I Am The Youngest Of Three Of My Family

My life started with my long and hard birth on July 14, 1993. I came into the world with a large scream and was immediately placed into some sort of category. The doctors and nurses took a quick look at me, and pronounced me as a girl. This social label of being a girl was now my gender, which is something I had no say in. Every since that very moment in time where my parents were told I was a girl, I have been treated according to my gender. This meant that my parents automatically dressed me in pink, bought me dollhouses and kitchen sets and threw me Barbie themed birthday parties. Since I was surrounded my whole entire life by these things, it was almost like second nature to think and act the way that I did and still do. My

Gender coding is not a natural or biological characteristic. People are born with different physical and biological characteristics, but make sense of their gender roles through cultural influences. “Stereotypes are amazingly powerful, and we may not realize the degree to which our thoughts, beliefs, and actions are shaped by them” (Silverman, Rader, 2010). Boys and girls are labeled as masculine or feminine, which is considered the “norm” for society. Children are not born masculine or feminine, they learn these roles from parents, peers, media, and even religion. Concepts of gender identity are sometimes placed on children even before their birth, such as with the selection of paint colors for the nursery.” Children begin to form concepts of gender beginning around the age of 2, and most children know if they are a boy or girl by age of 3” (Martin & Ruble, 2004). From an early age, children are encouraged to identify with gender coding. Gender is formed at birth, but self-identification as being male or female is imbedded into their minds by parents and society. A child learns to understand their gender role and their identity by what is taught and expressed to them by others. Yet as a child grows, gender coding can cause cultural confusion, and insecurity issues throughout the course of their life.

The first experience that I forced me to think about my gender occurred when I was fairly young. I was playing tag with my best friend Matt and his sister Melissa. At one particular moment, it was my turn to attempt to “tag” them. When I was chasing Melissa, I pushed her slightly too hard and she tumbled to the ground. Neither of us thought anything about it, and we continued to play until dusk. After they left to return home, my mother came up to me and told me that I shouldn’t be so physical with Melissa the next time we play. I failed to understand her point. She did not seem to have a problem with the fact that I played with Matt the same way, but she began to explain to me that it is seen as inappropriate to push girls down in that manner. I apologized to my mother and told her that I would not do it again. Although she may have meant to teach me about

The determination of my gender identity was preset by my parents giving me the chromosomes XY, gave me an anatomic appearance of a female. Also being reared in a hetero environment had an influence in becoming a female as well. So the relation to the masculinity-femininity continuum is that I posses both traits feminine and masculine. In some situations I tend to carry myself as a caring and soft-spoken female, is typical for feminine behavior. On the other hand I express more masculine attributes like aggressiveness and self-reliance, which is typical for masculine behavior. Both add in the development in determining and sustaining my gender identity. The biological perspective by the way was inherited from my parents and aided in the development of the characteristics in becoming a woman, gender role of nurturing and caring individual, and maternal tendencies in taking care of my child. Then the psychological perspective according to my mother to which she insists that I was a normal girl with particular behaviors toward feminine toys and clothes. As a final point, the social environment offers an insight into the typical social role of an American woman, which was predetermined at birth by my social surroundings (Rathus, Nevid &

Those who agree that gender is a social construct would also argue that gendered behaviour is not innate, and that it is learnt throughout development. Gender identity is defined as “the way in which being feminine or masculine, woman or man, becomes an internalized part of the way we think about ourselves” (Ryle, 2014). The idea of masculinity and femininity and the strong distinction between the two are taught to us throughout our lives. An individual’s earliest exposure to the concept of gender comes from parental influence. Many studies show that parents socialize their children from birth by creating distinct environments for boys and girls and treating son’s and daughter’s differently. For instance, parents are more likely to assign domestic chores such as cooking, mending clothes and doing laundry to daughters, whereas sons are more likely to be assigned maintenance chores such as mowing lawn, small household repairs and carrying out garbage (Lackey, 1989). Parents may also use more emotive language when talking to their daughter’s and might encourage certain interests such as math and science in son’s, by purchasing more math and science toys and committing to other promotive activities (Jacobs & Bleeker, 2004; Leaper, 1998; Tenenbaum &

