How Have Gender Identities Changed in the Last One Hundred Years

​Gender identity has changed its definition over time. The psychological definition as stated from the social learning theory is that gender identity is the sense of being male or female. Seems simple but we now know in todays world the definition has broadened. Gender identity is now defined as one 's personal experience of one 's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with assigned sex at birth, or can differ from it completely. All societies have a set of gender categories that can serve as the basis of the formation of a person 's social identity in relation to other members of society. From the past when we had many strong women’s rights activist who fought so what your gender was did not

The quality of American television has become a national disgrace. Young women in America who are displeased with their appearance more likely then not can trace those feelings directly back to images from the mass media on television. The unrealistic representations of women that the mass media bombards young women with indicates that the television has become a source for a distorted understanding of gender roles among adolescent women. These images warp young women’s views of their own gender identity. The mass media on television should in an attempt to provide more positive gender identities for adolescent women depict women on television in more realistic ways, should stop

Gender roles became so complex in the twentieth century due how society has changed what men and women should be like. Men take being strong and independent as a God given right to them, while females on the other hand have had to work their way up in order to be titled independently strong. From growing up to early adulthood I faced the conflict of constantly worrying about how society wants me shape myself as a dependent and self-confident which was the complete opposite of me.

The paramount of social adversities facing the modern society is the divide between definitions of gender. Gender represents an abstract interpretation of sex and this notion is simply a societal construct. The establishment of gender has evolved into a tradition of humanity, however this tradition evolved into a social divide between masculinity and femininity. The pressure to conform to societal constructs of masculinity and femininity poisons society and branches off to toxic masculinity; such were nurtured from these figurative beliefs. Gender roles further stigmatize the victims who refuse to conform. However, gender roles has witnessed a revolution in modern times. The purpose of this collateral involves analyzing the evolution of gender roles present in media from mid 19th century to modern times. The period of time, or 1960’s, was chosen because of post World War II’s effects on stereotypes in society around the world. Post war not only challenged stereotypes but further kindled women’s role in the workforce and women began to fill in roles previously belonging to men. In later years, a radicalization of the feminist movement has spurred and our modern times is a witness to its ascension to the paramount of feminism. The media, since the 1960’s, has allowed society to be the primary witness. With the evolution of gender roles, the media must also adapt to the changes in societal views of gender roles and the entire feminist movement at large. This collateral seeks to

Gender and the Media by Rosalind Gill addresses gender stereotypes that are brought onto women and men through the media resulting in objectification and subjectification. Gill discusses how the representation of gender is altered as a result of the media in Western societies. Gender and the Media is aimed to address the rapid transmission of media and how those changes affect the construction of feminine and masculine gender roles in society. Gill uses her interest in the contradictions of gender construction by society, to analyze gender and the media. Using feminism as a backbone for her research, Gill and many commentators support the idea that feminist ideas are common and may even affect the media. Gender and the Media addresses multiple forms of media: postfeminism in advertising, gender in the news and journalism, and gender in magazines. Gild aims to address the construction of gender representations, elements for gender analysis, and feminist culture with Gender and the Media.

“Literature has documented the familiar yet profound transformation of sex roles associated with the process of societal modernisation” (Ronald Inglehart, Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around The World, 2003)

Gender roles have changed in a positive way by creating opportunities for women, independent women, and equality in our society between genders. While women have changed men have kept many of the same roles in society, with just a few changes. For many years women were thought of as the stay at home moms who took care of the kids and made dinner for the family. But much of that has changed especially within the twenty first century and women can now be seen taking important roles in our society.

