Preview

Gender and Social Norms

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
989 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gender and Social Norms
Alex Gonzalez
Gender Paper
In today’s society social norms have huge effects on parental decisions. Some would say that shaping a child’s life around these norms might be what is needed in order for one to have a successful life. Majority of individuals tend to migrate towards others who are like them. With this being said, if you aren’t raised how the average person is, you will not have a group to migrate to and will never develop relationships that can benefit your future. My survey consisted of three questions, which were answered anonymously by ten different individuals. The first two questions were to find out what my participant’s sexes were and what their current marital status was. My final question was, “Do you feel boys from the ages four to seven should be provided with Barbie Toys if asked for them?” The statistics I received were quite diverse. Being accepted in today’s society is the key factor when developing early relationships, which will impact your future. As it is one has to face plenty of other obstacles such as being discriminated against due to their individual sex, race, culture or religion. If you aren’t raised around the norms society has developed then that is one more obstacle you must face when going through life. Sociological imagination is stated to be forces of society that control our personal experiences. I believe that this hits the direct point I am making when I say that there are forces outside of what one’s parents believe in that influence the way someone is raised. Parents want their children to have the average childhood and be accepted by everyone. The only way one can accomplish this is to base the decisions made for their child around the social norms. For boys, they should only play with action figures and should participate in athletics. Females should only play with Barbies and should be put in classes such as ballet. It is out of what society accepts if one’s child does participate in anything that the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In a normal functioning society, people are expected to behave and respect social norms. A norm is a set of informal understandings which regulate the behavior of members of a society (Norms). Norms are accepted by groups of members in a society. Folkways are norms that are experienced by all members of society in our daily lives. If a folkway is broken or, society does not make a significant outcome of it. It is still noticed by members. For Example, People wait in lines to purchase goods in every store. If a person were to skip in front of people in the line, the group that is the line will see that as a breaking of a folkway. Someone may speak up and make the person go the back of the line, or people might not say anything. Regardless, skipping the line will be observed by the members of the society.…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Late-Maturing Boys

    • 142 Words
    • 1 Page

    Societies beliefs and expectations about what behaviors are appropriate for males and females have a lot to do with their maturation stages. Boys are socialized toward achievement in the world of accomplishment. Physically mature boys appear to be more competent achievers and better able to meet society’s expectations for males. Late-maturing boys may appear useless in this affection, and this could be hostile to their self-esteem. Boys are also socially or culturally influenced to be like kids. For example, how men are always asked how many women have they been with or how many girlfriends have they had, unlike girls who are expected to be perfect and pure. Girls, on the other hand, have difficult early maturation because girls go through…

    • 142 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American poet once wrote “the value of a dollar is social, as it is created by society.” Throughout time society has become a “parent” to the many people. Society is the most influential aspect of life in today’s world. Many factors influence a person’s life, such as the media, work and school. Going back to Emerson, people have taken the place of the dollar in his quote. An individual is no longer valued by what he thinks of himself, he is valued by what society thinks of him. What does this mean? In order to be accepted in society there are “social norms” that one has to follow. If one does not live by these norms, then you are be ridiculed and you become the outsider for this.…

    • 1434 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Essay On Social Norms

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages

    We live in a society where one abides by social norms, if not you may be looked at funny or people will even talk about you. So let’s begin, what’s considered a “social norm”? According to Your Dictionary, “Social Norms are said to be the laws of behavior that are acceptable to a group or society. Norms tend to change depending upon the environment, but If broken one could be looked at differently or face consequences. Social Norms are also group-held beliefs about how members should/ should not behave in a given context. Some examples of social norms are: Saying hello when you answer the telephone, respecting others personal space, stopping at a red light and driving when its green, chewing food with your mouth closed, etc. Social norms are important because it sets the stage of how people are expected to act in society. Growing up your parents, teachers, and care- givers are the ones who inforce these unwritten rules in you. Social norms relate to ethnocentrism and cultural relativism because one’s ethnic group, religion, and race all play a part in how one behaves in society. For example if I’m said to be a Christian women, I know that it wouldn’t be okay for me to come to church dressed in a tight mini-skirt with high heels on. That wouldn’t be appropriate for a church setting instead a club, or bar setting.…

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sociology 101 Social Norms

    • 2974 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Harry Patel 9/03/2008 Sociology 101, section 8 Social Norms: Conformity and Deviance One of the norms I broke was talking to someone in a public bathroom, while peeing. It was very ocward talking to the guy next to me. One of the reason I felt ocward talking to him was because, you are not suppose to talk to the guy next to you. While you are doing your business you look at the wall in front of you. When you are done you wash your hands, and leave. No one talks to anyone they don’t know, even if they do know the person next to them they won’t talk to them while they are peeing. No one was taught to do this, you learned by observing. But when the guy next to you starts talking you don’t know how to react. That’s how the guy next to me reacted. First of all this field stimulation took place in AMC Theater bathroom, right after the movie Eagle Eye finished. My prediction before starting the field stimulation was that no one will talk to me and pretend they didn’t hear me. When I enter the bathroom there were few people in the bathroom all the urinal were full because I had to do the field stimulation I waited for one of the urinals to open up. While I was waiting for the urinals to open up I didn’t want to do the field stimulation. The reason I didn’t want to do it was because there were lots of people in the bathroom, and I didn’t want anyone to get mad at me. One of the guy finished and stepped away from the urinal washed his hand and, like what you are suppose, to do he didn’t talk to anyone. I walked over to the open urinal and started doing my business. The guy next to me was done and walked away, right when I got there. This guy in his late 20’s started using the urinal next to me. I didn’t know what to say at first. I was thinking about just saying Hi. I couldn’t get myself to say it, but finally very scared and nervous I said hi. I don’t know if he heard me or not, but he didn’t say anything. So I got even more nervous. I said it even louder hi. He gave me a…

