The Egg And The Sperm By Emily Martin

Throughout history, women have been regarded as of lesser value than men particularly in the public sphere. This is the result of gender stratification. Gender stratification refers to the issue of sexism, “or the belief that one sex is superior to the other” (Carl et al., 2012, p. 78). The theory that men are superior to women is essential to sexism. Sexism has always had negative consequences for women. It has caused some women to avoid pursuing successful careers typically described as “masculine”—perhaps to avoid the social impression that they are less desirable as spouses or mothers, or even less “feminine.”

In the article, “Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meaning of Gender,” the author, Aaron Devor, is trying to convince his audience that gender shapes how we behave and relate to one another. He does this by using an educational approach, describing gender stereotypes, and making cultural references. These rhetorical devices serve his larger goal of getting readers to reflect on how their childhoods formed their genders. “Maleness and femaleness seem “natural,” not the product of socialization.” (Devor 527) Throughout his article, he makes us wonder whether or not gender is recognized through socializing.

The hierarchical aspect of America’s contemporary gender system is reinforced through the use of language. We frequently associate biology and the sciences with objectivity, but in “The egg and the Sperm,” Emily Martin argues that it is not outside the socially constructed idea of gender (485). The association of gender norms at the cellular level suggests that the process of gendering is natural beyond alteration; yet, this is merely a result of the implantations of social imagery on representations of nature. Literary works can subtly emphasize the stereotypical differences between males and females in a way that goes unnoticed, consequently ingraining these concepts into our brain and thought processes. In many biological texts, the egg is described as “drift(ing)” and being “swept” throughout the process (Martin 489). This denotes passiveness—a clearly feminine characteristic that society would deem to be appropriate for women. On the other hand, the sperm “streamlines” and

When thinking of gender roles in society, stereotypes generally come to mind. Throughout history these stereotypes have only proven to be true. Major historical events have had a huge impact on the way men and women are seen and treated. In this way, women have always been secondary to males and seen as the fragile counterparts whose job is to take care of the household and most importantly, be loyal to her husband no matter the circumstance. Gender roles throughout history have greatly influenced society. The slow progress of woman’s rights throughout humanities led to an explosion of woman’s rights throughout the 20th century and that trend will only continue on into the rest of the 21st century.

Martin investigates how cultural stereotypes of the two sexes are subtly incorporated into descriptions of the egg and sperm in scientific papers. She expresses that giving stereotypical roles to the egg and sperm has the “power to naturalize our social conventions about gender” (501). By associating the egg with feminine traits and the sperm with masculine traits, scientists make these

The process of gender socialization reveals much about how gender identities are formed, but gender is not just a matter of identity: Gender is embedded in social institutions. This means that institutions are patterned by gender, resulting in different experiences and opportunities for men and women. The concept of the term “gendered institutions” means that entire institutions are patterned by gender. In a gendered institution, men and women are channeled into different, and often differently valued, social spaces or activities and their choices have different and often unequal consequences. Gendered institutions are the total pattern of gender relations, which includes the following (Acker 1992): stereotypical expectations, interpersonal relationships, and the division of labor along lines of gender. As well as, the images and symbols that support these divisions and the different placement of men and women in social, economic, and political hierarchies of institutions.

“Belief is nearly the whole of the universe whether based on truth of not.” by Kurt Vonnegut. People live day by day on what they believe whether it is their morals or values, and what people say. We choose to believe what we want to like in all of the Bluebeard variances. Bluebeard is a not as well known fairytales that tell you the grim consequences of disobedience and curiosity that women deal with during marriage. Although, marriages have many secrets, every wife and husband deserves the truth when it comes to dishonestly, disloyalty, and sometimes murder.

Gender norms are characteristics and actions that society finds acceptable for how men and women should behave. Howe expresses this difference through a situation where the boundary between gender roles are shown. In the example, “in the way my brothers shot hoops on the driveway with their friends while we girls watched” (Howe 26), the men are active and seen as dominant while the women stand on the sidelines, inactive, and simply watching. The women are more submissive because of their experiences with how society treats women and what is expected of them. They adopted a learned behavior of these gender roles through advertisements, media, and the actions of others towards them.

