The Role Of Sex And Gender As A Cultural Norm

Anne Tagonist’s zine, Unapologetic #3, goes over the trans-misogyny that is prevalent in the feminist and transgender rights movements. The author visited feminist and transgender scenes around the country that have been gaining momentum in recent years. When Anne visited each scene she witnessed rampant trans-misogyny, where trans-women were not accepted because of their inability to pass as female, and unproven theories that trans-women may be violent. These same meetings and organizers were much more accepting of the trans-men who came to the events. Female to male transgendered individuals were accepted because if the did not pass as a man they were still seen as a “dyke”. The example that Anne gives about an organizer banning a trans-woman,

One’s gender identity represents who they are, whether they were born with male or female genitalia. Back in the 1900’s, “for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) folks in America, the efflorescence of sexual expression did not begin until the waning months of that decade in the heart of the nation’s then-largest bohemian enclave and gay ghetto, New York’s Greenwich Village” (Wolf). In the 60’s, being able to express who you were freely was pushed aside much too often. But because of the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village, their fight has helped people today be who they want to be without any discrimination. Over “four decades after the Stonewall riots, political leaders are now beginning to recognize the influence of the LGBT community, knocking down barriers to gay and lesbian participation in the military and nominating at least two transgender officials, for the first time in history, to senior posts in the federal government under the Obama administration” (Teal). Whether someone identifies as a man, woman, or neither, they are able to participate in any group regardless. Due to the Stonewall riots, no matter what no one can turn you down based off of your gender identity, which is causing political leaders to now think differently because of this monumental time in history where everyone can be accepted for who they want to

Kidd and Witten define the term transgender vaguely, stating it “describe[s] people who transcend the conventional boundaries of gender, irrespective of physical status or sexual orientation” (Kidd & Witten, 2007, p. 36). This term is a reference for the ‘other gender’ that is not particularly male or female. Currently, within the American society, there is a growing awareness of individuals who are transgender. Much of this awareness comes from LGBT movements and

Judith Butler (Gender Trouble, 1990) argues that rather than sex determining gender-gender determines sex. Sex is shaped by gender discourses which give us scripts to perform according to whether we are biologically classed as male or female. The continual performance of these scripts on a daily basis is what makes us male or female. The classic example of this is the third sex, yes, the third sex and that is the transgender( born male in a female’s body or

Gender is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as the state of being male or female. However after taking Psychology of Gender I would have to say I strongly disagree with this. I believe gender is a socio-cultural construct of female and male identity that shapes how individuals live and interpret the world around them. The older I get the more faults I find in my culture and the gender ideology behind it. Growing up Hispanic in the United States has made a huge impact in my life today, and while I believe it has benefitted me personally, research however seems to prove the opposite. Research today proves that even though these beliefs prove to be changing, the influence Hispanic culture has can negatively affect the way both men and women view their own gender roles and identity. Although research supports the idea of reinforcing negative stereotypes related to cultural gender roles. I also believe that these ideas are changing and will continue to evolve in the future.

The history of the United States tends to be understood through analysis of periods of conflict. From the Revolutionary War, to the Civil War, both World Wars, the Cold War (and its affiliate proxy incidents), and finally modern day. What this skeletal description misses are the individual struggles of people who spent their lives marginalized due to societal stereotypes and discriminatory legislation. Groups have been affected due to identities that include but are not limited to: race, religion, ethnicity, immigration status, and sexual orientation. Of course this history of identity politics is not limited to the US, but the exploration of the LGBT movement within these borders can offer an important perspective on the tumultuous

Over the years the queer community has made leaps and bounds towards the goal of simple equality, with various anti-discrimination bills, and most recently the legalisation of same sex marriage in all of the states of the United States of America, but that is not to say that the fight is over. An estimate of over 2 billion people still live in countries where homosexuality is illegal , the defence of “Trans Panic” still exists in almost all American states , and “corrective” surgery is still used on intersex individuals against their consent and in some cases their parents as well . The fight is nowhere

The media is currently largely responsible in creating and reminding people of the existence of gender roles and social norms, which consequently influences children. Aside from media, parents are the most responsible in the upbringing of their child. That being said, parents can choose to control what they teach their child and steer them away from the societal norms of certain gender roles, but they don’t have control over the media’s content. Sometimes, parents can’t help if they give their daughter a Barbie doll and their son a Batman action figure, because they don’t realize it and they themselves were raised to understand that girls are supposed to like this and do that and boys are supposed to like that and do this. It’s all a chain

