GENDER: A Social Construction

       submitted by: IVAN.M

       Gender is a social construct that consist of the behaviors, the expectations that are build around whether or not you are put into one sex categories. Talking about gender as a social construction means,  particularly in this  culture that we view gender structure as a binary system. It means there is a Masculine which refers to male, and a feminine which refers to female and that's the way we organize our thinking around gender. That's thinking about gender as a structure.
        We are given messages from the day we are born. Those messages influences the way we act, and it is not just the pieces that we are born with. From the birth, we begin to give to the little boy  small wooden rifles, and  the girl, she meets with a doll and a small cradle to play the mom. It is obvious that for a kid who has the moldable, quite white brain, which, as some wax, that is engraved forever. Even later, if he has the impression to think, he uses materials which we gave him while he was still practically unconscious. That marked him for a whole life. Our individuality has profound roots which escape us and exceed us because they are foreign to us, others cultivated them for us, without our knowledge. Back in the days, the man was the most waited for a long time during the birth, for economic reasons (work in fields, inheritance) or during the pure parental pride. And the woman was the homemaker, the one in charge of taking care of the family.  If the expectations of parents as regards to their own children differs according to their sex, it is inevitable that these last ones react according to their demands from the first moment when they are in their arms.

             

     

              An essentialist will say, we see differences gender between men and women simply if we just go back to their make up. It ‘s all about their brain, chromosomes, the physical appearance and so on. As Model, the  family itself holds an essential place within the infantile identification: this first image of the male and feminine roles is determining for the child, and he will naturally tend to reproduce them. If the integration of the model of a couple as the social standard of the gender relations is dominant, the family brings and plans incredibly forts of representation of the male and feminine roles. We know the importance today which plays the imitation of the parents in the psychological development of a child, and, even if the situation is never the same from a family to the other one, the family environment remains all the same an essential factor of gender roles.

      

NO HOMO!!!!

Submitted By: Brandon Julien       
  Since birth children are groomed to take on the roles of their gender. Boys get everything blue, they play with trucks and toy soldiers, and their behavior must be aggressive, tough, and dominant. While girls get everything pink, they play with easy bake ovens and dolls, and their behavior must be sweet, dainty, and submissive. Functionalist believe that the way they condition both sexes is necessary for social stability. They view women taking the expressive emotional role and men taking the practical role. Like race and ethnicity, gender has an enormous influence on people's lives.

         Family, peers, and the media reinforce gender role stereotypes for both men and women. I chose the title No Homo because homophobia also contributes to gender role socialization. Since adolescence I can  remember insulting my peers and vice versa if they would say anything "gay". You immediately received a negative sanction."What you say....no homo nigga." As you became older it was more important to follow such guidelines into your right of passage as a man. Some critics argue that gender roles in modern society are based on women being "inferior" to men. I agree because of a countless observation at social arenas, such as the workplace, the "average" household, educational institutions, and even in our nation’s government.

http://dormtainment.com/dormtainment-girlscanguyscant/       



Gender

Submitted by Johnathan Dickinson

Gender is a term used to place on social matters. Gender is mainly described as gender roles for differences between male and females. Gender roles that are placed on males in our social groups are being mescaline, powerful, strong, controlling, hard working, and playing sports. Females are portrayed as being emotional, house wives, dancing, not athletic, and caring how they look.

                The genders of men and women are portrayed to be the same now as they were back than. But things have changed. Women work outside of the home, daughters play sports and act strong and can have power. Men are now some of the “stay home mothers”, some care how they dress before leaveing the home and do some of the house hold chores.

               From this clip who will see how men and women are described in different events:

 

from this video you are able to understand what roles are placed males and females. But today we know that women are able to travel on business trips, and do not come home just to clean and cook. Men are not just the bread winners anymore and are taking on more of a motherly like setting as time moves forward. From this video we also see that a women is full of emotion to where a man has not at all. This has changed over time, men have become more emotional and some are not scared to show how they are felling.

We have learned from studying gender that it is what is placed on a person. therefore we are made to believe that we must act out theses roles. But in fact we are able to change what is to what should become. Men and Women should beable to act how they please and do as they please, no one should every tell them they should not be able to do something because it was only meant for the other sex to do.

