Gender Identity Essays (Examples)

Sex and Gender: Why Killermann et al. View the Traditional Gender Binary as “Sick”
In his TedX talk, Sam Killermann explains that sexuality and gender are two different things: “one does not dictate the other,” he says. Instead, gender is something that is culturally articulated to boys and girls from an early age onwards: boys are taught to be rough and tumble, aggressive, to “like the color blue,” as Killlermann adds. While girls are taught to “play house” and to let the boys take charge. In other words, these are stereotypes that are culturally perpetuated according to Killermann and others—like Katie Rogers, who notes that “when Corey Cogdell-Unrein of the U.S. Olympic team won a bronze medal in women’s trap shooting,” a major American newspaper described her only as the wife of a Chicago Bears football player. Her identity was informed by her male companion in her life—i.e., her gender…

Works Cited
Gramlich, John. “10 things we learned about gender issues in the U.S. in 2017,” Pew Research Center, Dec. 28, 2017. www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/12/28/10-things-we-learned-about-gender-issues-in-the-u-s-in-2017/
Killermann, Sam. “Understanding the Complexities of Gender.” YouTube, May 3, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRcPXtqdKjE
Lorber, Judith. “Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender.” In The Social Construction of Difference: Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality, 55-68.
Rogers, Katie. “Sure, These Women Are Winning Olympic Medals, but Are They Single?” The New York Times, Aug. 18, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/sports/olympics/sexism-olympics-women.html

Although discriminating against transgender people creates detrimental psychological and social outcomes, there are important reasons to disallow transgender people from using any bathroom they would like. For one, there are legal and ethical reasons why transgender people should use the bathroom that corresponds with their birth sex. Transgender people are no better than anyone else, and no more deserving of special rights and privileges. If a transgender person is allowed to use any bathroom, then every person would be entitled to the same right. Transgenders should not use the opposite sex bathroom as it would cause chaos and mass invasions of the privacy of ordinary people. For example, men would readily walk into the female washrooms and cause disturbances or even practice predatory behavior. Second, transgender people may be in transition. During the time of transition, the person’s gender will not be immediately apparent, and the person’s gender identity is…

References
Grinberg, E. & Stewart, D. (2017). 3 myths that shape the transgender bathroom debate. CNN. March 7, 2017. Retrieved online: http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/07/health/transgender-bathroom-law-facts-myths/index.html
Karimi, F. & Grinberg, E. (2017). Trump’s reversal on transgender bathroom directive. CNN. Feb 23, 2017. Retrieved online: http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/23/health/transgender-bathrooms-trump-q-and-a/index.html
LAMBDA Legal (2017). Know your rights. Retrieved online: https://www.lambdalegal.org/know-your-rights/article/trans-restroom-faq
Schmidt, D.A. (2013). Bathroom bias. Michigan Journal of Gender and Law 20(1).
Seelman, K.L. (2016). Transgender adults’ access to college bathrooms and housing and the relationship to suicidality. Journal of Homosexuality 63(10): 1378-1399.
Teeman, T. (2017). The fight against the anti-transgender bathroom bill that could mess with Texas. Daily Beast. Retrieved online: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-fight-against-the-anti-transgender-bathroom-bill-that-could-mess-with-texas

439).

However, Johnson (n.d.) offers an optimistic view showing how patriarchy may be dismantled even in systems in which it appears to be pervasive, such as the military. In "Unraveling the Gender Knot," Johnson (n.d.) points out that it is a myth that gender disparity is inevitable and immutable. In fact, social systems are malleable and changeable. Change begins with "awareness and training about issues of privilege," according to Johnson (n.d., p. 240). Awareness stems from the willingness of all members of the military to recognize their role in the perpetuation of hegemony. African-American males find themselves in a peculiar position knowing that hegemony is a destructive force for the subjugated, but unwilling to surrender the privileges and powers of being at the upper rungs of the social ladder. As Hinojosa (2010) notes, there are distinct and tangible benefits to men in the military.

Power and identity are both socially…

References

Acker, J. (1992). From sex roles to gendered institutions. Contemporary Sociology 21(5). (Sep., 1992), pp. 565-569.

Fields, J. (2001). Normal queers. Symbolic Interaction 24(2): 165-187.

Hinojosa, R. (2010). Doing hegemony. The Journal of Men's Studies 18(2): 179-194.

Johnson (n.d.). Unraveling the gender knot.

Gender is an institution that people either widely accept as one way or another. Within any given society there are cultural norms that people identify with and that help shape their behaviors, values and beliefs. Gender differences thus can be easily created as an institution and can be representative of inequality when that inequality is supported or constructed by society at large (Kimmel, 2000). Kimmel suggests that inequalities are created as norms and arise within relationships, within families and even in the workplace or any other environment in which people work intimately (Kimmel, 2000).

Because gender is an institution according to Kimmel certain behaviors or actions are easily identified and labeled as appropriate or wrong (such as homosexuality) (Kimmel, 2000). If people adopt and follow social norms they will enjoy all the benefits associated with accepting the institution of gender correctly. When they do something incorrectly however people can expect…

References

Kimmel, M.S. (2000). The gendered society. New York: Oxford University Press.

Kleinfeld, J.S. (2002). "Could it be a big world after all? The Six Degrees of Separation

Myth." 2, Nov. 2005:  http://www.judithkleinfeld.com/ar_bigworld.html 

Napierkowski. "Six Degrees of Separation." Enotes. October 2003. 2 November 2005.  http://www.enotes.com/six-degrees/18787 .

Friends, colleagues and family members play a role in the development of one's identity and rank in this case (Humphrey, 2003).

Gender is reflected and accomplished within the scope of ordinary routines. In this way people 'do' gender. Gender "socialization" according to Kimmel begins and birth and continues throughout ones life; parents, family, friends, environment all influence gender differences in children (Kimmel, 122). Parents for example may possess ideas of what children need based on gender specific ideas, thus socialize children in certain ways based on their sex.

Gender is announced as Kimmel points out the moment a baby is born, revealing sex before anything else (Kimmel, 1999). Expectations about how someone of a certain gender should be treated lead to actions, result in behaviors and cause actions and consequences. Gender stereotypes may lead to inequalities. Early treatment may reflect a parent's acceptance of societal roles for boys and girls…

References

Humphrey, J. (2003 - Mar). "Guthrie's six degrees of separation and provocative."

Oracle Online, 115(7): 1. Retrieved:

 http://www.hamline.edu/oracle/archives/031803/?entertainment/ent5.html 

Kimmel, M.S. (2000). The gendered society. New York: Oxford University Press.

Any diversion from that norm is considered deviance.

Gender Awareness Week should seek to accomplish several goals. First, the week of seminars and workshops will inspire all of us to think more cogently about gender. What does gender mean to us and to our identity? How has gender identity affected our behaviors, our relationships, our reactions to external events? How has our gender identity affected the way others relate to us? I would encourage all students to become more aware of gender in their daily lives. We need to pay attention to instances in which gender is particularly salient. For example, do males react differently to a woman wearing a skirt and heels than to a woman wearing jeans and Doc Martins?

Second, Gender Awareness Week should stimulate more media literacy. The media promotes and reinforces gender norms. For example, a recent Victoria's Secret lingerie fashion show included brief biographies…

Gender

As I walked down the pedestrianized shopping mall, I immediately took note of the configurations of people on the sidewalk. There were many groups of females together -- either in twos, or groups of four or more. There were also some lone females, too, of course. There were many couples, and also a few groups of male friends. When looking at these different configurations of people and individuals, the way they "do" gender became almost immediately apparent. The most obvious and glaring sign of "gendered" identity is clothing. Women on this shopping street tended to dress quite nicely. Many were wearing high heels, and those who were in flats were in stylish ones as opposed to sneakers. Some of the men were dressed nicely too, but many were wearing sloppy clothing such as old T-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops. In addition to the differences in what men and women were…

Gender

The challenges families face include lack of social support, lack of guidance, lack of information, prejudice, and hostility. Gender roles and norms are entrenched in the society, making it difficult for children and their parents to resist or subvert conformity. The media and all social institutions perpetuate gender roles and norms. Yet when parents are willing to encourage gender fluidity or gender nonconformity, children and their parents are liberated from constraints to their creativity and self-expression. Specific challenges to resisting conformity include locating gender-neutral toys and games for young children, and finding strong social support networks for the child and the parents. Gender neutrality scares people for many reasons, not least of which is its perceived kinship with homosexuality, but also its being symbolic of social deviance. A person who does not fit into the neatly arranged categories of male and female may be viewed as an outright threat…

References

Duron, L. (2013) Raising My Rainbow. New York: Random House.

Kuhn, S. (2014). Breaking free of gender stereotypes. She Knows. Retrieved online:  http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/1033051/raising-a-gender-neutral-child 

Lucas-Stannard, P. (2012). Gender Neutral Parenting.

Martin, K.A. (2005). William wants a doll. Gender and Society 19(4), 456-479.

They cannot fight their biological destiny, no matter how hard they try, and that is another reason that I believe sex and gender are biological, and not simply psychological or mental.

However, I firmly believe that how society looks at gender is social, and has nothing to do with biology or nature. Society has placed certain "rules" about sex and sexuality on men and women. Men are supposed to be manly, strong, the providers, and most of all, supremely "male" and all that means. It means men are supposed to be unemotional, not show their feelings, enjoy sports and violence, and never show weakness. Women are supposed to be feminine, weak and dependent, good-looking, and emotional, and a man who shows these tendencies is labeled "gay" or "weird" by other men. These are all social constructs that most of society firmly believes in and abides by. Thus, anyone who is…

References

Transamerica. Dir. Duncan Tucker. Perf. Felicity Huffman, Kevin Zegers. The Weinstein Company, 2005.

Vincent, Norah. Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey Into Manhood and Back. New York, Penguin, 2006.

A truly gendered theory would therefore provide a more unified theoretical framework. The gendered theory that the authors suggest has four key elements. These are the following. Male as well as female criminal behavior should be able to be explained by the theory. This is achieved through the understanding of the he organization of gender. For example, the organization "... deters or shapes delinquency by females but encourages it by males." This refers to norms and gendered identities as well as the effect of institutions and relationships that shape both female and male criminal behavior and criminal predilection.

A second key aspect of this theory is context. This is an essential aspect of the theory and is a concept that makes it different to many other theories on this subject. Context is the aspect that possibly raises this gendered theory to another level of significance. By context is meant that…

References

Steffensmeier D. Emilie a. (1996) Gender and Crime: Toward a Gendered

Theory of Female Offending. Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 22, pp. 459+.

Aspects of identity that might have been denied or denigrated because of colonial mentalities can resurface and be admired. Discourse on gender and social class has also deepened and enabled identity constructions to flourish outside the confines of proscribed gender roles. Culture changes, and so too does identity. The values placed on identity aspects like religion have shifted too, making religion a less salient part of people's identity. On the other hand, sexual orientation and gender identity have both become more important. Gender roles have changed to such a great degree as to transform the definition and meaning of family, love, or sex.

Therefore, a number of issues affect the way we understand and create identities. Academia reflects broader changes in social values and norms. In some cases, academia inspires those social and political transformations. Regardless of the directions of the relationship between academia and social values, the two interact…

These shows depict diverse expressions of sexuality and relationships within the gay and lesbian communities, but they also tend to overgeneralize. Bisexuality is hardly treated at all, because it does not fit into neatly defined categories like "gay" and "straight." Occasionally this theme is discussed in films and television, as with one episode of Six Feet Under.

Stereotypes can constrain real-life behavior as film and television offer visual cues for modeling. This is why it is important to feature more diverse characters and diversity of experiences. Not all black men are highly sexed, aggressive, and dominant in their sexuality, and not all black men abandon women as is sometimes suggested by the media. Likewise, not all Asian men are nerdy and asexual and not all Asian women are detached vixens.

When stereotypes do capture a general truth, they can be funny, which is why they are commonly used in the…

57).

Coker's article (published in a very conservative magazine in England) "reflected unease among some of his colleagues" about that new course at LSEP. Moreover, Coker disputes that fact that there is a female alternative to male behavior and Coker insists that "Whether they love or hate humanity, feminists seem unable to look it in the face" (Smith quoting Coker, p. 58).

If feminists are right about the female nature being more peaceful and "less aggressive" than men, then women pose a "far greater danger than men…" to the world and to international relations Coker continued. It was a less aggressive attitude toward international relations that "prevented us from deterring Hitler," Coker went on, referencing (without naming) Neville Chamberlain, England's Prime Minister who reportedly appeased Hitler rather than take a strong stand against the Third Reich.

On page 58 Steve Smith explains that in cases where feminine concerns are being…

Bibliography

Carpenter, R. Charli, 2005, 'Women, Children, and Other Vulnerable Groups: Gender, Strategic Frames and the Protection of Civilians as a Transnational Issue', International Studies Quarterly, vol. 49, 295-334.

Elshtain, Jean Bethke, 1995, Women and War, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Goldstein, Joshua S., 2003, War and Gender: How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice Versa. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Hooper, Charlotte, 2001, Manly States: Masculinities, International Relations, and Gender Politics. New York: Columbia University Press.

Jamieson explains that the phrase Catch-22, serves as another synonym for double bind. Paula Caplan, a psychologist, notes, "Mothers are caught in a perfect Catch-22. They are supposed to be concerned with emotions and closeness in relationships, but because autonomy has been designated by the white male middle class in North America as the pinnacle of emotional health,"

Mothers in the workplace, however, who do what comes natural to them are sometimes treated as they are immature or even sick.

The gender of the leader does matter to perceivers who filter judgments to the demands of cultural expectations. "Applause from the same sensitive and collaborative leadership is more likely to go to a man than a woman."

In addition, women, particularly leaders frequently experience greater scrutiny for errors, even small ones they make, and are more likely to be criticized than men in leadership positions.

Viewpoints Regarding Genders

Rather than…

Bibliography

Booker, Stacie Kress. 1 May 2006. Perking up: progressive businesses try to offer a range of benefits and policies that help retain employees and make them more productive. Florida Trend.  http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-145982865.html .

Case Studies. 2008. Colorado State University. 21 Feb. 2008.  http://writing.colostate.edu/index.cfm .

Charting the U.S. Labor Market in 2006. 28 Sept. 2007. Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey. Bureau of Labor Statistics United States Department of Labor. Section 6: Families. 23 Feb. 2009.  http://www.bls.gov/LaborForceStatistics  fromthe CurrentPopulation Survey>.

Chin, Jean Lau, Bernice E. Lott, Joy K. Rice, and Janis Sanchez-Hucles. 2007. Women and Leadership: Transforming Visions and Diverse Voices Blackwell Publishing. 21 Feb. 2009.  http://books.google.com/books?id=ZyhRWzTm_RwC .

gender have influenced the historic development of science in the west, as reason and science have long been seen as male traits. Similarly, gender ideals such as the characterization of females as maternal, associated with nature, irrational, and week have been reflected in scientific literature. Today, science continues to be influenced by ideas of gender, as literature reflects gender biases, and female scientists routinely must challenge gender biases.

Many of the ideals the influence the historic development science come from the Enlightenment, a time during the 17th and 18th centuries where reason was seen to be a driving force for progress. Enlightened men were rational, and sought happiness, knowledge, and freedom. Given this emphasis on rationality, and the association of women with the home and emotion, women were largely excluded from the ideals of the Enlightenment. The rational affairs of humankind were thought to be left to men, who acted…

Works Cited

Martin, Emily. 1991. The egg and the sperm: How science has constructed a romance based on stereotypical male-female roles. Signs 16:3, 485-501.

Schiebinger, Londa. 1993.

Why Mammals Are Called Mammals. In: Nature's Body: Gender in the Making of Modern Science. Beacon Press, 40-74.

In another McGraw Hill edition, entitled American History: Early Years to 1877, there does seem to be more of a stress upon being clear and factual, rather than presenting an equal number of women and men than in the Houghton Mifflin approach. Major figures such as George ashington, Abraham Lincoln, and Ulysses Grant are given the greatest amount of attention. Issues of sex, gender, and sexual orientation and gender identity are seldom included in this textbook. There was an avoidance of special 'boxed' topics, segregating female or diversity issues away from other issues.

In most of these social studies books, the issue of female oppression is not at the forefront, although when relevant to the history of the past, such as with the struggles of African-Americans to find their way to freedom via the Underground Railroad under Harriet Tubman's watch, these issues are not ignored. This raises the question, of…

Works Cited

American History: Early Years to 1877. (2006). New York: Glencoe McGraw Hill.

Community Map." (2004). Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved 19 Dec 2006 at  http://www.eduplace.com/ss/socsci/books/content/maps/A_comm.pdf 

Golden, Daniel. (19 Aug 2006). "Aiming for Diversity, Textbooks Overshoot." The Wall

Street Journal. Retrieved 19 Dec 2006 at  http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115595234477240157-RhaWj2JLBSK5vWf_z_2LGU4TkzU_20060829.html?mod=blogs

Race/Ethnicity or Sex/Gender as Socially Constructed Categories

Sociological ethnicity and race theories have been dictated by the social construct metaphor, which indicates that these theories are ideological groups that serve to conceal the actual social structural principles. The above notion is a problematical one as it ignores the context wherein ethnicity and race function as bases of social significance as well as working material exclusion principles (Smaje, 1997). While gender and sex are words that are frequently employed interchangeably, their meanings are, in fact, different. Sex represents a categorization on the basis of biological dissimilarities -- for instance, dissimilarities between females and males grounded in their physiology or anatomy. On the other hand, gender represents a categorization on the basis of the societal creation and preservation of cultural differences between females and males. That is, gender denotes a social concept pertaining to culture-bound conduct, rules, and roles for, and relations…

Bibliography

Ford, C. L., & Harawa, N. T. (2010). A new conceptualization of ethnicity for social epidemiologic and health equity research. Social Science & Medicine, 1-8.

Frable, D. E. (1997). Gender, racial, ethnic, sexual, and class identities. Annual Review of Psychology.

LM, H., & DG, B. (2006). Sex/Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Health. In Genes, Behavior, and the Social Environment: Moving Beyond the Nature/Nurture Debate. Washington DC: Institute of Medicine (U.S.) Committee on Assessing Interactions Among Social, Behavioral, and Genetic Factors in Health.

R., A. (1990). Sex, gender and the individual. In Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research, 486-526.

There has been a lot of progress when it comes to gender diversity. However, a lot of work remains to be done. Indeed, there is a cacophony of issues that keep cropping up including talk about the glass escalator vs. the glass ceiling, the myth that women are on equal status with men to this very day, the historical role of gender and diversity over the course of the history of the United States, the very different definitions of sex and gender and so forth. The recent Supreme Court of the United States decision that ensconced gay marriage as being an equal right that people in the LGBT community should enjoy as a civil right was a milestone moment. While this is an encouraging event and people in the workplace should not allow sexual behavior or gender/sexual identity to become an issue, there is still a lot of ignorance and…

" This temporary lesson actually applies on a wider scale to life. Clothing, in our society, is closely integrated with sexuality and gender definition. Men often determine who they will have a sexual interest in based on the clothing of the person in question. A woman in a housecoat is not generally seen as a sexual target in the same way that a woman in a leather miniskirt is. ecause women are seen as weaker than men and as belonging to them sexually based on the gender roles of our society, men tend to think they have power over people wearing women's clothes, whether that person be a boy or a girl. This is a power they would not assume that they have over boys, and it is the association with femininity and the stereotypes that are perpetrated about females in general that causes this.

A reflection of how gender…

Bibliography

Kortenhaus, Carole. "Gender Role Stereotyping in Children's Literature: An Update." Sex Roles a Journal of Research. February, 1993.  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2294/is_n3-4_v28/ai_13810759 

Peters, John. "Gender Socialization of Adolescents in the Home: Research and Discussion." Adolescence. Winter, 1994.  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is_n116_v29/ai_16477249 

Witt, Susan. "Parental Influence on Children's Socialization to Gender Roles." Adolescence. Summer, 1997.  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is_n126_v32/ai_19619406

statistics showing that English boys are performing worse than their oversees counterparts. Then I list some of the possible reasons boys are falling behind and some of the solutions. I end with what I feel is a viable solution to the problem of boys falling behind.

Are boys in England falling behind there female counterparts? If the answer to this question is yes, then why, and what can be done to address the problem. In an age of fierce competition, it is no longer enough to just let "boys be boys" The question is How can we balance the learning needs of boys with the needs of girls. It seems society is on a pendulum, first favoring boys, then favoring girls. We cannot go back and forth, favoring one gender at a time. The pendulum needs to stop swinging, but how do we balance the needs of boys with the…

Bibliography

Burke, Peter. "Gender Identity, Sex, and School Performance." Social Psychology

Quarterly 52(2): 159-169.

Chanstang, Carol. " Private All-Girl Schools Are Gaining Favor in Light of Reports That

Public Education Suffers From Gender Bias Favoring Male Students." Los

McIntosh (1988) puts it, the primary issue with privilege and the power that comes with it is that those who are privileged rarely realize or acknowledge it. Denial of power and privilege perpetuates problems, because when men display "unwillingness to grant that they are over privileged," it becomes impossible to engage in meaningful dialogue or generate change (McIntosh, 1988, p. 22). One example of how dialogue is systematically shut down is the backlash against feminism, and the fear of "feminization" of society that is commonly heard among the most powerful and privileged. In the same way, whites fail to recognize white privilege, going so far as to make accusations of "reverse racism" when any attempt is made to reverse structural inequality.

Flagg (1993) also raises a crucial concern about the need for race consciousness, not racial erasure or "color blindness." To be color blind is to deny not only the…

References

Flagg, B.J. (1993). "Was Blind, but Now I See": White Race Consciousness and the Requirement of Discriminatory Intent. Michigan Law Review, Vol. 91, No. 5 (Mar., 1993), pp. 953-1017.

McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege and male privilege. In Bender & Braverman, Power, Privilege And Law: A Civil Rights Reader.