Why her sitting down would have made a scene can be traced back to the idea of gender norms, and when people go against what is considered to be normal, they face sanctions – “an action that indicates the approval or disapproval of conduct relating to a social norm" (Johnston et al. 2017). Miriam would have faced critical side-glances and Bernie may have had people approach him to ask what was wrong with Miriam. Similar to what Miriam and Bernie may have experienced, sanctions are usually not what people hear on the news today like new sanctions and ordinances being imposed on Russia, North Korea, or Iran, but are smaller actions that show disapproval. An example of sanctions that actually occurred in The Finest Hours took place before Bernie

The literal definition of the word “queer” according to the Oxford dictionary is strange, or odd. The definition, however, after its adaption by the feminist and alternate sexual orientations movements has gained a much broader frame of understanding. Some suggest that “queer” is a word that defines a situation or circumstance and not a person. There have even been people to propound, as an extension, that by this definition, everyone is in some part or the other “queer”.(1) my concentration will be limited to defining “queer” in spectrums of sexual orientation and gender identity, with a specific exploration of class, space and inclusivity.

I trudged into this class the first day unaware that I was going to be hit in the face with the reality of social gender norms and how awful they are. It’s as if we’re put in a trance growing up that puts us in specific lanes that we need to stay in called gender norms one lane is titled “female” and the other is “male.” I was asked “What is a woman?” and the first few things that popped into my head were well long hair, breasts, makeup, and a vagina. None of these things are what should define a woman although a vagina is something a female is born with at birth. What I’ve learned so far has made me look at things differently or more like the right way. We fall into these roles that society developed throughout the years and we’re expected

As human beings, we rely on categories of differences to make sense of the world around us. We utilize our shared cultural knowledge to categorize ourselves as the self and those around as other in order to coordinate our actions. One of the most common example of such categories of differences is gender. For that very reason, Cecelia L. Ridgewood (2009) defines gender as a primary cultural frame. It not only shapes our interactions and but also how we organize social institutions, “Thus, difference and inequality codetermine each other in our shared gender beliefs, and coordination on the basis of them produces social relations of inequality as well as difference” (Ridgeway 2009:149). These shared gender beliefs are socially constructed

From a purely economic standpoint, the patriarchal agenda is evident in how all three of the major female characters are dependent to varied degrees upon the men in their lives.

Queer was first used in reference to sexuality in the 1920s by homosexual men who rejected the effeminacy connected with the term “fairy” (Brontsema, 2004). Over the course of the early to mid-twentieth century both the terms fairy and queer fell out of fashion with the male homosexual community and “gay” became the most popular self-ascription for homosexual men (Brontsema, 2004). Around the mid to late twentieth century queer was primarily used as a derogatory term, levelled at homosexual people in general (Brontsema, 2004). Towards the end of the 1980s some within the LGBT community began to push for the reclamation of the word queer. One such group were “Queer Nation” an offshoot of the group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) (Brontsema, 2004). At the 1990 New York Gay Pride the group handed out leaflets headed “Queers Read This” (QUEERS READ THIS, 1990). In the pamphlet they addressed their use of the term queer saying “every gay person has his or her own take on it… for some it means eccentric…and for others “queer” conjures up those awful memories”. But what Queer Nation emphasise is that it should be the gay community who get to decide what the word means; it’s “a weapon we can steal from the homophobe’s hand and use it against him”. They also emphasise the fact that it is them who decides the meaning and the value ascribed to it saying “queer means leading a different sort of life”,

In “Queer Theory Gender Theory: An instant Primer,” Riki Wilchins describes the history for queer theory by describing the women’s rights in Chapter 1. The chapter begins with Wilchins describing the large connection with queer theory Is politics. From the black civil rights, women rights, and gay rights, these topics revolve around the amount of power a specific group of individuals wanted in society. Especially in the 1950s and 1960s, the black civil rights prove to be successful in showing the movement is successful into gaining equality for an underrepresented group of individuals. This chapter will outline the connection between the history of women rights and the early beginnings of queer theory.