Growing up I did not initially realize that there was much difference between how men and women behaved or interacted. Both my parents worked and displayed levels of independence and interdependence when necessary. My family consists of mainly girls so it was not until my male cousins would visit on holidays or being around the boys at school, I realized that we handled things differently.  Boys seemed to be more independent and showed less empathy

The gender based expectations are taught and the sometimes subtle, often overt lessons begin at a very young age. It starts with the color of the blanket a baby is wrapped up in, the toys bought for them to play with, and extends to the pretend play they engage in. So from the earliest ages of social awareness, society reinforces the ideals of masculine and feminine throughout life. Consequently, it is perfectly acceptable for a girl to put on a purple tutu and twirl about granting wishes to her stuffed animals, while it would be discouraged for a boy. He should be outside in the sandbox setting up his toy soldiers in a mock battle. In spite of the entrenched idea of gender, some mothers and fathers aspire to a more gender-neutral parenting style, that doesn’t restrict their child to specific societal ideals. However, the pressure to conform to the gender binary is ever-present and difficult to deconstruct. The boy that cries when he gets hit by a baseball is called a “sissy” and told to “man up” by his coach. The girl who tells her high school counselor, she wants to take auto

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

At times life can seem so random, it’s scary. Everyone has a place on this little Earth we share. First and foremost, we are all children born from a mother but for many people, that’s where our similarities end. As a little girl or boy there is a big wide worlds of innocence and possibilities. Your born gender already influences you, depending on where you live, how many siblings you have. Maybe you lived close to the city and loved

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

When I was little I only saw the word gender as a term to identify with yourself as male or female. I always had a doll that I would carry around with me no matter where I went. As I got older, I got out of the doll phase and started to get into video games more. Unlike some parents, mine never told me to stop playing video games because I am a girl and to go play with dolls instead because that is what girls do. My parents always let my sister and I play with whatever we wanted. As, I got older I learned that some of my friend’s parents have been gender typing their kids. They would tell the boy that it is wrong for him to want to play with

My very traditional parents developed a very gender-biased way of thinking as they were growing up, so they incorporated those ideas while raising my brother and I. They believed only certain genders should be doing certain things. Because of their views, my brother was treated differently than I was. My brother was always pushed to be the man of the house and to be served, while I was put to work and studying. By the time I was in second grade, I was doing household chores, translating for my parents, and doing homework from both chinese school and american school as for my brother, he was able to hang with girls and play sports. My parents never allowed me to complain

I grew up surrounded by strong women who fulfilled both male and female gender roles. I attended an all-female high school where girls took on the positions traditionally reserved for boys. All my friends were girls and I did not have male friends until I reached college. For most of my childhood I took on neither masculine or feminine gender norms. I was not a traditional tomboy or girly girl, over all I identified as a nerd more than anything else. I looked up to both men and women, but not because of their gender performances. I never questioned my gender or even thought much about it and so; I fell within a strange limbo of identifying as a female but not participating in female gender roles. It was not until later in life where I encountered terms such as non-binary, androgynous, and gender non-conforming. After talking to people who identified with these terms, and learning more about what they mean; it made me question where I fall on the gender spectrum. Many of my mannerisms are traditionally masculine yet I fulfill mostly female gender roles. Today I still identify as female and occasionally chose to actively participate in my gender

Within the American culture, our youth are taught that the masculine roles of the male has traditionally been associated with their role of being strong and dominant and the feminine role of a female has traditionally been associated with their role of being the follower and the nurturer. Children learn the gender roles beginning at birth through the socialization process. Historically our society has always identified male infants with blue and female infants with pink, however, with the turning of the 20th century more neutral colors are being thrown into the mix. More expecting parents are adventuring away from traditional blue and pink and choosing the neutral colors such as green and yellow. Children learn gender socialization through family members, education, other children and social media. Each reinforces the gender role by displaying and maintaining the normal expectation for each genders behavior. Our youth are taught at an early age of the separate expectations of each gender. Parents often teach the role not knowingly but through association. Boys are associated with trucks, toy guns and superheroes that teach them motor skills and independence, whereas the girls are associated with baby dolls, dress costumes, and toy kitchens which teaches them nurturing and social

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.