    • 2974 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gender Norming

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What exactly is a standard? According to Webster's dictionary, a standard is a level of quality or excellence that is accepted as the norm or by which actual attainments are judged. Standards are created because someone believes that a fair and efficient form of doing something is necessary. The military is full of these standards. One of the most widely known is the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). It tests the maximum amount of push-ups and sit-ups a person can do in two minutes. Along with completing a two-mile run in the allotted time prescribed. The APFT is different from any other standardized test I have ever seen. It is painfully obvious that the test is severely skewed in the females favor.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Traditional gender roles have existed for many centuries. Throughout the history of humanity among various cultures and eras, there are pieces of evidence and traces of unfair treatment of women. Women have a role of a wife waiting for her husband to return from the war, a mother of the conquering hero or a great scientist, or a daughter who is destined to marry the prince of another country in order to consolidate the alliance between the two countries. Life of a woman was determined by the man, whether it be her father, husband or son. It is not surprising that such a position in society led women to fight. Starting with the suffragettes and finishing with the third wave, feminism has become an integral part of the society. Women opened…

    • 1832 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After this experiment, I founded that, when people are put out of there norms, they become very uncomfortable, and uneasy. Both of the participants claimed they thought I was strange to stand close to them and it made them very uncomfortable. I don’t think most people think about these norms but only unit they are broken or violated. I don’t many people realize how important norms are and how much of an impact they can make on a society. In this specific norm, I believe it is important because it is respecting the individual by not violating his or hers personal space. It is a sign of respect and acknowledgement. Social norms are important because they can bring a society together by following these norms. People know what is right and…

    • 142 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social Norm

    • 369 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The social norm that I chose to violate was to go into an elevator and instead of turning around and facing the door upon entering; I had my back to the door and faced the other people in the elevator. In normality a person enters an elevator, pushes the button for their desired floor and turns to face the door to avoid eye contact with strangers, and prepare to exit the elevator. The reason I choose to violate this particular social norm was because I’ve never seen anyone else do it and I was curious as to how people would respond to my deviant behavior. I decided to perform my social norm violation in the elevator at Deaconess Hospital. I picked this location because I know there would be all different types of people coming on the elevator so it would give me a good sample and I could get what I needed out of it.…

    • 369 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Conformity is a form of social influence that involves you to change your beliefs to fit in with a group. This change is due to the physical presence of the group members, or imagined group pressure that involves the pressures of social norms. In the public services compliance with common practices is following a particular course of action which is the social norm. It can be seen when the police are dealing with suspects as the suspect is innocent until proven guilty and the law should not be taken upon in one person’s hands. Social Norms can be as common as being polite by saying sorry in certain situations.…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gender Roles In Society

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gender roles are expectations of how a person should act, dress, and talk based on his or her sex. A majority of people conform to these roles at an early age, and will continue to carry these beliefs, often unconsciously, around with them throughout their lives, and these beliefs can affect people negatively. The message that gender roles send is that in order to be part of society, you must fit into the predisposed mold for your gender, or most importantly, what society deems as acceptable. But at the same time, try to incorporate individuality and establish a sense of self.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    conformity is “a change in behavior or belief to accord with others” (Myers, 2013). In this article from the Wall Street Journal, talks about men and women in the worke place, how they complete the same assignments and have the same colleges, but end up having different experiences. Conformity is usually based differenty towards that of women and men. Due to the fact that women, are usually viewed to have the experience harder than men. Even when it comes to the Superior position and how Obedience and acceptance is viewed differently from a male supervisor than that of a female supervisor. First hand i expericed this at my old job, where we had both a male and a female supervisor. The male supervior would give orders and the conformity was…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There are many theories to why men do not seek treatment compared to their female counterpart. After reading the article given, I do not agree much with what was said about men and why they don’t seek treatment. I think it is deeper than what appears in this article. Yes, the social norm is for men to play a masculine role in society, but there is more to it than simply the social norm.…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Gender Schema Theory

    • 1697 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Signorella, Margaret, Irene Hanson Frieze. “Interrelations of Gender Schemas in Children and Adolescents: Attitudes, Preferences, and Self-Perceptions.” Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal (2008): n. pag. Web 27 Nov. 2010…

    • 1697 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    social norms

    • 282 Words
    • 1 Page

    The untold rules of social dynamics, it's a set of rules hidden in plain view and most people never know how to hack it. The following text is here to change that and hopefully make all and all masters of conversation. The general idea is to ignore and discard whatever social media says, they have no right & no claim to instruct people how to act and interact with one another. No one decides that for us. We all wish to please everyone but truth is it won't happen, someone's gonna hate you buddy and that's ok. They envy you because they themselves have to modify or change their colour to fit in with their surrounding while you only have to be yourself.if she's dying for it every time, not because she likes sex exactly, she doesn't, but she wants John to think she does because if they do it often enough surely he'll get used to her, he'll come to depend on her and they will get married, but John goes out the door with hardly so much as a good-night and three days later he turns up at six o'clock and they do the whole thing over again.Although not considered to be formal laws within society, norms still work to promote a great deal of social control. Social norms can be enforced formally (e.g., through sanctions) or informally (e.g., through body language and non-verbal communication cues.) Because individuals often derive physical or psychological resources from group membership, groups are said to control discretionary stimuli; groups can withhold or give out more resources in response to members' adherence to group norms, effectively controlling member behavior through rewards and operant…

    • 282 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics