Gender bias in society as a result of Nature vs Nurture

Nature vs. Nurture 1

Gender bias in society a Result of Nurture not nature

Nature vs. Nurture 2
Over the course of history there had been a lot of frequently asked and intriguing questions directed towards the mental development of humans. Arguable one of the most interesting of them all is the following: when and how do children acquire a gender identity. As a result of hours of thorough research involving modern media sources involving: T.V. shows, advertisements, music lyrics, how companies market clothing and toys for young children, and the interviewing of several individuals; I have safely determined that in western society children acquire their gender identity as a result of nurture as opposed to the simple nature of things. As much as one might want to argue otherwise, no other media source has more of an effect on kids growing up than music. Music can set someone’s mood not only temporarily but change a person’s mindset all together. If a young guy were to listen to nothing but rap -Eminem for example- in his spare time, which is quite possible with today’s technology (YouTube), this young man might pick up a very misogynistic point of view. When lyrics enter a young kid’s ears and are spoken by someone he might idolize it can have a lasting effect on that boy’s point of view of things. “You don’t wanna f*ck with me, Girls neither, you ain’t nothing but a sl*t to me” (Appendix A). Lyrics such as these might have some kid thinking that women are the lesser sex and therefore he could treat them badly and it’d be ok. Other songs of Eminem’s also have the tendency to make the female party the one at fault: “Don't you get it bitch, no one can hear you? Now shut the fuck up and get what's comin’ to you, You were supposed to love me, NOW BLEED! BITCH BLEED! BLEED! BITCH BLEED! BLEED!” (Appendix B). These are extremely strong lyrics which again take a very misogynistic stand, and could
Nature vs. Nurture 3 influence any young man’s views of women, especially those whom have hurt him. Whether music has a positive or negative impact it will influence any young person’s feelings towards different subjects and situations, and will try to force different roles onto both sexes. Another media outlet that has an equally large impact on both males and females, where ads for females try to make a girl feel like she needs something to be prettier and fit in better an ad for a guy might be something that makes them feel supreme and dominant. For example when there is a dress ad and it says “Belle of the Ball” (Appendix D) that instantly gets a girls attention because it would imply that with this dress she’d instantly be the centre of attention wherever she went. Also there is the constant pressure girls are under with media telling them they have to be the prettiest, whatever it takes: “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline” (Appendix C). This famous slogan implies that even if you’re not born with, what some say is beauty you can “fake it” with this makeup. Society thereby forces young girls into a state of mind where they force themselves to be more feminine and even force themselves to buy the product in order to be accepted. Even with men it is similar, in a recent “Pepsi Max” (Appendix E) commercial a man is always trying to sneak some calorie filled food or drink but his partner (female) is always preventing him from doing so because of the effects the calories might have on his body. That is until he grabs a “Pepsi Max” with which she is fine and thereby gives a nod of approval to all viewers that most calorie-filled snacks are terrible but definitely not “Pepsi Max”. Even though men are encouraged to be tough and hardy and what not media is having just as big an effect on
Nature vs. Nurture 4 their esteem as the females’. In the new “Apollo Axe” (Appendix F) commercial a woman is depicted as being saved from drowning by a handsome male lifeguard, of course she’s instantly attracted. Suddenly however an Astronaut shows up at the pool and she runs to him. Point being that females will always be more attracted to the new “Apollo Axe” this sends the message that if you want to get the girl you have to get the spray. No matter whom the real heroes are girls will go for the better smelling man. In itself it’s simply ridiculous but it leaves an urgency to be that better smelling man. Thereby a man that smells like a man is depicted as being the “better” man. As is common knowledge; television tends to have a huge impact on any person and even more so on those that are still in a developing stage such as adolescence. Popular television shows such as Two and a half Men (Appendix G), and The Vampire Diaries (Appendix H) have a huge fan following that they are bound to have both positive and negative effects on some kids. Some shows -funny as they may be- may have more of a negative than positive effect on a kids’ views, and even morals for that matter. Two and a half Men for example. In this show, where the cast is very male dominated females are often portrayed as controlling, confused and reliant on male approval and companionship. Thereby males are often portrayed as being dominant and in charge of any and all situations. At some parts even, disrespectful acts towards a female character will simply be accepted by viewers and thereby be thought of as being “not that bad”. Another interesting fact about the show was that whenever a male character shows a more sensitive or “feminine” side he is instantly targeted by crude and homophobic jokes/insults. Therefore any kind of emotion or feminine behaviour will
Nature vs. Nurture 5 instantly be considered ‘’gay’’ by viewers. All of this can impact a young guys mind to the point where all this behaviour on T.V. might influence his personal relationships and views of what is going on around him. Another show with a large following is The Vampire Diaries. In this show the female main character is supported by numerous male characters. Most emotion is shown my female characters whereas the errands and more dangerous or physically challenging tasks are completed by the male characters often in favour to a female character. The Vampire Diaries are therefore a huge display of the whole “damsel in distress” theme which portrays women to be largely male-dependant even in today’s day and age which might influence younger girls to be less self-dependant and more male-reliant and perhaps even think of themselves as the “weaker” of the sexes. After interviewing a pair of young parents I have established that, though they may expose their children to the same type of experiences. They stated that they “nurture based on nature” (Appendix I). However they did disagree on whether their son or daughter should act based on gender. The male seemed to feel more strongly towards boys playing with “boys” toys and vice versa. He expects males to be more physical and thereby their toys and interests should also be different from those of his female counterpart. The couple’s son (age 4) stated that “boys should play sports and girls should stay home and play with dolls” (Appendix I). With this simple statement one can easily see how soon kids are “trained” to realize what their role is when it comes to gender bias. The interview also asked whether or not advertisements have an effect on their children. Both stated ‘yes’ because “they see commercials that are geared towards
Nature vs. Nurture 6 them” and “this will get them hooked on a specific product” (Appendix I). This clearly has an effect on how children see gender roles. If a young boy see’s a commercial of a kid about his own age playing with toy cars and shortly after see’s a commercial based around girls playing with dolls, he’ll be more geared towards the cars because he can relate to these boys in the commercial. Judging on the interview it’s clear that some parents tend to nurture their child based on their gender and choose to expose them more towards things and activities that are gender bias (boys and sports, girls and dolls). As a final research source I had looked at some websites of stores who sell both clothes and toys for young kids. It was instantly clear that the blue and green clothes were targeted towards the males whereas the red and pink were geared towards the female sex (Appendix J). By stores doing this it forces parents into buying the clothes that “fit” the gender this way, with their parents giving them what they should wear kids learn from a young age what colours and what style of clothing is acceptable to which gender. Consequently, and because of the constant bombardment of gender bias in today’s society, children of any age are constantly pressured into fitting in and acting and dressing according to said bias. Children are in a developing phase and pick up everything that’s going on around them, therefore the smallest thing can make a huge difference in their lives. After having endlessly researched this topic I have come to the conclusion that I agree with the fact that gender identity is acquired more by the
Nature vs. Nurture 7 influence of society and not because of any biological reason; a gender identity is acquired by nurture not nature.