Margaret Meads Sex And Temperament

Anthropologist Margaret Mead addressed the differences in temperament found between men and women in her book Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (1935). In this study she concluded that sex has no bearing on social traits and the temperament of an individual. Her research looked at whether masculine or feminine traits are innate or learned. She also questioned whether men and women differ because of nature (heredity) or nurture (socialization). She concludes that cultural conditioning is more important than biology in shaping the behavior of women and men. The observed differences in temperament between men and women are not a function of their biological differences. Rather, they result from differences in the socialization

Gender roles have played a major part in society. According to the book “The Psyche of Feminism” “A gender role is a theoretical construct in the social sciences that refers to a set of social and behavioral norms that are considered to be socially appropriate

In American culture in the 1950s, men were the predominant head of the household and women were expected to cook, care for their kids, and clean. This is an excellent example of gender roles, and how they control certain aspects of life. Gender roles are, according to multiple sources, the way people behave, what they do or say to express being a female or male. (“Gender Identity”; Blackstone; "Understanding Gender") They are forced upon an individual from the day they are born even in the most trivial of terms of putting baby boys in blue clothes and baby girls in pink. Throughout that person’s life from then on, they will face cultural expectations every day to act according to their sex. Gender roles can often be confusing and hurtful,many stores are moving away from assigning products to a specific gender, but not only can gender roles affect a person’s behavior, it can play a huge role in transgenderism.

Gender roles have caused strain over decades to not only females, but recently males as well. There are many attributes that humans have associated with each gender, causing a divide between sexes not only with each other, but also separating the two into almost completely different species. Due to this categorizing which is placed on gender, there can be a declining value of a person or even a higher hand given to the one gender which is seen as more powerful to society.

Whether we consciously notice or not, doing gender is occurring everyday within our society. Every interaction we have with another individual is doing gender. Doing gender has become a part of our every day lives the same way without realizing it the same way we breathe air without really paying attention that we are breathing. The meaning behind this is that it is occurring unconsciously. Candace West and Don Zimmerman coined the term doing gender in an article they composed. West and Zimmerman argued that gender is something that humans created. As humans, we have the urge to categorize and define everything. If someone was not in favor of their gender role or did something that was not deemed correct for that gender, this person would be committing an act of social deviance. This paper will discuss what doing gender means along with other attributes of doing gender. These attributes includes what pushes us to do gender, why we do gender, the results of doing gender along with discussing what the boys in C.J. Pascoe’s article of Dude you’re a fag accomplished. This essay will discuss what doing gender is along with what causes us to do it and finally what doing it accomplishes.

Society has conditioned us to believe categorizing genders into “gender boxes” is the norm. We have all heard the classic trite sayings, “Men are the head of the house” or “Women should always cook dinner for their families.” Author, Aaron Devor tackle issues like male and female stereotypes in her article, “Gender Roles Behaviors and Attitudes”; and discusses in depth how gender roles and behaviors are not “natural” and more on the lines of “cultural constructs.” Qualities as such are also identified in Deborah Blum’s article, “The Gender Blur” which reinforces the idea that humans are not born with the stereotypical idea of masculinity and femininity but taught. By highlighting how society has a substantial impact on gender identify, Devor

Gender defines people in society. People may utilize their gender as an advantage or disadvantage, depending upon the situation. Whether it be a female or male, people can and will exploit themselves in order to achieve ‘happiness’ and goals. There is also many societal gender based stereotypes, for example if you are a man you behave a certain way and if you are a woman you behave a certain way although, there will always be stragglers who deviate the norm. Nevertheless they are judged for it.

In the article, “Doing Gender,” West and Zimmerman (1987) argues the concept of gender as a social activity or interaction, as opposed to an intrinsic individual value. These activities and interactions are socially constructed norms of male and female, masculinity and femininity. To further explain gender, the authors define 3 important concepts: sex, sex category, and gender. Sex refers to biological factors (e.g., hormones, genitalia), sex category refers to visual markers (e.g., dress, hairstyle), and gender is the interactive piece. The authors state that doing gender is always certain and ongoing as it is embedded in everyday life (e.g., the way we dress, walk, sit, and communicate) and it is the individual who holds sole responsibility

Being born a man or a woman in todays society is more than a simple biological fact. It’s a biological fact that harvests social consequences. From delivery, gender is assigned to males and females in life binding forms by way of blue or pink. Gender is the social construct of what we know biologically as male or female, but masculinity and femininity is how the two roles are played out in society. Our role as feminine and masculine are institutionalized through social interaction and is perpetuated through our social institutions. Forms of social institution include hospitals, family, churches and schools. These institutions tie gender roles to individual identity from infancy to death.

Gender roles are a common topic today. What are males and females expected to do? What is socially acceptable for each sex? Is it equal among sexes? One may consider that gender roles are influenced by biology, culture, social class, and environment.

Throughout today’s society, almost every aspect of someone’s day is based whether or not he or she fits into the “norm” that has been created. Specifically, masculine and feminine norms have a great impact that force people to question “am I a true man or woman?” After doing substantial research on the basis of masculine or feminine norms, it is clear that society focuses on the males being the dominant figures. If males are not fulfilling the masculine role, and females aren’t playing their role, then their gender identity becomes foggy, according to their personal judgment, as well as society’s.

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.

The gender binary describes a western social construct in which people are categorized based on gender; depending on the anatomy of an individual they are deemed either male or female and are thus expected to exhibit a feminine or masculine personality. As a social construct birthed in the western world, the intention of the gender binary is to create an understanding of the different individuals in our society in a way that discriminates against those considered female, those that do not identify with the binary or do not identify with the gender they are assigned at birth, and those that experience same-sex attraction. When considering the gender binary as a system of oppression, it is essential that one considers other institutions that oppress people – particularly ones in the west—to avoid a reductionist approach to the discrimination directly associated with the gender binary. To properly understand the gender binary, it is important to keep in mind that it was created to categorize people, while also working with and maintaining other systems of oppression as one itself.

Without this men, women and transgender people will forever live in a sense of competition, instead of working in sync. Without this, the unity of people cannot fully be realized. In order to rectify this, we need to conceptualise gender as a social structure, this will allow us to better analyse how individuals are affected by their gender and how this affects society as a whole. To conceptualise gender as a structure situates gender at the same level of general social significance as the economy and the polity. Risman, B. J. (2004).

Amongst the many popular misconceptions in today’s society, the in depth differences between sex and gender has grown to be one that is discussed extensively by psychologists and sociologists too. Sex in itself is a more scientific term that explains the innate physical attributes of an individual. On the other hand gender carries a more social tone. Meaning, that it refers to the different clothing, activities, career choices, and positions people hold in society. This essay aims to highlight some of the key differential aspects between these two concepts; while the term sex has been well defined over the years, we learn how the topic of gender managed to rake up an in-depth study as well as gain its own significance in society.