpretation of what it is to be at home within ourselves. As James Baldwin eloquently reminded us, “The world’s definitions are one thing, and the lives one actually lives is quite another” (Baldwin, ). How can we be sure of the complex nature of our gender identities and gender expression, be genuine, when we have been socialized into looking at the world through the lens of a binary gender system since we were born? It seems to me that the definition and expression of womanhood are constantly evolving, and that is good news.

Judith Lorber’s idea of gender meaning both sameness and difference is the key concept in Night to His Day, an excerpt from her book The Paradoxes of Gender. In Night to His Day Lorber’s main goal in this piece is to show how gender is socially constructed. She does this by stating the many components of gender within society that could be perpetrated either as a social institution (sameness) or what gender is composed of at an individual level (difference). This paper will use examples from Marilyn Monroe’s The Seven Year Itch to demonstrate these components of gender.

The gender describes how our understandings and perception of differences between masculinity (what society deems appropriate behaviour a “man” and femininity (what society deems appropriate behaviour for a “woman”) are influenced.

Scott Carpenter displays gender as multilayered and explains “Each layer reveals another, and another, and yet another—until we get to the center of this philosophical onion, only to find that, just maybe, there is no core. Or, at the very least, this core may be less of a precise identity than a kind of biological tether” (109). He explains that gender identity is more than just a mere male and female description, and it has such wide definition that one can have a hard time to think. Female can also be masculine whereas male can be feminine. Therefore, he is emphasizing that even with cultural and traditional bounds, individuals can choose their own interest, and emphasizes that gender studies are great way to figure out “the flexibility of roles, as well as the malaise that this elasticity can elicit” (Carpenter

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.

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

The history of the world is a complex arrangement of happenings and occurrences that have shaped the current state of civilization. At a fundamental level, history is the driving force behind every element of society that exists today. Within history, there are several factors that have and continue to determine the way in which our society functions. One of the most significant of these factors is gender. Today, conceptions, viewpoints and ideas surrounding gender are always changing. It is this fluidity of thought that ultimately allows society to progress forward and create change. However, gender has not always been as openly discussed. Tracing back through history, gender has consistently been a point of identity among humans.

Gender, as a social construct has constantly intrigued me, particularly since our culture, society and who we are is formed by it. The thought that we can make something that runs our lives so tremendously is fascinating. Gender is imbued within each one of us from the beginning of our lives and is enforced in all most everything, from toys to clothes. The process of learning the social desires and expectations as well as attitudes associated with one's sex is called as Gender Socialization.

Gender can be defined as the personal identity of an individual that they express outwardly, despite the persons actual biological sex and sexual preference. Put simply, gender is ‘the state of being male or female’ (Oxford Dictionary, 2015). The academic study of gender first emerged in the 1960’s, alongside the rise of second wave feminists and women’s movements. Over the years, research has developed in many ways – with people beginning to study how gender differs from sex and developing that research into what causes people to defy their gender norms and how gender and sex can be completely unrelated.

In this article it is clear that parents are allowing their children to take part in activities that are not associated with their gender. This is causing gender identity problems for many children who are never shown how they are to act and what toys to play with. Parents play a pivotal role in the development of their children. Many children may have a difficult time growing out of a stage in their life where they are playing with toys not generally associated with their gender, such as the case in the article. In the textbook, the author states that “For most children, parents are the single most visible and available models of masculinity and femininity,” (Wood, 172). This shows that even though parents feel that they are not impacting their child’s gender identity, that in reality they are. Parents need to act and be positive role models for the way they want their children to act. There may be toys, such as these dolls, that may confuse a child’s gender identity but it is ultimately up to the parent to be a model for the way they want their child to grow up in

The role of a male and female has slowly evolved; however, there is not much difference that has occurred because of the beliefs that are deeply ingrained in different societies. The relationship that exists between gender and sex has been the reasoning to a current cultural awakening, and the result of campaigning for better understanding on the underlying issues that exist between gender, sex, sexuality, and cultures. This is why these concepts are important to highlight and better familiarize people with the key differential aspects.

The continuous day-to-day construction of gender has been called “doing gender”. (West/Zimmerman: 1987). According to West and Zimmerman, “Doing Gender” means to perform complex societal activities of perception, interaction and of micro-politics which define certain activities pursuing either masculine or feminine. This means that the “doing” of gender justifies social structures and thus establishes the male and female difference as natural. However, processes of doing gender aren’t only carried by individuals in society but also through