Women soldiers shrewdly downplayed their new independent identities as men and instead stressed their patriotism and wifely devotion as explanations for their flight from confining Victorian womanhood and rejection of home and hearth.4 Females were being paid as high as $13 on a monthly salary compared to $4 as cooks and cleaners. Women knew the benefits of the army and most of them did this for the money. The pay was great, some fought beside their loved ones, others escaped prostitution, many fought for what they believed in. Women during this time enjoyed the identity of a man and all the privileges that came with the title. While their sex remained female, their gender identity increasingly became male oriented as they adopted male behaviors and attitudes,5 As we witnessed with Albert Cashier, he continued to live like a man far after the three terms he had served. The ability to act like a man, and experience a completely new world from a women's perspective, who could complain? During this time women were oppressed and were paid less simply because they were women and voting wasn't even a right for them. When these courageous women switched from female to male, they witnessed a whole new life. Under the impression of being a man by your comrades and others outside of the war zone, these women received respect beyond

Identity can be defined as 'how I see myself and how others see me. ' (Questioning Identity. 2000. p7) An identity involves a sense of belonging, an individual chooses to identify with a group and actively engages in doing so, showing agency. This sense of belonging involves being the 'same ' and recognising that others are 'different '. An individual can have multiple identities e.g. gender, supporting a football team; all of these identities make up the individual. Structures such as gender and class, influence, encourage or prevent individuals from identifying with certain groups and therefore shaping the identity.

A critical gendered lens is addressing the binary structures that people are placed in when they are portrayed in the media. Why is the man the rational voice of reason yet hyper aggressive and the woman is deemed emotional or crazy in every other sense. Women are seen as nothing, but a sexual object, whose sexuality is characterized as far as genuinely obliged thoughts of attractiveness (Markham, 2005). Western accepted cultural naturally unequivocally defined categories of gender with distinctive psychological and behavioral properties prediction from reproductive functions. Division between men and women, men’s work and women’s work, how men and women ought to act is a division perceived by biology (West aand Zimmerman,1987). Structural

These days people may be asking what gender roles are. Well the idea of gender roles has been around for many years. According to oxford dictionary, gender role is the role or behaviour learned by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by their prevailing cultural norms (“Gender Role”). This definition means that everyone has a role and a place in society that they are expected to stick to. This topic is important because these days gender roles are less enforced. Gender roles are based on one’s cultural background, country and the time period in which they are alive. These roles are socially and culturally determined and are affected by important aspects of living such as economics, politics and education (interview). Gender roles change over time as society evolves.

I can very much relate to your description of your husband's laid-back nature and you respecting him as the head of household. I am aware that many women would find having a man in charge of a household as sexist, but the culture and subculture I come from designates the man of the family as the leader of the family and gives men a more dominant role to play. Women in my religion are not bound to earn, their main task is to contribute towards the upbringing and nurturing of the children, while it is imperative that men should earn and provide for the family.However, certain aspects of certain norms and values of any culture may adapt to the changing world.so did mine. In this era of gender equality, women of my culture are becoming more independent,

Postmodern fragmentation of gender According to Lee (1999), postmodern theories abandon modernist singular identities for a fragmented version of history, where individuals are unstable, constantly moving objects. Post-structuralist discourse feminists have dramatically altered views of gender and sex, creating a distinctly new paradigm for the concept of womanhood, and providing 'a comprehensive demolition job on Western orthodoxies' (Sheehan, 2004, p.21). In his way, identity is not only socially and culturally constructed, but it also changes in different contexts, such as class, race or sexual orientation, and established systems, such as Western hegemony, humanism, and the nature of reality, are deconstructed (Woodward, 2002; Stoddart,

The roles of males and females in society have significantly changed, as opposed to the predominant roles in our history. In the modern culture of today, women have begun to break out of the mold that which society has placed her in. This much can’t be said when it comes to modern gender representation in mass media advertising. It can be safe to state that woman are seen as sexual, fragile, exotic—whereas men are portrayed as tough, in control, and aggressive. This trend can be one seen as an inhibitor to the advancement of our culture, because especially for women, it is hard to pull away from the stereotypes that are continuously represented. As examples of the given trend, the following

Society has clearly defined boundaries between what is considered to be male or female. The development of an individual’s gender role is formed by interactions with those in close proximity. Society constantly tells us how we should look, act and live based on gender. Family, friends and the media have a tremendous impact on how these roles are formed and the expected behavior of each gender role.