Identity Themes in Praisesong for the idow by Paule Marshall and Confessions of a Mask by Mishima

As marginalized people from around the world gain their voice in print, contemporary interpretations of identity become especially timely and relevant. Indeed, in an increasingly globalized world where multiculturalism is the norm rather than the exception, an analysis of how identity is perceived by these diasporic peoples is timely and relevant. To this end, this paper provides a comparative analysis of the identity themes in Praisesong for the idow by Paule Marshall and Confessions of a Mask by Mishima, including an examination of these issues in the peer-reviewed and scholarly literature. Finally, a summary of the research concerning these identity themes and important findings are presented in the conclusion.

Review and Analysis

Praisesong for the idow by Paule Marshall

Although people form an individual sense of identity over time, this sense change can…

Works Cited

Alexander, Simone A. Mother Imagery in the Novels of Afro-Caribbean Women. Colombia, MO:

University of Missouri Press, 2001.

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge,

1990.

Gender reflection: On identifying with a particular gender

Until I took a class in critical theory, I never gave much thought to my gender. I am sure that some of this is by virtue of being a straight male. I have female friends who have experienced discrimination or harassment in school and at work by virtue of not being male. I do not believe I have experienced such direct prejudice as a result of my gender. Also, physical fitness is a very important part of my life, and many of my female friends and girlfriends have been very passionate about working out, yet unlike me they have been told not to lift weights or box because this would give them 'bulky' and masculine-looking muscles (which is not true). Obviously, I have never faced such discrimination based upon my interests or because I look strong.

I have come to understand that…

Works Cited

"Dude, you're a fag." YouTube. 20 Sept 2011. [8 Apr 2013]

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_nqYnjfe_8 

Fogel, Curtis. Review of Kath Woodward, Boxing, Masculinity and Identity: The 'I' of the Tiger.

New York: Routledge, 2007. Gender Forum: An Internet Journal of Gender Studies, 19 (2007): 1-2. [8 Apr 2013]  http://www.genderforum.org/issues/illuminating-gender-ii/kath-woodward-boxing-masculinity-and-identity-the-i-of-the-tiger-new-york-routledge-2007/

Gender and Identity

Perhaps the most important question facing any human, be they male or female, is that of the discovery of their own identity. The majority of child development theories, from Freud onward, have dealt with the way in which children must learn to disengage their own identity from that of their parents (mothers in particular) and discover who they are as adults. Yet this process is far from over when one reaches physical maturity, and one may even see many other psychological theories, from Maslow to the existentialists, as exploring the stages through which one continues to define one's true identity as distinct not only from one's parents but also from one's biological and social circumstances. It is somewhat ironic that the word identity which was originally used to note categories of same-ness and unity (Connell 2002) is now so vitally bound up with defining distinctness. At the…

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bessant, J. And Watts, R. (1999) 'Sex and Gender in Australia' (Chapter 7) in J. Bessant and R. Watts (eds) Sociology Australia, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, pp. 164-193

Connell, R.W. (2002) Gender, Oxford: Blackwell. (Chapters 1, 2 and 5).

Connell, R.W. (1995) 'The Social Organization of Masculinity' (Chapter 3) in R.W. Connell (ed) Masculinities, Sydney: Allen and Unwin. pp. 67-86.

Kidd, W. (2002) 'Feminism, Gender, and Sexuality' (Chapter 11) in W. Kidd (ed) Culture and Identity, New York: Palgrave. pp. 171-189.

Gender

When Unraveling Is the Best Approach

Everything is connected. Pull one thread as gently as possible in any attempt to explain the fundamentals of any society and this is abundantly clear, for in trying to unravel any of the important concepts or practices upon which society and culture are built and one finds that everything else begins to unravel as well. While "unraveling" might initially seem to be something that one would not want to do, in fact in terms of sociological analysis it is highly advisable. Especially when one is attempting to understand one's own culture, where familiarity with structures and norms can sometimes make it difficult to see clearly, one has often to take things apart in order to understand the dynamics of how the social world works.

Not only is everything connected to everything else, but analyzing one part of a system tends to cause changes…

References

Consalvo, M. (2003). "The monsters next door: Media constructions of boys and masculinity." Feminist media studies 3(1): 153-168.

Connell, R.W. & Messerschmidt, J.W. (2005, December). "Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept." Gender and society 19(6): 829-859.

Dyer, R. (1992) Only entertainment. London: Routledge.

Easthope, A. (1990) What a man's gotta do: The masculine myth in popular culture. Boston: Unwin Hyman.

Gender biases and stereotypes persist at almost every level and in every area of society. Often, the differential treatment given to males and females is subtle and deeply ingrained, taken so much for granted that most people are unaware that they are perpetuating gender bias. For example, adults treat male and female children differently, speaking to them using different tones of voice, reacting differently to their actions, and showing subtle signs of approval or disapproval when the child does or does not conform to gender norms. Even parents who claim to be progressive and egalitarian unconsciously pass on gender norms and stereotypes because they are just reacting to children the way they have been programmed and patterned to act. Boys are expected to be more aggressive, more physical, and less sensitive or emotional than girls. Sometimes the differential treatment reverberates, leading to unequal treatment with meaningful life outcomes such as…

271-272). This section claims that fathers tend to invest more in terms of time and money to their newborn baby boys than girls. When seen in the light of the patriarchal paradigm, I suppose it could be understood that more value is attached to baby boys than girls. Nonetheless, I find it surprising from my own point-of-view, since I would have thought that all children are equally important in their parents' eyes.

