Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behavior, and activities that the society considers appropriate for men and women. The roles and behaviors give rise to gender inequalities. For instance, the ideology that men are more interested in performing physically tough activities while women perform tasks like raising children, cooking, embroidery and so on.…
Throughout the progress of understanding human development, the notion of gender has commonly been the topic of discussion and debate when attempting to understand its foundation. While it is argued to be a societal and cultural manifestation, others suggest it is a biological…
Gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity by providing a divide. Men are looked at as the bread winners and the providers, they are generally stronger which are the qualities of masculinity. Women are looked at as the softer type, the ones that take care of everyone and provides comfort and take care of everyone, that is the qualities of femininity.…
Sex is the biological identity of a human being, “The criteria for classification can be genitalia at birth or chromosomal typing…” (West and Zimmerman, 2015). Sex category is determined through the sex criteria although, according to west and Zimmerman, a person may classify themselves in a specific sex category even though they do not have the sex criteria for that category. Gender is the agreed upon way one person should present themselves if they identify in a specific category (masculinity and femininity). Hegemonic masculinity is dictated through the three societal standards that are put in our heads as a baby. Whether it is the cars and trucks to the guns and swords little boys get; we see masculinity being something in which is taught at a young…
There is a natural relationship between men and women. They have their individual roles and position in the society. These roles and positions of men and women are not written in verbatim in any book of law. Instead they are manifested in the culture of the society with various external factors that can be influenced by society’s religion, political, geographical and others. These societal roles are passed on from generation to generation and reflected through literary works. The works of the writers collected from various stories are replica of the actual scenes that happen in the society. The men and women from the past are understood by the books written. Throughout time, gender positions and roles have been changing. These changes can be seen through various works throughout history.…
For many years society has embraced the idea that the difference between men and women were biologically determined. Thou through traditions, media, and peers we act accordingly to how others view us. Each individual has pressure placed upon them based on their gender. Our sex is determined by genetics while our gender is programmed by social customs. Some theories interpret that a women is tender and a loving mother while on the other hand men are aggressive hunters and are the dominant one of the family. People who support this theory seems to believe that men and women are happier when fulfilling the roles nature determined for them. Women are to be nurturing and men are to be providers by nature. An individual gender role is molded through socialization. Individuals learn the ways, traditions, norms, and rules of getting along with others. A persons environment has a big influence on the roles deemed accurately for men and women. In "A Rose for Emily," we see the effects of socially given gender roles for a women along with the same social perception upon the male adult in the poem "My Papa 's Waltz."Both show images of gender roles in their respective ways.…
Gender is a social construction. Sex refers to biological differences that are unchanging; gender involves the meaning that a particular society and culture attach to sexual difference. Because the meaning varies over time and among cultures, gender differences are both socially constructed and subject to change.…
Examining gender as a social structure and applying gender roles poses many challenges when explaining the phenomenon of social stratification. Barbara J. Riseman explores many expanses of gender and theories’ arguing the issues and importances a social structure has on gender outcomes. Riseman discusses the four distinct social scientific theoretical traditions that explain gender: individual sex, whether it be social or biological; social structure creates gendered behavior; social interaction and accountability to others’ expectations; and how gender creates inequality and acts on gender as a socially constructed stratification system. Gender is a major slice of every social process in everyday life within every social situation and I imagine that gender accounts for inequalities society has on the opposite sex and it’s that inequality that is dependent on gender within social hierarchy.…
So while your sex as male or female is a biological fact that is the same in any culture, what that sex means in terms of your gender role as a 'man' or a 'woman' in society can be quite different cross culturally. These 'gender roles' have an impact on the health of the individual. In sociological terms 'gender role' refers to the characteristics and behaviours that different cultures attribute to the sexes. What it means to be a 'real man' in any culture requires male sex plus what our various cultures define as masculine characteristics and behaviours, likewise a 'real woman' needs female sex and feminine characteristics.…
Gender, traditionally, is being categories only to male and female. People tend to identify male as a person that has a male sexual organ and vice versa for female. Usually, male is more masculine, strong, work and tends to stay out of home more; while female is more feminine, weak, taking care of the home and taking care of children and stay home more often than male. In the past there is a huge amount of stereotype towards both sexes. People usually are identified…
“The concept of gender is used by sociologists to describe all the socially given attributes, roles, activities and responsibilities connected to being male or female in a given society. Our gender identity determines how we are perceived and how we are expected to think and act as women and men, because of the way society is organised” (March et al, 1999)…
Everybody in today’s society experiences gender throughout his or her life. However, as a female, I have personally always been affected by the social construction of gender in my day-to-day life, whether I was aware of it or not. Gender is such a prominent aspect of life for everyone that we barely recognize the effect it has on us, especially when it’s constructed within our own families.…
For this week’s reading memo, I will be looking at The Social Construction of Gender by Judith Lorber, and Getting Off and Getting Intimate: How Normative Institutional Arrangements Structure Black and White Fraternity Men’s Approaches toward Women by Rashawn Ray and Jason A. Rasow.…
In early hunter-gatherer societies, labor was divided based on sex. Women were the sole reproductive force, and thus needed to bare, breastfeed, and raise children, which confined them to the settlement for the majority of their lives—increasing their dependence on men for information and resources. Over time this led to the development of gender roles, or societal norms that dictate the types of behaviors which are generally acceptable for people based on their biological sex. Masculine behaviors are usually associated with strength, aggression, and dominance—while feminine roles are usually associated with passivity, nurturing, and subordination. It is important to note that gender and sex are distinct concepts: sex refers to the biological…
Gender is beyond biological sex because it is a persons’ understanding of their life on being either a woman or a man. To me being a woman is being independent, strong, and means to never rely on a man because you’re stronger than that and don’t need one. Being a woman can also mean being extremely dramatic about everything and of course being nurturing. Now I believe my understanding of women has definitely come from all the strong women in my family. Growing up I had to see my mother struggle and continue to struggle because her “manly” partner never wanted to step up. I had to see so many women in my life rely only on themselves to play both parts in being a parent.…