The Social Construction Of Gender

Many people confuse the definition of gender and sex. “Gender, on the other hand, refers to the meanings, values, and characteristics that people ascribe to different sexes. Sex is a biological concept, determined on the basis of individual 's primary sex characteristics.” (Blackstone) Society gives social cues on the appropriate behavior for each sex. For example, women are to exert more feminine traits such as being dependent, emotional, passive, innocent, nurturing, and/or self-critical. On the contrary, men should be more

In the article of “Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender” by Aaron Devor suggests that gender is socially constructed. The author stated “as children, and later adults, learn the rules of membership in society, they come to see themselves in terms they have learned from the people around them” (Devor). Society is what makes us all learn to adapt the social norms that aren’t considered through a lesson but more of leading into categorized ourselves as part of a gender group. Our gender role associate with idea of “generalized other” as a function to guide individuals how to appropriately behaves in expectations. Each of an individual, however, plays a different role to meet others’ needs in determine what our gender role

The construction of gender has always been a controversial issue. We tend to think that gender is developed through a natural process as we experience it everyday, while it shapes us unconsciously into who we are, to how we think and why we do certain things in a considered gender-appropriate manner. From a sociological point of view, according to Macionis and Plummer’s study, cultural meanings about what is considered masculine and feminine varies from one society to another and from one historical period to another (2012). According to their study, this is all part of a gender order, which are the ways in which societies shape notions of masculinity and femininity into power relationships, this enhances the differences between both genders and our expectations of them in society. This categorisation involves various factors including gender identity, gender role, gender stratification, patriarchy and feminism, all of the above aspects contribute to the social construction of gender.

Gender roles have become so strict in our society that it is difficult to imagine life without them. We are so cemented in them that anyone who is non-conforming is seen as strange or ‘crazy.’ Gender is seen as an unchanging part of you based

The social learning theory emphasizes the role of reward and punishment in explaining how a child learns gender role behaviors. The theory contends that people learn through observation, imitation and modeling (Whitaker, 2010). One way children learn gender roles is from their parent’s direct instruction (Knox, & Schacht, 2009). Growing up, your parents told you “Girls wear dresses and boys stand up and shake hands.” That is what you are brought up to believe. The media also plays a big role in social learning. As it applies to gender roles, women are viewed as sex objects, followers and dainty. Men are shown as brawny, leaders and convincing (Whitaker, 2010).

How do you define what gender is? What is gender? How do you determine which gender an individual is? The dictionary definition states that gender identity is, “the preferred term used when referring to an individual’s physical and/or emotion attraction to the same and/or opposite gender.” Fun fat: According to The World Counts website, there are about 353,000 babies born each day; approximately, 4.3 births per second (The World Counts). Also, the Baby Center says that there are one-hundred and seven baby boys for every one-hundred baby girls (The Baby Center). Gender identification has been an ongoing debate for a very long time, and it shows no sign of stopping or being solved. Throughout, the years, society has changed drastically

In sociology gender differences cannot be easily explained by natural differences. Gender is a social institution. According to the book, “Gender establishes patterns of expectations for people, orders our daily lives, and is one of the fundamental building blocks of society,” (Conley, 2015).

In the article the Social Construction of Gender, Judith Lorber explains that although gender is not a biological fact, it is a concept that is expected by society, and when something unexpected comes around, society tries to push the deviating party into it’s rightful place, through punishment carried out by those empowered by the standard of gender. This punishment is not necessarily literal- it sometimes is as simple as being taught that if a person is assigned female at birth, it is their job to learn tasks that correspond with household upkeep. These consequences, implemented by the beneficiaries of the gender concept, constantly validates the notion that gender is a biological fact.

Gender is considered a socially constructed idea that is infused in individuals during their childhood and it encapsulates a social code of behaviour that will facilitate their later integration in a social group. Additionally, it

Imagine a piece of matter that continually changes its shape. This piece of matter goes unnoticed by everyone, even though it is constantly present. Now imagine this piece of matter as the definition of gender and gender norms. Judith Lorber wrote an essay called, "The Social Construction of Gender." The essay was included in the textbook, "Women 's Lives." A textbook written by Gwyn Kirk and Margo Okinawa Rey. “Women’s Lives” is a Feminist focused compilation of essays. As well as, cultural analysis of women globally. Lorber is one of many authors who wrote essays regarding gender for “Women’s Lives.

The term gender refers to the social construction of female and male identity. It can be defined as more than biological differences between men and women. It includes the ways in which those differences, whether real or perceived, have been valued, used and relied upon to classify women and men and to assign roles and expectations to them. (Henslin, 2012). The significance of this is that the lives and experiences of women and men, including their experience of the legal system, occur within complex sets of differing social and cultural expectations. On the other hand, influences a wide range of career-related attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes. This includes career choice, career experiences, occupational health, work attitudes, other people’s perceptions, and career out¬comes. Therefore, to understand individuals’ careers, it is important to consider gender.

Patriarchy: Patriarchy is the system where men are in power. Whether it is in a family setting, government setting or society setting—the men hold the power. Women are not as powerful, depending on the country and society we are focusing on would change exactly how much power women have in a patriarchal society. In a patriarchal society, men are seen as the leaders, rulers, and the overall authority. However, on the other side of it, women are seen as lesser, the weaker sex, and not as important as men. This often leads to different forms of oppression. Ranging from gendercide in African countries, to things like the glass ceiling or rape culture here in America. The sociology aspect of patriarchy is not only related to gender, it is completely embedded in gender. Without gender and sex, the patriarchy would not exist. If we eradicated genders, how would we decide who is in power? By their natural abilities to lead, not by the feminine or masculine characteristics that we attach to them because of their genitalia. The worst part of patriarchy is that we haven’t necessarily had radical acts to make it exist, all we have done as a society is allowed it, that alone makes it exist. It is seen as the normal and natural because as a society we have not fought against it. Sociology analyses the patriarchy to see what we can do to reverse it or to make a more equal society. (Patriarchy, The System, Johnson)

A gender role is a theoretical construct in the social sciences and humanities that refers to a set of social and behavioral norms that, within a specific culture, are widely considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific gender. Proponents of gender role theory assert that observed gender differences in behavior and personality characteristics are, at least in part, socially constructed, and therefore, the product of socialization experiences; this contrasts with other models of gender that assert that gender differences are "essential" to biological sex. Research supports this theory, finding gender differences in almost all societies, but with differences in the norms adopted, suggesting that gender differences

Gender influences how individuals behave and how others expect other individuals to behave. Once a person is assigned a gender role by society, “the social order constructs and holds individuals to strongly gendered norms and expectations” (Lorber, 104). Individuals are encouraged to behave in ways that coincide with the expectations of their gender because of the societal pressure to conform. From birth, parents influence the extent to which an individual conforms to the expectations of their

Through our socializations with gendered institutions such as family and friends we learn gender-appropriate behavior and develop our ideas and beliefs of what appropriate feminine and masculine gender roles are and form our gender identity. Gendered institutions are reinforced by a gender belief system, which are the feminine and masculine traits characteristics that are considered to be socially acceptable. Gender roles are the “attitudes, behavior, and activities that are socially defined as appropriate for each sex” (Kendall, 2015, p.321), whereas gender identity is how we perceive ourselves to be male or female, and is an important aspect our our self-concept. Beginning at birth, social institutions begin gender reinforcement based on biological sex, built on the accepted norms of the society and culture. Throughout society, gender is one of the major ways that society is organized. The social construct of gender is ingrained in society and reinforced through social institutions.