Preview

“Gender: Balance in Human Society”

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1923 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
“Gender: Balance in Human Society”
“Gender: Balance in Human Society”

Gender defines an individual whether it be a human or any other organism since birth. Although, we refer to gender and sex analogously, the two words are rather very different, with gender defining the accepted norms and roles of males and females in society and sex signifying whether the individual is a male or female. In my opinion its a word created by us humans to rise a discrimination between men and women but in the natural sense the words the word should just signify whether the organism is male or female. In humans one little DNA code difference can completely change the offspring’s life forever. If fetus DNA chromosomes read XX then it’s female and if chromosome pair is XY then it’s male. On the micro level that’s the only distinction between men and women but in reality it turns out to be a huge difference.
We live in a society where a child’s life varies based on its gender. If it’s a boy his upbringing will be different than a girl. It’s a fact that we have all taken for granted and have accepted it without really questioning ourselves. We have associated long hair, good looks, household work, cozy environments, fashion sense, cooking sense all with females. While all the dirty work like playing in the mud, living in rather rough environments, violent sports has been associated men by describing the aforementioned activities as manly. This distinction between male and female is not innate in children; in fact it’s acquired by them throughout their formative years.
The media, commercials, schools… all play a significant role in creating this gender disparity amongst the children since birth. For instance if we a parent conceives a baby boy then they decorate his room with toys like cars, trucks, toy guns, action figures, and sports equipment, and they even dress the boy in clothes symbolizing such toys. If a girl likes to play with these ‘masculine toys’, they are frowned upon and deliberately taught to play with

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    To begin the piece, Devor takes an educational approach by giving us some background on why gender is important and how we learn about gender through our first few years of life. “Gender identities act as cognitive filtering devices guiding people to attend to and learn gender role behaviors appropriate to their statuses.” (Devor 527) As toddlers we learn the differences between female and male. When we begin to determine which gender we are, our attitudes and actions quickly take shape. According to Devor, children by the age of two usually understand that they are members of a gender grouping and can correctly identify other members of society. I was astonished to learn that our brain can process information like that at such a young age. Devor made me think back to my childhood and how I acted as a little kid. One memory stood out to me. A good friend of mine when I was about five or six years old was a girl and we always played with dolls. On a rainy day when Allison and I were playing inside, my good buddy Jack Scherer came over and secretly told me that playing with dolls was for girls. Knowing that he was a boy, I immediately stopped playing with dolls and converted to the “cool” thing to do, play Pokemon. Because of this experience, I quickly came to the conclusion that this statement of Devor’s is true.,…

    • 1154 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Although changing one’s sex is a biological process and often unchangeable, changing one’s gender is a fluid social process. It is hard to distinguish so-called natural and social qualities of one’s gender or sex since culture strongly impacts what society believes to be natural (TAW Social construction of gender 26). The social construction of gender is important to note when thinking about domesticity, because girls are taught from young age to believe they are naturally better suited for family work rather than market work. For instance, toys for toddlers mimic gender norms as toys directed for girls involve care-centered play, such as pretend vacuums, kitchen sets, and baby dolls. On the other hand, toys for young boys involve science experiments and building blocks, toys that help to develop cognitive skills (39). The differences in toys relate to the different skills boys and girls learn at a young age; girls tend to learn nurturing skills while boys tend learn motor skills. As a result, the difference in toy design, as well as the fact that there are toys made for one gender over the other, are examples of how domesticity pervades US society. Girls grow up to believe that they are more suited towards…

    • 2405 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The article “Gender, toys and learning” was a good starting point for discussion and understanding elements of how media can truly impact the roles projected to the observer, usually children that are at a very impressionable age. Studies show that 3-year-old children could accurately separate toys with over 90% accuracy to what their parents believed was appropriate and acceptable. At age 5, children could perfectly identify gender-specific toys in accordance with their parent’s beliefs (Freeman, 2007). It’s easy to blame toys and media for categorizing the roles of different genders. Those businesses have a primary goal of making a profit. And keeping abreast of what consumers want is good for earnings. The conclusion I have reached is that gender typecasting begins at home, whether it’s through parental involvement or them being disengaged, role models make a huge difference in who we grow up to…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gender In Childhood