Another surprising thing is that women do not ascribe more importance to either baby boys or girls, but give either the same time and attention. Another surprising fact is however that an unmarried mother is more likely to marry the father of the unborn child when it is a boy. This could be connected to the fact that an older male figure in a child's life is seen as more important for boys than for girls. I suppose…

Resources have provided me with friendships and acquaintances across the human spectrum. As result, my best friend, colleagues, and supervisors are homosexuals.

I believe my professional background has contributed a great amount to the fact that I can see human beings for their inner qualities such as integrity and ethics. These are issues that manifest themselves across the human spectrum, regardless of sexual orientation, race, class, or gender. If any person manifests a solid set of values and integrity, I respect them on this basis. Surely this is better than jumping to generalized conclusions as a result of differences in orientation or appearance. I have learned to believe that everyone is truly equal, and entitled to the rights guaranteed by our constitution.

The messages internalized during my growing years steered me somewhat towards a prejudicial view, especially regarding gay people. I received no message regarding homosexuality from my parents, since they never discussed the issue with me.

They did however teach us to respect women. The older children and peers I grew up with furthermore provided only one-sided, stereotypical views of gay people. Gay bashing was a common practice, including name-calling. All my friends, including me, had anti-gay sentiments, and made no secret of this. I grew up in a neighborhood where my friends were mostly male, and I was in strong competition with both my friends and my brothers to show off my masculinity. I played baseball, football and basketball, and enjoyed hunting and fishing. Having grown up in this environment, I maintained my prejudicial perceptions until I attended college.

College life provided me with a new set of peers, friends, and a new perspective regarding gay people. I met people from across the human spectrum, and realized that there was no single "right" way to do or view things. I am therefore proud to say that I am able to change my views when I see that these are no longer necessary.

Gender and Sex: Blurred Lines or Clear Boundaries?

One of the hottest songs of summer 2013 was a song by Robin Thicke called "Blurred Lines." The song gained popularity because of its catchy tune, and many people who found themselves dancing along to the song found themselves surprised by the lyrics when they actually listened to the song. In fact, the lyrics to the song were sufficiently suggestive that discussions about whether they were a symbol of rape culture became almost as popular as the song itself. The lyrics were not helped by the video for the song, which featured Thicke, two guest artists, and three scantily clad models in situations that could only be described as bizarre, leading to allegations that the video marginalized its female performers. Adding fuel to this fire was a performance by Thicke featuring Miley Cyrus, in which they seemingly referenced the video and Miley…

Works Cited

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York:

Routledge, 1999.

Lynskey, Dorian. "Blurred Lines: The most controversial song of the decade." The Guardian.

The Guardian, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Gender and Communication: Breaking Gender Barriers in the Workplace

Gender barriers have existed within the workplace ever since women in America came out of the kitchen and went to work during World War II. Like with any new experience of empowerment, when the men came home, the country's women were wholly a changed group. Women had entered the workforce, and they were there to stay, despite the misgivings of much of the country's male population. While the working environment in today's day and age is certainly far different and equally far improved from those initial days undertaken by women in the workplace, the truth remains that gender inequality within the business world is a factor that is still vastly relevant, despite mandated government equality rules. Though men and women enter the same businesses every day, in order to do the same jobs, certain gender barriers continue to exist. Further, in…

References

Catalyst. 2005. Women take care, men take charge: stereotypic of U.S. business leaders exposed. Web. Retrieved from:  http://www.catalyst.org/file/53/women  %20take%20care,%20men%20take%20charge%20stereotyping%20of%20u.s.%20business%20leaders%20exposed.pdf [Accessed on 2 March 2012].

Eagly, A. And Johnson, B. 1990. Gender and leadership style: a meta-analysis. Center for Health, Intervention and Prevention (CHIP). Web. Retrieved from:  http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010  [Accessed on 2 March 2012].

Price, K., Schmidt, S., and Stitt, C. 1983. Sec of leader, leader behavior and subordinate satisfaction. Sex Roles, 9.1: pp. 31-42. Web. Retrieved from:  http://temple.academia.edu/stuartschmidt/Papers/527541/Sex_of_leader_leader_behavior_and_subordinate_satisfaction  [Accessed on 2 March 2012].

Riggio, R. 2010. Do men and women lead differently? Who's better? Cutting Edge

Gender and sexuality are very important for activists, practitioners and policymakers. Gender and sexuality have a big significance in people's lives in today's society. Sexuality encompasses gender roles and identities, sex and sexual orientation, intimacy, reproduction, pleasure and eroticism. Its expression can be found in behaviors, thoughts, roles, relationships, values, attitudes, desires and fantasies. While all these expressions characterize sexuality, an individual may not express or experience all of them. Interactions between psychological, economic, cultural, legal, ethical, religious, spiritual and biological factors influence sexuality (Ilkkaracan & Jolly).

The Link between Gender and Sexuality

The Institute of Development Studies defines gender as the widely shared set of norms and expectations linked to the way men and women, and boys and girls, behave or ought to behave. While 'sex' is mainly biological, gender is all about the social constructs on the roles, activities, attributes and behaviors the sexes should have or do.…

62), a society with "shallow-rooted" norms (p. 177), a "meager and difficult place" as opposed to the expansive way Ruth wishes to grow as a woman. (p. 178) Helen's storm inside, this mother's crisis of identity, has parallels not with Baldwin's women, but with characters such as the Reverend Henry, whose anger at hite society can only be expressed in a eulogy over his beloved son's casket. Extremity in both the apparently placid Henry and Helen brings forth rage and despair, but while at least Henry's male rage is life-affirming, urging his community to go on in the face of the death of a young person, Helen's actions are regressive, infantile, returning to her father, and do not occur as an act of social protest.

