gender

Tawfik 1
Beshoy Tawfik
Sarah McKinnon
English 122
Spring 2014 Exploring Gender and Sexual Norms Being born as a male or a female is something out of individual’s hand; still gender identity will have a significant effect on that person’s life. Today’s society will strictly determine one’s abilities and limits of dreams passed on gender identity. Gender identity can be seen as one of the earliest social categories that children learn to apply to both themselves and other people. This is suggested in Schaffer’s (1996) definition where gender identity is the correct labeling of self and others as male or female. Unfortunately the society is using gender as a tool to apply discrimination. As a result of that discrimination males and females are treated unequally in the rights received, the duties must be done, their dreams in the fields of education, careers, sport and political participation, how every gender should look like and act and what each gender would be taught during childhood. In today’s society males receive a lot rights that a female is excluded from having. If a male stayed up all night clubbing, he would be looked at as someone who did nothing wrong but having fun. On the other hand if a female did the same thing, her reputation would be dishonored. If a male had a lot of relationships, he would be looked at as “The Man”, but in case of a female she would be considered a whore. Females are excluded from a very important right, which is to live life without receiving oppressive judgments judging their common behavior. In a big area of the Middle East, women are excluded from one of their simplest rights which is choosing their life partner. In some of the third world countries, females are treated as objects which are good for nothing but being sex toys and raise children. A female has no right to even complain about such a miserable life; instead she might be surprised by her husband bringing her up to three more wives, relying on the Islamic religion which give the male the right to have four wives at the same time. In such countries males are considered as a superior breed, they are the decision makers in everything related to life in such countries and females are nothing but valueless creatures living in order to give enjoyment for males. In such countries females face unbearable injustice, looking at Bibi Ayesh, an Afghan woman who was granted asylum in the United States, Her own husband father-in-law cut off her nose and ears after unfair trial by the Taliban accusing her of bringing shame to the family because she tried to escape from the abusing she was facing in her family. The amount of duties that should be done by a person also varies as a result of gender identity. In a certain family the male would have two main tasks, the first is to earn living in order to support his family and the second would be to me “the Man”, which means him receiving service from his wife and be the laid back person when he is not working. On the other hand if the female is also has a job and makes money, this has nothing to do with reducing her other tasks of being the care giver for all the family members. She still has to do dishes, wash clothes, raise the children, cook food and be a wife. For a female to be a working mother it is not an excuse to say that she already doing her part in the contribution of raising a family. On the other hand for a male to be a working husband, he has done all what is required from him; still he would be considered the head of household although a working wife would be doing more tasks than him. Based on only the idea that females are a lower class than males, females are expected to have limited dreams in pursing their educational dreams. If a female took the decision that she wants to have a PHD, most of the comments she would receive would be like “you would be too old to get married” or “What’s the point, your task if to be a wife”. Such a mentality is widely common in third world countries. In such countries, females might be prevented from pursing high educational degrees such as being a doctor because it is a time consuming degree. Females are not looked at as someone who can be a scientist although looking at the history a lot of female scientists had great contribution in building the world we are living in today. One of those scientists is Emilie du Chatelet (1706 – 1749) who was a French mathematician and physicist whose most lasting contribution to science was her French translation of Isaac Newton’s Principia, which is still in use today. Ironically At age 43, she felt in love with a young military officer and became pregnant; she died following complications during the birth of their child. Her life was prosperous until she decided to live like a stereotype woman, only then she died and her contribution to the world stops. In the market world, the female participation is so humble compared to that of male participations. Females are not expected to purse leadership positions. Also the reputation that women are not committed enough to their careers is widely spreading. Women’s shoulders are already packed with the idea that they are the care giver at home and they cannot manage their life enough to be able to handle a leadership position. That’s why women can’t have it all.

Work Cited
Anthony, Andrew. "Afghanistan 's Propaganda War Takes a New Twist." The Observer. Guardian News and Media, 05 Dec. 2010. Web. 06 May 2014.
"History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian." History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.

Schaffer’s. "As Always the Behaviourist Explanation Is Reductionist Because It Takes a Complex Human Behaviour and Tries to Explain It in the Simplest Terms Possible. It Does Not Consider Any Internal Processes or Seek to Explain the Emotional Nature of Attachments Simply How They Arise as Behaviours. ." Attachments in Development. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.

Cited: Anthony, Andrew. "Afghanistan 's Propaganda War Takes a New Twist." The Observer. Guardian News and Media, 05 Dec. 2010. Web. 06 May 2014. "History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian." History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2014. Schaffer’s. "As Always the Behaviourist Explanation Is Reductionist Because It Takes a Complex Human Behaviour and Tries to Explain It in the Simplest Terms Possible.  It Does Not Consider Any Internal Processes or Seek to Explain the Emotional Nature of Attachments Simply How They Arise as Behaviours. ." Attachments in Development. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.