    • 1241 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Gender identity has become a prominent topic in today’s society as people are becoming more aware of personal identity. Gender awareness is fundamental for self-assessment and predominant in our perception of others. Social pressures also influence gender as they create stereotypes that people are expected to follow. These societal definitions of male and female greatly impact childhood development as they create restrictions and regulatory mechanisms that guide conduct relating to one’s gender and sex throughout the course of life (Bussey and Bandura 1). Societal perceptions of gender play a fundamental role in childhood development; gender conceptions and roles are the product of a network of social influences operating on the basis of a…

    • 1241 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Changing the mind-set of people’s views about gender narratives, can greatly reduce the problems associated with them. For example, allowing a woman to feel confident in her own skin and not ridiculed for her appearance. Allowing men to reverse the provider role and be a stay at home dad. In addition, using the media as a tool for change against these stereotypes can educate the population about what is acceptable behavior associated with different genders. Furthermore, not pressuring boys to grow-up before they are ready and allowing them to be kids, will reduce the violent tendencies related to male stereotyping. Thus, allowing boys the opportunity to develop self-worth and individual identity. We can only hope that one day, when a woman is sitting in the oval office she is viewed as an intellectual and not a sex…

    • 1212 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gender and Sex Worksheet

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Gender is wheather a person is male or female. Sex in biological terms is the property or quality by which organisms are classified as female or male on the basis of their reproductive organs and functions.Gender and sex are not the same sex refers to the differences of biological and gender describes the characteristics of male and females.…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gendered toys encourage children to act within their gender and never stray, “for girls, this would include a focus on attractiveness and appearance, perhaps leading to a message that this is the most important thing—to look pretty. For boys, the emphasis [is] on violence and aggression (weapons, fighting, and aggression)” (Blakemore). In other words, as a group, young girls are taught to be pretty, which leads to the social concept that teenage girls are vain and self-obsessed whereas young boys are taught to be wild and physical which leads to the concept that teenage boys are allowed to aggressively rough-house because ‘boys will be boys.’ This automatically constructs women as a group to be the subordinates to men as a…

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In today’s culture gender stereotypes and biases are created on the daily and children learn to adopt their gender roles based on these stereotypes. As children grow up they are exposed to factors that have major influences on their behaviors regarding their gender roles. During children development, children’s surroundings shape them into who they are. School, television, advertisements, friends, parents and many others impact these children and brainwash them into following these gender stereotypes. A study found that kids at the age of two and a half use gender stereotypes in negotiating the world, therefore in a number of activities they generalize these stereotypes to apply (Witt, 1997). For instance, girls are encouraged to play with dolls and engage in feminine activities, boys are pushed to play with cars, trucks and be involved in sports. From a very young age these children are experiencing these stereotypes first hand being that they are so vulnerable and are much easier to shape. Television also plays a huge role in children developing gender roles. Disney Channel is only one of many influences on children about male and female roles in society. It has been found that preschools spend nearly 30 hours a week, on…

    • 1585 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When a new child is born into this world, the first thing that the parents learn is the sex of their new baby. From a very young age, you are either classified as a boy or a girl. However, defining one as a boy or a girl is not actually referring to the sex of a human being. Although they are often considered as the same thing, they are far from the same. Sex is defined as a biological status of a species according to internal and external reproductive organs and sex chromosomes. They are often characterized as male, female or intersex. Gender refers to the behaviour, attitude and feelings that a culture gives to a person’s biological sex. The topic of sex versus gender is an ongoing issue in today’s society because people are becoming more…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gender and the Early Years

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages

    From the minute babies are pushed out of a mother’s womb, or even an embryo in the third trimester, gender is a predominate factor in the way they are treated. Whether it’s with gifts (pink for a baby girl and blue for a baby boy,) or hypothesis about what this baby will grow up to be, oh this little one will be a nurse (referring to the delicate, nurturing three-day old female,) emphasis is greatly placed on the gender or sex of the child, creating cultural/gender norms and limitations. Gender rigidity is primarily produced in a child’s first years through advertising in toys or clothing, and forms limitations for gender roles later in life, such as jobs or behavioral mannerisms.…

