Gender Roles

Gender Roles

For many years society has embraced the idea that the difference between men and women were biologically determined. This paper is an analysis of contemporary issues associated with gender roles and difference that we were taught since we were born. Through traditions, media, and peers we act accordingly to how others view us. We all have pressure placed upon us based on their gender. Our sex is determined by genetics while our gender is programmed by social customs. A sex category becomes a gender status through naming, dressing, and the use of other gender markers. Once a child's gender is evident, others treat those in one gender differently from hose in that other, an the children respond to the different treatment by feeling different and behaving differently ( Lorber p.55). When you walk into the toy section of any store, you do not need a sign to indicate which section is the girls' side and which section is the boys' side. Aside from all the pink, purple, and other pastel colors that fill the shelves on the girls' side, the glitter sticks out a lot as well. The boys' toys however are mostly dark colors - blue, black, red, gray, or dark green. The colors typically used on either side are very stereotypical in themselves.

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 seem to believe that men and women are happier when fulfilling the roles nature determined for them. In social interaction through out our lives, individuals learn what is expected, see what is expected, act and react in expected ways, and thus simultaneously construct and maintain their gender roles ( Lorber p.60). 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.

Parents, media, teachers, and peers are important socializing agents for teaching the young their gender roles. Children are viewed through "Gender-Colored" glasses by their parents that focus on gender differences that do not exist. Meaning that a glass is clear and depending upon what you want to see through it is what you will see through it. Most children are raised with the belief that girls are pretty in pink and boys are rough and tough in blue. As infants grow older, their parents' notions about gender stereotypes continue to influence how parents treat their children. Mothers and fathers tend to look at their baby girls as more fragile than their boys (Kleiman). Many children develop social skills while in school. A peer group is away for children to interact with others whom we share a similar status or similar values and behaviors. We as kids hang around with friends whom we can learn from as well as master the things we already know (Thunberg p.82). By the time adolescence kicks in the friends are very strong influences in a young person's life. Most teenagers strive for more acceptance and approval from their friends than they do for that of their own families. Through friends children learn that others share problems, conflicts, and complex feelings, and this may be helpful for each individuals to express how they feel. One of the first impressions with adolescence is the similarity in dress and behavior. Young people generally dress to impress their friend. Interaction that takes place at this time helps reinforce their conceptions of gender roles. Girls look at their mothers and assume that being a lady is wearing dresses to be feminine. But on the other hand, boys usually like to wear comfortable clothes so they can get dirty and play rough. Many times boys feel that dressy cloths are uncomfortable. (Thunberg p.82). The differential in roles on the basis of sex is probably the most determinant of social behavior. There area several reasons for the differential treatment, but we can only assume that parents want their boys to be tough, and their daughters are to be neat and very lady like, in their behavior. Parents treating their infants differently are displaying socialization. Socialization is the process by which all people learn what is expected of them through their interactions with others. The household chores that are assigned by our parents are one way to shape a child's gender role for the future. In many households, boys do the taking out trash, mowing the grass, shoveling the snow, and what the parents feel like are manly duties. While girls, clean the house by doing the dishes, cooking, babysitting the younger siblings, and other stereotypic womanly duties. As individuals we define who we are in terms of our gender.

Media also plays an important role in the gender process for young and old people. In the early days, T.V. sitcoms portrayed women as housewives and men as the breadwinners. For example, Leave it to Beaver was a T.V. show were June Cleaver (the mother) stayed at home all times and never disciplined the children. Where as Ward Cleaver (the father), was the dominant one who worked and disciplined the children. Now, the sitcoms are completely different as far as the gender roles that each parent plays. Another example is in Who's the Boss, Angela was a successful businesswoman and provided for the family and Tony was the housekeeper. Commercials are another way that gender roles are displayed in society. When you see a car commercial for a mechanic most of the time the mechanic is a man. But when you