The gendered constructions of mourning and identity formulation for Helen's daughters Ruth and Lucille also indicate the limited repertoire the Housekeeping society provides for women…

Works Cited

Baldwin, James. "Blues for Mister Charlie." New York: Vintage, 2001.

Robinson, Marilynn. Housekeeping. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 1981.

Gender, Sexuality, and Identity -- Question 2 "So, is the category bisexuality less or more threatening to the status quo than is homosexuality?"

The passage suggests that in fact, rather than presenting patriarchic constructs of identity with less threatening formulation of human sexual identity, bisexuality does the exact opposite -- it presents common social norms with the more threatening notion that human sexuality is not an either/or 'Chinese menu' option of stable choices. The practice of homosexuality, even when it is deemed taboo and beyond the pale of the human sexual order is still a 'comfort' to the heterosexual norm. The construct of homosexuality suggests that human sexuality exists in an either/or dichotomy. So long as one is attracted to the opposite gender one is, in essence, safe from the presumably aberrant, even pathological orientation of homosexuality.

However, bisexuality presents a potentially fluid rendering of human sexual desire, whereby even…

Even Freud believed that girls have penis envy, which is only fully resolved by marrying a male and having a male child. This desperate longing to have a man as a way of finding one's identity and place in society is parodied and mocked in Pink's video "Stupid Girls."

Individuals look to culture, including the media, as a way of defining themselves. A thirteen-year-old girl who is told that it is normal to make one's body sexually desirable to men and not to seek self-empowerment through personal growth will be extremely anxious about how she presents herself to the world in a physical manner. Even a 3rd grade boy receives messages that affect his perceptions of gender. For example, if the little boy is told that he cannot wear a pink t-shirt because 'pink is for girls,' even though his young sister wears 'boyish' blue, or if he is told…

Gender Analysis

hom it May Concern

Gender Analysis of olverine Image

"Gender Binary"

Media presentations of gender nearly always cater to stereotypical depictions of either male or female. They seldom showcase individuals who do no prescribe to the gender binary, but rather exploit preconceived notions of what it means to be either wholly male or wholly female. Advertisements which are targeted to female audiences will usually portray symbols with traditionally female appeal, such as flowers or pastel colors in pink or light yellow. They endorse the highly feminine aspect of womanhood and encourage the consumer to buy into that definition of woman. Femininity is equaled to being a woman and unfeminine women are therefore considered other. According to this same set of rules, males must prescribe to the stereotypes of masculinity, such as lack of emotion, oneness with nature and manual labor, and authoritativeness above all things (Beckwith 130). It…

Works Cited

Beckwith, Karen. "A Common Language of Gender." Politics and Gender. 1(1), 2005. 128-37.

"Gender Analysis." English 100 Writing Communities and Identities. 8th ed. 43-71.

Lorber, Judith. "Believing is Seeing: Biology as Ideology." The Gendered Society Reader. Ed.

Kimmel, Michael S., Aronson, Amy, and Kaler, Amy. Toronto, ON: Oxford UP, 2011. 11-18.

Name changes, surgery or even legal birth certificate changes on this subject are scrutinized, difficult to attain and never really expressly respected as legitimate proof of someone's sex or gender, once they have occurred. (117)

Denmark and Nielson, in their International handbook on Gender Roles characterize the U.S. As a multi-cultural nation that is demonstrative of social change with regard to gender roles and yet they go on to say that even though the rhetoric may have changed and opportunities may have opened for women in this traditionally gendered society, and that men are seen as being more responsible for traditionally female tasks the culture is still fixed in many ways with regard to gender roles.

However, throughout the history of the U.S.A., women have been faced with balancing their productive and reproductive work (Anderson, 1988). Regardless of their contributions, either professionally or domestically, the social position of women has…

Works Cited

Denmark, Florence L., and Karen a. Nielson. "31 United States of America." International Handbook on Gender Roles. Ed. Leonore Loeb Adler. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1993. 452-465.

Feldman, Lorelei "Biological and Sociocultural Views and Consequences of Gender Stereotyping" Retrieved, November 20, 2007 at  http://www.unc.edu/~lorelei/sexroles.html 

Garfinkle, Harold. Studies in Ethnomethodology. New York: Polity. 1991.

Spykerman, Sara "Gender Roles and Work: Recent Research" 1997, Retrieved November 20, 2007 at  http://www.hope.edu/academic/psychology/335/webrep/genroles.html

By examining violence and women in both Sin City and the Tekken series, one is able to see how seemingly similar representations of gender and violence actually create wildly different meanings depending on the particular medium. While Sin City and Tekken participate in the visual language of gender, when it comes to the relationship between gender and violence, Sin City focuses on the victimization of women's bodies at the hands of men while Tekken disavows any connection between the violence committed and the gender of those committing it. This analysis reveals an important distinction between violence committed by or against gendered individuals and violence committed because of gender, because as Tekken demonstrates, the former situation actually offers the possibility for a more expansive representation of gender.

eferences

Bryce, J.O., & utter, J. (2003). Gender dynamics and the social and spatial organization of computer gaming. Leisure Studies, 22(1), 1-15.

Funk, J.B.,…

References

Bryce, J.O., & Rutter, J. (2003). Gender dynamics and the social and spatial organization of computer gaming. Leisure Studies, 22(1), 1-15.

Funk, J.B., Baldacci, H.B., Pasold, T., & Baumgardner, J. (2004). Violence exposure in real-life, video games, television, movies, and the internet: is there desensitization? Journal

of adolescence, 27(1), 23-39.

Namco Bandai (2009). Tekken 6 [videogame]. Tokyo: Katsuhiro Harada.

There is no male equivalent of Sugar Cane in Some Like it Hot. Unlike the unequivocally feminine Sugar Cane, neither Joe nor Jerry plays the role of the cad or the cowboy. In fact, Joe shows genuine emotion and caring for Sugar as his feelings for her deepen. Joe and Jerry, like Sugar Cane, are musicians. All three are therefore portrayed as social equals regardless of gender.

Gender and sexuality are treated differently in Some Like it Hot. The key scenes in Some Like it Hot with allusions to homosexuality are the ones in which Osgood pursues Daphne. Osgood challenges conventional gender roles and stereotypes. He has been married "six or seven times" and only his mama has kept track. His inability to remain in a stable heterosexual relationship may be viewed as a typically male, cavalier attitude toward marriage. However, given the last line of Some Like it Hot,…

Work Cited

Wilder, Billy (Dir.). Some Like it Hot. Feature film. 1959.

At the end of the party he took a card out of his wallet and gave it to me. He said, "Here, I'll give you my phone number. If you'd like to call me up, I'd love to hear from you." called him two days later and we made a date. Turned out he didn't drive so I had to pick him up. Since I had called him and I was going to be the driver, I bought a small bouquet of flowers and brought them to him. It was fun to reverse roles. Philip was the only man I ever met who didn't have a driver's license. He said he didn't want or need to drive. He liked taking buses and having his friends drive him places.

Dinner was a success. He paid for everything in the traditional manner. Philip told me he was a feminist. He had never…

Bibliography

Furman, Frida K. Facing the Mirror: Older Women and Beauty Shop Culture. New York:

Routledge, 1997.

Tannen, Deborah. You Just Don't Understand. New York: Ballantine Books, 1990.

Wood, Julia T. Gendered Lives.

"For example, the more women considered prejudice to occur across a variety of contexts, the more they reported depression, anxiety, and decreased self-esteem." (Foster & Dixon, 2002, p.1)

These findings about the limits of group conciousness hint that perhaps, rather than focusing on a generalized female conciousness raising outside of the workplace, focusing on specific managerial objectives of female advancement within specific industries and workplaces might be more beneficial. Change the conciousness of managers, specifically male managers, through diversity workshops and penalizing sexism, rather than focus on changing female's perceptions of their competance alone. Create a sense of 'it's everywhere,' one also runs the risk of creating a sense that 'there is nothing I can do' and of learned helplessness in the hearts of female workers. Even from my own unwitting beneficical experience of sexism, I know how difficult it is to be confrontational as an entry-level employee, when one…

Works Cited

Anthis, Kristine. "The role of sexist discrimination in adult women's identity development." Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. November 2002, p.1-4. Retrived from Find Articles at  http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2294/is_2002_Nov/ai_97728461/pg_1 

Mindi D. Foster and Kenneth L. Dion. "The role of hardiness in moderating the relationship between global/specific attributions and actions against discrimination." Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. August 2004, p.1-5. Retrived from Find Articles at  http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2294/is_3-4_51/ai_n6212699 

Renzetti, Claire M. & Daniel Curran, Women, Men, and Society. Fifth Edition. New York: Allyn & Bacon, 2002

However, although his identity is false, the goodness he has done for the Native population is true, and although he has lied about his past, his lies have not hurt his community, rather they have been a source of healing. The priest's goodness while a priest, however, is one reason why he finds the dissemblance of members of his community so frustrating. In contrast to the life-sustaining lies of Father Damien, that help others with the fullness of a community-sustained myth or holy legend, Sister Leopolda, a nun on the reservation, has made a claim to have Christ's stigmata simply to secure her own sainthood for selfish reasons, in a way that divides the community. She lies in a form that sustains gender stereotypes of women needing to physically suffer to serve as well.

This is one reason why Father Damien believes the woman's actions are evil as well as…

Works Cited

Erdrich, Louise. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse: A Novel. New York: Perennial, 2004.

Gender Bias in the U.S. Court System

Statistics regarding male and female criminality

Types of cases involving women and men

Sentencing guidelines for judges imposed to diminish disparities

Feminists say women should get less jail time

Number of women vs. men arrested

omen committing misdemeanors get little or no jail time

Death penalty cases

10% of murder cases are perpetrated by women

Leniency of juries on women defendants

Easier for women to be treated leniently by juries

Sex crimes involving men and women adults vs. teens and children

omen are always given less punishment than men in this area

Reaction of judges towards female defendants

Male judges

Female judges

Body

a. Chivalry Theory of women perpetrators

Body

Focal Concerns theory of women perpetrators

Conclusion

In both the Constitution and Declarations of Independence, two of the most important documents in American history, it is promised by the very foundations of the…

Works Cited:

Brockway, J. (2011). Gender bias and the death penalty. Death Penalty Focus. Retrieved from  http://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=568 

Crew, K. (1991). Sex differences in criminal sentencing: chivalry or patriarchy? Justice

Quarterly. (8:1). 59-83.

Doerner, J. (2012). Explaining the gender gap in sentencing outcomes: an investigation of differential treatment in U.S. federal courts. Bowling Green State University.

The same is true for Castro, and the gays have to acknowledge that and accept it. Their area may change as the times change, but that is an accepted way of life in cities.

Gender planning in public transit

This article talks about planning travel according to gender, and how one transit authority accomplished that. This was another area that I really hadn't thought much about, especially women's access to transportation. I was surprised that women comprise 70% of the public transportation population. I can see why access to public transportation would become an issue for women, and that transportation companies should address these issues to help serve the population and even add to their ridership, which is an issue in the recession. Many transportation companies are actually cutting their routes and services, making it even harder for people to find or keep work.

I also found it extremely interesting…