When sperm fertilizes an egg, conception occurs. For conception to occur the sperm and egg must meet. This is a story about how Bob, the sperm and Mary, the egg meet for the first time. The moment Bob and Mary come together a new individual is formed. Mary's was produced at the time she was in a fetus's ovaries. It has been over 23 years since she and five million others like her were produced. It is an exciting day for Mary because unlike all the others she was chosen to meet Bob. Bob also feels awesome today because unlike all the other millions of sperm discharged, he was the only one that made it to the finish and met Mary. The beginning of Bob and Mary's story starts when they

Emily Martin analyzes the way the egg and sperm are described in biology. Most scientists continue to perpetuate the stereotypical relationship between the egg and sperm. Martin points out that textbooks describe sperm as the noble knight who is there to rescue the damsel in distress. The egg is always a subordinate and never an active participant. This description is disturbing because it does not represent the actual process that occurs between the egg and sperm. Most modern accounts allude to a mutual relationship between the two but continue to push the sperm dominant description. While science is often thought to be factual and free of bias, the description of reproduction reveals that the dominant epistemology is that of the male scientist.

Gender stereotypes have existed since the beginning of modern man. We've all heard them before; male dominance and female weakness, a controlled male and a flustered female, aggression and passion, and many others that all basically boil down to the same thing. Emily Martin, in her essay entitled The Egg and the Sperm, takes this problem of gender stereotype to a new and much more serious level. As an anthropologist, Martin is concerned with the socio-cultural impacts on many different aspects of everyday life, including biology. In doing her research for this article, Martin was trying to uncover suspicions she had about socio-cultural gender stereotypes, and the affects they had on the diction used to describe egg and sperm

At a young age, we are taught to adhere to norms and are restricted to conform to society’s given rules. We are taught that straying away from stereotypes is anything but good and encouraged to build our lives upon only these social rules. Recently, stereotypes based on genders have been put into the limelight and have become of high interest to a generation that is infamously known for deviating from the established way of life. Millennials have put gender roles under fire, deeming it a form of segregation and discrimination by gender. Researchers have followed suit. Mimicking millennial interests, numerous studies have been published that detail the relationship between gender, stereotypes, and the effects of the relationship between the two. Furthermore, gender roles have been used as a lens to study socialization; tremendous amounts of interest have prompted studies on the inheritance and dissemination of norms, culture, and ideologies based on the stereotypes that cloud gender. For sociologists, determining the extent of the impact of gender stereotypes on socializing our population has become a paramount discussion. Amidst many articles, the work of Karniol, Freeman, and Adler & Kless were standouts and between the three pieces, childhood served as a common thread; more specifically, these researchers studied how gender roles impact socialization from such a young age.

Gender inequality is a social problem that is widespread in society. It is referred to as the unfair treatment of individuals based on one 's gender. Historically, laws have opposed women to go to school, access certain jobs, and purchase property. Gender inequality has been experience through culture – honor-killing, sex-selective abortion, and society – occupation, gender roles, and education. The social expectations of men and women differ between cultures that are constructed socially and culturally. These expectations are displayed in roles, and behavior believed both by men and women and their interdependent relationships. Gender inequality can be further understood through the structure of sexism. Discrimination takes place in gender inequality for the reason that men and women are treated on the basis of gender alone (Amjad, R., Ashfaq, M., Kousar, R., Saghir, A., 2010).

Social status and structures have definitely shaped the construction and experience of gender inequality. Men and women are constantly analyzed, compared, and grouped together in society. The result of this yields discrepancies in how sexes are viewed by society. Throughout my examination and explanation of gender inequality, I concluded both men and women are victims to gender inequality.

Gender norms are socially constructed by society to add a preset notion to each gender. For example, gender norms dictate that a woman should be a housewife and only take care of the kids, while a man should be out working and providing for his family. Anything outside of this is criticized because it was different than the norms of society that have been embedded into everyone. Gender norms are usually placed on women; for example, women are encouraged to become nurses, but not doctors because that is typically seen as a man’s job. However, people often forget the men are also placed into certain categories as well. Men are supposed to be strong and natural born protectors of the family. Michael Kimmel the author of "Bros Before Hos: The Guy Code” explores the philosophy of manhood and the effects it has on young men. Junot Diaz the author of “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie” also explores manhood, but he does it through a guide of how to manipulate women of different races. Both authors explore the essential ideas behind manhood and the effects it has on young men of today’s society through different means and outcomes.