Gender Roles as a Man

Submitted  by Johnathan Dickinson

What does it mean to be a man? Being a man takes on several roles such as providing for a family, working outside of the household, and protecting the family. The reasons behind why a man is looked at for these things are that society placed them in. When I say men have to protected the family I mean that when they have a family they are looked at by keeping the family as a whole and keeping them happy. Men are also looked at being the secondary parent who maintain the rules in the house and make sure everything is provided for the household. In addition, men as they are growing up they are looked at to have a girl friend, play sports and to help with the family so that they will already know what to do when they start a family of their own. It all depends on where I am at to where social influence affects my day-to-day experiences and choices. When I am at home, it is harder to be open about my sexuality then it is to when I am at school. When I am at home, I do not really know everyone I will meet and how they would respond to me being open and how I go about portraying myself threw out the day. Now when I am at school people have a better understanding of what the gay community is like and more people are out and open to where people do not judge as much as it would be in a large city. People are not as judgmental and are friends with a person because of who they are and not what they are. When it comes to me I do not portray a normal man because I am gay I sometimes take in a few roles that women have. I do not base my life on the guild lines on what everyone is to do and what is expected of him or her. Yes, I am a man I do plan on have a full time job and taking care of my family but even with straight men, they too will often take on household work and asset with other motherly duties. I as a person do not follow what is expected because I feel that everyone should do what he or she want to do in life and not listen to what society tells him or her what he or she should be doing. I believe that we have come out of that error to the point that we share roles and do not look at anyone different because of that. My sense of being has changed for me a lot knowing that I am open and feel like I am more comfortable with myself and who I am now then I have been. I do not care anymore of what people think of me and how I live my life. To each its own is a saying that goes along way and has a great meaning to it and that everyone should go by it. It will show how people live in a world that they do not care about one's life style but looks more at people at who they are and what they are about. As I was growing up, I was just like any other boy I would play sports and watch them. I would take girls out on dates and to my school dances. At a point in my life so fare I would sometimes ask myself why am I asking like this I know I like guys and it would be nice to date one. Therefore, in high school I had my first boyfriend. Now at first I was scared to tell anyone but my closes friend and keep everything privet. By the time I was a junior I was also dating girls but when I liked a guy I was not afraid to tell people and my friends did not care to the point they would talk to me about it to get a better understanding of who I was and it helped me out in the long run. Now that I am in college people now I like guys and if I have a boyfriend or a friend they can hang out with me and be around me because they look at me for who I am and not because I am gay. There is also a better understanding of how gay people do half of the time follow the roles that are placed in society and people do not know if they are gay or straight and some of those people do not come out until later in life when they feel most comfortable with themselves. We are general growing in a society when gay males are not looked down upon or judged for whom they are but how they play a role in society today. When people realize they can live a life without being judged they will be able to live at their own free will and society as we know it will become greater as a whole.

What Does GAY Look Like?

Submitted by C. Bell

“You’re gay? You don't look gay.” A comment and question that many self proclaimed heterosexual people utter when they encounter an openly gay person. For the not so bold heterosexuals I'm sure this is a statement you may ponder if you meet a gay/lesbian person who doesn't come off looking stereotypically “gay”. Is it that all people who identify themselves as homosexual must dress a certain way, live in rainbow colored houses, or be branded somehow so that everyone knows their sexuality before ever getting a chance to know the person?

In this video, you will see how silly it is that society has made us all think that being gay has to look a certain way in our everyday clothing and mannerisms. Which is a huge part of “doing gender” for both men and woman. It shows in a comedic way that if your a lesbian people expect you to look and act “manly” and do things in a manly way to I guess instantaneously be noticed and labeled as a lesbian.

Wanting to just give another eye opener on how hilarious it is that we choose to label and categorize everyone and everything. I choose this video because the very first thing that came to mind was the reading by C.J. Pascoe, “Dude You’re a Fag”. This video shows exactly how simple it is to be labeled gay by doing simple everyday things. It shows how we label people before we even give them a chance to just be themselves.

In the reading, “What It Means to be a Gendered Me” the writer gives details of her own life that I could directly relate to and its all because most of the world believes there are only two genders male and female, girl and boy. To physically be a woman and dress in men's clothing everyday doesn't show that I'm uncomfortable dressed in tight feminine clothing but that I’m not correctly displaying my gender and I could possibly be gay. Being gay, bisexual or lesbian makes you look exactly like who you are everyday. Lets get our prejudices in order people we need to educate ourselves and our children for the future to be more open-minded to a variety of situations. And just a funny tidbit of my own, the next time you hear someone say, "You don't look GAY". Ask them where can you purchase some GAY because obviously it comes in a can.

Never forgeting family

Submitted by krentz Sainte

The family has changed over the couple centuries. Different cultures have a say on what families look like. We are associated with our family because it a healthy relationship we need. Family is a very important value for many people. When times get rough we always turn to our family for support. In economic crises families have become closer because they now even live together to cut down on expensive and to keep them together. The support of some families release the stress people carry like babysitting or having a place to stay when times get tough.

extended family

Over time families have changed due to emotional problems.  The different types of family that are known to society are nuclear and extended family.  A nuclear family is married couple and their unmarried children living together. It is also that the family severs as a nucleus, or core, on which larger family groups are built. The parents live together but are not together because of issue they cannot resolve.  The other family is called the extended family it consist of uncles’ aunts’ grandparents and other relatives.  I personally like this type of household because it brings families together. Families start to build go relationships while their young so there relatives do not become strangers in the next generation.

Within a family the traditional gender roles have changed because of society. Men are now able to be the home make. The stay at home dad is not view as masculine but this opened up the think of people. They started to see that men in families can be nurturing by being a stay at home dad.  In the 1950s women were fulltime homemakers and men provided for the family while females take care of the household. Now women are more independent and can work their role have changed they can work.

In conclusion the family forms a strong structure that is very healthy and helpful. The family will always be important for the social institution it where we learn how to behave. The gender roles will continue to change because of how independent we have become. Men can hold down a household and still take on the responsibility of being a father.

The Perfect Family

What is the perfect family? I consider it to be one that is loving,caring, and raise their children to the best of their ability. Many people in the western society believe the nuclear family to be the perfect family. One with a mother, father and two to three children. In the clip above You will see a loving family. This family cares for their children in a loving manner. They have united their love in marriage, therfore they have dedicate their lives to one another. They go on hiking trips with their children and their children also participate in extra curricular activities.  I am shamed to admitt that my children have never been hiking. At the time me and my spouse are co-habitating. Although we are engaged ,we still have not dedicated ourselves to eachother legally or in front of god. Yet, my relationship is look upon more beificial to my children then the family in the clip above.WHY?  This couple has done everything right according to western society with the exception of falling in love with a person of the same sex. Should that one attribution place their  family apart from mine. Families have been changing throughout the decades at one time blacks and whites were'nt allowed to marry it was the law. Remember JIM CROW. At one time women stayed home and cook and cleaned and the huband was the bread winner and made all the decisions. Trust me alot of these "New" millinium women would say heck no to that. The norm for western society is chaning all the time. Lets hope that western society is open- minded enough to except the perfect family.

Submitted by: Samea Haywood

Hey we are not the same you're a boy Iam girl.

By Robyn Brown

 In the United States we learn our gender role at a really early ages. We was taught boys must be masculine whereas, girl must be feminine.Children  know the parents role by the ages of three. They know the fathers role is to go out to work for his family and the mother stay home in work. Also the toys the child  receives also help the child define the role of gender. For a example I did a experiment on my friend son. He is only three years old. I took his toy away from him, he started to get anger, so I gave him  the toy back but it was the wrong toys. I gave him a doll baby because I wanted to see did he know what gender, play with dolls. His respones was " thats not my toys, that for little girls". In this video it show children doing the same thing like my friend son did. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWc1e3Nbc2g  I think the gender role have fail in this day and time. Today woman work and take care of the household. I also see woman doing hard labor jobs as well. Years ago their was job only for men policeman, mailman, and fireman etc.  Womans were not able to work at them type of places but today that has changes.Woman are no longer taking the back seat anymore. Woman came along way in the United States. I think we discrimination went its come to gender and we still do.Went we do discrimination it may lead to this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWc1e3Nbc2g.

How Women are redefining the gender role in sports

 Submitted by Navita

             Gender role-plays a significant part in society. We learn our gender role through parents, teachers, peers, television, magazines, books and religion that implicates how males and females should be portrayed. The feminist movement has paved the way for women in the Western culture fighting for equal rights, economic, and social rights. The feminist movement helped women to differentiate their role in society, for example, sports where women are professional athletes in basketball, softball, tennis, golf and soccer. The opportunities for female athletes in sports have increased drastically throughout the years. However, they’re successful athletes but still face criticisms for their gender in sports by critics claiming, “that it’s not their place” or “they’re trying to be men.” Women athletes train hard and play hard in the competitiveness of sports but still lag behind the men athletes.  

Overall, these strong, powerful, hardworking athletes are being acknowledge in their sports career, for instance, the USA Women's Soccer Team that made the finals, even though they didn’t win the championship; they were recognized throughout world for their performance. This is setting a great example for many young girls growing up in society, today. Your gender shouldn’t hold you back from going after your dreams. These women are not only athletes they are moms, wives and balancing other obligations in their lives. This proves that women can definitely manage it all from having a career and raising a family, they are redefining the gender role.