Margaret Andersen Thinking About Women

Chapter Two: The Social Construction of Gender The idea of how gender is socially constructed is evaluated throughout chapter two of the book Thinking About Women by Margaret Andersen. The social construction of gender is thought to be the multiple different approaches in which the expectancy of being a girl, whom later becomes a woman, and being a boy, whom later becomes a man, is passed on through the society. Society differences are said to be the basis of gender identity in today’s society preferably more than the sex or biological differences are. All throughout chapter two of Thinking About Women, Andersen discusses the multiple ways that gender is identified with and how our social interaction differences affect gender identity more so than
Therefore, social institutions have the same impact on people as does culture when it comes down to gender and how gender is identified in society. Social roles/gender roles are another way gender can be identified, besides culture and social institutions. Social roles and gender roles are two different ideas; social roles, as stated by Andersen, are “the culturally prescribed expectations, duties, and rights that define the relationship between a person in a particular position and the other people with whom she or he interacts” (Andersen 31). Gender roles are “the expectations for behavior and attitudes that the culture defines as appropriate for women and men” (Andersen 31). The example that Andersen provides as a social role is a mother; being a mother comes with different responsibilities and duties, along with a set of rights and expectations. Social roles, according to Andersen, can be thought of as linking individuals to social structures. Social roles are what causes certain behaviors and norms to develop because they become learned through social roles. Gender roles, on the other hand, cause the relations between gender to be expressed. Gender roles are solely based on interrelationships such as