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sommers

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Many parents, teachers, and gender reform have not been successful in rooting out male behavior they regard as harmful. For example, an “equity facilitator” tried to persuade a group of nine-year-old boys in a Baltimore public school to accept the idea of playing with baby dolls. According to one observer, “Their reaction was so hostile; the teacher had trouble keeping order (Sommers 366).” Sommers’ present’ research that asserts that the nature of men is a matter of biology, not conditioning, and schools should stop attempting to change natural gender roles in society.…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gender plays an important role in the way children are raised in today’s society. The common stereotype that feminine toys are for girls and masculine toys are for boys is prevalent, even with all of the political advancements our society has made to try to free the world from these stigmas. It starts as early as when a child is in the mother’s womb. Most women will celebrate the arrival of their bundle of joy with a baby shower. Pink colors will be used for baby girls and blues for baby boys. In toy stores you will find aisles filled with toys separated by gender: baby dolls for girls and action heroes for boys. During ages three to five children enter their peak playing ages where their minds are most vulnerable to absorb everything and anything at once. Due to a failing economy, many more families are depending on early childcare programs to care for their children while they are forced to have both parents enter the workforce. During this sensitive, and impressionable time in a…

    • 1268 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Gender Targeting Children

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Gender stereotypes are exaggerated generalizations that are based purely on gender. The area of study for this investigation is sociocultural influences. This is a contemporary issue as it is becoming an excessive thing in modern society due to companies increasingly gender marketing their products towards children. The toy sections at shopping centers are divided into two categories: girl’s and boy’s toys. Aisles are filled with either pink, frilly princesses or blue, aggressive action figures. Toy marketing has changed dramatically in the past 50 years. As a matter of fact, it was not until the 1990s that toys were exceedingly targeting specific genders…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    To me, gender has always been the basic distinction between men and women. It signifies the difference between the way men and women lead their lives, how and with which gender they identify themselves. What this means to me, is that people divide themselves into two groups and identify themselves with the social attributes and gender roles associated with those genders. Gender is not simply the natural physiological distinction, it is also the construct into which people try to fit and identify with.…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sex, Gender and Toys

    • 1915 Words
    • 8 Pages

    According to the book “Core Concepts in Sociology”, authors Lindsey et al. (2006), socialization is defined as, “the lifelong process by which we learn our culture, develop our sense of self, and become functioning members of society” (Lindsey et al., 2006, p. 56). Today, social scientists define gender and sex as two very distinct realities (Lindsey et al., 2006, p. 114). Sex is defined as the biological traits that differentiate male and female while gender is the psychological, cultural and social traits that are in relation to male and female and identify people as masculine or feminine (Lindsey et al., 2006, p. 114). Gender stereotypes are common ideologies concerning what constitutes as feminine and masculine (Nelson, 1999, p.13). They wield a strong influence over our perceptions, expectations and evaluations not only of ourselves but of others as well (Nelson, 1999, p. 13). Our outlooks on gender are descriptive in the sense that we define what others are like and they are also prescriptive in the sense that we identify what others should be like (Nelson, 1999, p.13). These gender stereotypes are widely reinforced through the mass media, especially through children’s toys (Wagner-Ott, 2002, p. 246). Socialization begins from the day we are born and will continue until the day we die and since toys take place in children’s lives from the day they are born; it is safe to say that they play an important role in a child’s gender socialization (Wagner-Ott, 2002, p. 246). The nature of this project will be to compare and evaluate children’s toys on the basis of gender. I will be discussing the differences that are portrayed amongst children’s toys and what those differences suggest to the children. It is important to look at the agents who give these toys meaning because toys are after all merely objects. Do children’s toys portray gender specific messages? At a young age, girls are given dolls and kitchen set toys which gear them towards motherhood, while boys…

    • 1915 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics