Reflection About Gender

There are countless factors throughout the book that help to create a critical gendered lens. However, I have found that the four most helpful have been the discussions of intersectionality, gender performance, gendered/sexed language, and the three prominent theories of gender/sex. Learning the term intersectionality and what it means in terms of gender and communication really helped shape the way that I looked at all of the content of this course. The idea that a person’s identity is multiplicative rather than additive gives clearly explains intersectionality. The idea that all of the components of a person’s identity work together to make up who they are and how they view the world and are viewed by others is critical to the study of gender

The female gender is viewed as docile and inferior compared to the male gender in the play Trifles by Susan Glaspell, thus the main suspect within the play is portrayed as person who is unlikely to be convicted of murder without sufficient evidence but is also not given the opportunity to explain her story. Mrs. Wright a woman found inside the house with her murdered husband is immediately suspected of murdering her husband as her story is unlikely to be true as it is very improbable that she has stayed asleep while someone murdered her husband. However, the reader only hears Mrs. Wright’s alibi and story through Mr. Hale, a man who more than once throughout the play has been misogynistic toward his wife and Mrs Peters by repeatedly laughing

Prior to reading the article Doing Gender, I have never paid attention to the concept of doing gender. I found it interesting how these roles go so unnoticed because they are so enforced in our society. We never stop to think or questions if an individual’s actions are masculine or feminine. For example, some of us are just so use to having our mothers cook and our dad’s do all the heavy lifting but we never stop to think why is it like this or what does this represent.

In society, people are told to fit certain molds regarding how they are represented in the media such as movies, advertisements, and standards that are set by society. Both men and women are depicted in different ways in American society with unattainable standards that can only be achieved by photoshop or body surgery and alterations. Women are envisioned having the ideal body type that’s shown in media. They’re assumed to be emotional and delicate by much of society. Men are often expected to be muscular while not showing other people their emotions other than aggression and power. There are different ideal body types throughout the world, America for example has an unreachable standard that’s set through uses of photoshop and other alterations that can cause some people to develop emotional disorders. In the book, Composing Gender by Rachael Groner and John O’Hara, it explains how gender is a social construct and how people are often under set gender standards which plays into McDonaldization theory. The McDonaldization theory is explained as the use

For years women have been treated way differently from men, both genders have been thought out to be different, that a certain gender has to do certain things or have to act a certain way.This has brought out a few people to be a feminist to think that all genders can do whatever pleases them without being judged.These acts catch feminist eyes and this is why there is so much protest towards things like this

     For many years society has embraced the idea that the difference between men and women were biologically determined. Thou through traditions, media, and peers we act accordingly to how others view us. Each individual has pressure placed upon them based on their gender. Our sex is determined by genetics while our gender is programmed by social customs. Some theories interpret that a women is tender and a loving mother while on the other hand men are aggressive hunters and are the dominant one of the family. People who support this theory seems to believe that men and women are happier when fulfilling the roles nature determined for them. Women are to be nurturing and men are to be providers by

Gender is too often a barrier or concern. Allan Johnson makes many great points in his article called “Why do we make so much of Gender?” That title in itself is a great question. Why do we? Is it because that has been the norm for so long?

We all come from different cultures. Every culture has its own customs and beliefs. Even as a young child, we become accustomed to all the traditions and expectations that everyone around us has. When a child is born it does not know anything, but parents focus on teaching the child to act the way they want them to. The child’s first example is at home, the child sees his/her parents; the dad goes to work provides for the family. The mother is at home watching over the children, cleaning the house, and has the food ready for the family. Expectations are learned we are not born knowing that we are expected to do anything.

I first got my start in linguistics by accident. I did not foresee that one introductory linguistics class taken on a whim would change my life. What caught my attention the most was our unit on pragmatics and semantics. From that class, I’ve gone on to major in linguistics and even conduct my own research in the field. I was given the opportunity to participate on a research team analyzing children’s acquisition of resultative adjectives. Our team ended up presenting at Eastern Michigan University’s Undergraduate Symposium. We also submitted an application to the 11th Annual Cornell University Undergraduate Linguistic Colloquium, and were accepted to do an oral presentation. Since I am working on a senior thesis at the moment, I have also been conducting research of my own. I am studying the usage of the construction yeah, no and no, yeah. Though the process, I have learned a lot about how to conduct research and also how to write an academic thesis.

Stereotypical behavior is not a new trend, but rather an ongoing lifestyle for today’s society. Gender stereotyping, a sub-category of stereotypes, opens many revelations, developments, and behaviors. While there are psychologists that differ in opinion, education and employment seems to be the primary sources where it is believed that most people both obtains and acts out their stereotypical behavior (Sax & Harper 671).

In addition to socioeconomic status, my gender identity also plays a huge role in who I am. I identify myself as a female. To me, that means I can wear a wide variety of clothing: skirts, dresses, blouses, pants, short shorts, etc. I also wear makeup, and enjoy putting it on. I have always been told, “You don’t need to wear makeup! You look beautiful without it!”. Let me set the record straight, I KNOW. I know that I am beautiful, I am secure enough with myself to know that. I chose to wear makeup sometimes because it’s fun. I like to paint my eyes different colors; I like to put on crazy shades of lipstick.

The textbook identifies four approaches to gender development: biological, interpersonal, cultural, and critical. Define each theory. Then answer the following question: which of the theoretical approaches to gender do you find the most valid? Be sure to include at least two examples from your own experience as well as two scholarly sources to back up your claim.

This class did not necessarily change my attitude towards feminism, rather it served as a reminder as to why I choose to be a feminist. I have always considered myself a feminist and I have worked to promote equal rights in my community. I was very excited to take this course because I knew that it would teach me about influential women in history and emphasize why women’s rights are so important. But, this class exceeded my expectations and taught me a lot more important information than I thought it would. Intro to Women’s Studies expanded my knowledge on women’s issues and made me confident in my decision to identify as a feminist.

The study of gender relations throughout the history of the ancient Near East is a complex subject of interest. Its underlying significance is noticeably connected with the formation and development of social structures that inevitably conflicted with each other. Consequently gender establishments deployed numerous apparatuses of social confinement and control. These power structures became formalized by the introduction of legislation and the execution of social norms through formal legal systems. The study of gender relations as opposed to the historical progression of law systems and cultural norms in the ancient world of the ancient Near East is primarily visible in the ancient Near Eastern cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Hatti.

Living in the 21st century as a teen and hearing about gender roles has definitely made me realize why certain things have become a normality in my society. In a time period where everything can be found in a book I’ve noticed the small imperfections within some. For instance, since I’ve been reading the book “American Girl,” I’ve noticed the similarities and the antithetical beliefs one might have depending on who ever was reading the book. Nancy Jo Sales focuses on the many events where gender roles become present within our lives listing countless stories. And although she primarily focuses on the female side being a male I’ve noticed how some of my assumptions of a female life are correct and how some are god awful wrong. I’ve also noticed the similarities I have with women when it comes to life problems we’ve received based on our gender. One issue that Nancy Jo Sales tackled really well was our social media. Social media is apart of all of my friends including myself lives. Wherever we go we feel this need to always carry our phones with us. Although I might say that I only use it for texting and making calls, in reality I spend most of my time checking Instagram or Snapchat. My parents always see my cell phone as a distraction. I will admit their will be times where I use my phone and I gained no new knowledge at the end, but their are times where the stories that I read or the videos I watch actually give me inspirations. For instance, Casey Neistat is a daily