Thursday, September 22, 2011

Chapter 5: Socialization & Gender Roles

Summary:

This chapter begins with discussing a few gender myths about each sex that still linger in the air. We all know what myths plague our society; all men are aggressive, all women are submissive, ect. But it then questions the difference between sex and gender.

Sex- concerning biological characteristics which we are born with; chromosomal, hormonal and physical attributes.
Gender: Learned attitudes and behaviors that characterize people of one sex or the other.

The chapter continues with gender identities which is the perception a person has of themselves as either masculine or feminine. This plays a huge role in gender role and the complexity of its structure. Gender role is said to be the characteristics, attitudes, feelings and behaviors that society expects of females and males. The expectation that society places on each sex sts the bar for how they believe they should act in public. This gives way to gender stereotypes which as stated before are stereotypes about how people will look, act, think and feel based on sex.

this is where the chapter introduces the idea of nature v nurture concerning gender. From the nature perspective, health wise, the majority of senses are most acute in women than males. Hormones of course play a huge role in creating that line between the two even though it it said that men and women both share three distinct hormones (estrogen, progesterone and testosterone) that are just dominant and recessive in each sex. Puberty is where these hormones really show themselves and make changes both internally and externally in the body. From a nurture perspective, gender roles vary in cultures. What is looked at as a masculine or male role maybe looked at as a dual role that can be done by either sex.

The chapter then took a turn and focused on gender role factors including the study of biology affecting social behavior (sociobiology) and the social learning theory which is the idea that people learn attitudes, beliefs and behaviors through social interactions from reinforcement, imitation and modeling. Contrasting that, cognitive development theory states how kids acquire male/ female values on their own through thinking, reasoning and interpretation of the environment. It occurs through developmental states in life where they learn for themselves. The variables can be whether parents support their behavior seeing as if fits their expectation of their sex, peer groups and acceptance, daily interactions, school and of course the media/ advertising. Gender roles have evolved throughout time, but the constant analyzing for new angles to see from is what keeps this topic one that everyone can relate too.

Interesting information:

Intersexuals or hermaphrodites are people born with both male and female sex organs (internally and externally.) About 1 in every 8-10,000 births. I didn't know too much about hermaphrodites but the statistic is what was somewhat staggering to think about. I also wondered what doctors would do when a parent wanted the child to grow up as one sex and the other parent wanted the child to grow up as the other sex.

Question:

In this society, is it possible or beneficial for a child to be one sex but be raised in a household where they treat them or give them the characteristics/ stereotypes of another sex? To basically go against the grain of societal expectations?

3 comments:

  1. I feel its possible because that results in homosexuality. That its why I must say that it is not beneficial for that child because he may grow up confused. Some times you have to roll with the punches of society and reality. Like I said in my blog earlier, there are socially unwritten rules and roles that people abide by. In this case I feel it's one of those rules or roles you must abide by.

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  2. Jay,
    I think it is definitely possible to be one sex but be raised in a household where they treat them or give them the characteristics/ stereotypes of another sex and I would have to slightly disagree with James about the homosexuality part; not all cases where one grows up treated like the opposite sex leads to homosexuality. For instance, when I was little, I grew up with two sisters, so my father never had the son he dreamed of having; this is what led me to be a tomboy. I was dressed like a boy, my hair was pulled back tight and tucked into a hat (in fact, I got mistaken as looking like a boy by many people), and I did many things that would be stereotyped as boy activities, such as fishing, football, attended car shows, collected bugs, etc. However, when I turned 13 and began maturing on my own, I made a total change and became a girly girl, doing activities that are stereotyped for girls such as getting my nails done, shopping, wearing make-up, etc. Therefore, even though I grew up as my dad's dream "son," I still became the heterosexual girl I am today. So I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it isn't beneficial.
    After looking back at my experience, it didn't really have that much of an affect on me when I began to mature. In addition, it could be considered beneficial to my parents, in that my dad for sometime did have that child he could do "guy" things with; in fact, I think it actually made my relationship with my dad stronger than my sisters' relationship with him.

    -Natalie Fisher

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  3. I think that not only would it be possible, but beneficial. Like the book says on page 128, androgyny is the answer to lessening sexism. If people of both sexes begin having the "stereotypical characteristics" of both sexes: strong yet caring, patient yet assertive, etc. then both sexes will eventually be considered as equals. Also, it will open the children up to new opportunities they may have not been open to before. For instance, the parents of a girl might steer her to go into the arts instead of the sciences and math, and she may not be able to be turned in another direction once parents, peers, and teachers begin enrolling and suggesting English and reading classes to her. Also, I definitely disagree with James above. Homosexuality is not something learned by society. Every animal has hown homosexuality. Also, if this was a "taught behavior" why should that be something that should be frowned upon? It is who they fall in love with, it has nothing to do with your view of what is "normal".
    --Bonnie Noel

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