Essay on Gender Differences

Gender Differences Term Papers

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A baby is born and the doctor looks at the proud parents and

says three simple words: �Its a boy,� or �Its a girl!� Before a

newborn child even takes his or her first breath of life outside

the mother�s womb, he or she is distinguishable and characterized

by gender. The baby is brought home and dressed in clothes that

help friends, family, and even strangers identify the sex of the

child. Baby boys are dressed in blue and baby girls are dressed

in pink. The baby boy may be dressed in a blue jumpsuit with a

football or a baseball glove on it. The baby girl may wear a bow

in her hair and flowered pajamas. As the boy begins to grow, he

is given a miniature basketball and a hoop to play with. The

girl is given dolls and doll clothing to dress them up in. Even

going further, eventually the boy may play with Legos and Lincoln

Logs while the girl gets a Play School oven and a plastic tea set

with which to play house. Sounds pretty normal, right? The

question is: why is this normal?

Sociologists have developed a theory which describes the way

in which individuals represent themselves to society. This

theory is called the social construction of self. By self, we

mean the capacity to represent oneself what one wished to

communicate to others. The theory is says that the self is

produced or constructed through interactions with other people

over a lifetime (Kornblum, 128). When relating this theory to

gender roles, people act in a certain way to give an impression

to society. For example, girls wear pink to let society know

that they are female. This is the gender that they wish to

communicate to society because that is what is deemed to be

correct.

There are many agents of socialization that influence the

socialization of gender. These agents include family, schools,

community, peer groups and the mass media (Kornblum 136). As

discussed earlier, from the moment a baby is born, their parents

dress them in gender related colors and styles of clothing. This

is where the family has an influence on gender roles. In school,

boys usually play sports during recess while girls play on the

monkey bars or sit and talk. Teachers try to preserve the

societal idea of correct gender roles by emphasizing what is

right for girls and for boys. As far as the community, I think

that this involves the family, schools, peer groups and the

media. Peer groups are also highly influential to gender

socialization. If a six year old girls wants to be on the

baseball team, she is considered a tom boy. This is not

necessarily a negative connotation, but is considered so by the

peer group. Likewise, if a boy wishes to play with dolls, he may

be shunned by his peer group and teased for acting like a girl.

Another aspect of everyday life that is highly influential

in gender socialization is the media. What we see on television

or in the movies, what we read in the papers or in magazines,

what we see on billboards or hear on the radio are all very

significant to how we form an opinion on gender identity. Media

publishers have successfully learned to play to an audience and

are extremely successful in communication with the audience they

wish to reach. Advertisers are the biggest example of this

concept. Society is very apt in recognizing images seen in

commercials and printed ads and viewing them as socially accepted

behavior. It is easier for society to accept images presented by

the media and not take the time to analyze their bias and untrue

nature. It is this societal ignorance that clouds the mind and

allows the images to continue to influence what we believe to be

socially acceptable. When society is presented with something or

someone out of the ordinary which does not follow what we deem to

be correct, we rebel and try to modify it to our socially

acceptable standards.

Imagine a baby born with no visible sex organs. Now imagine

after some tests that there are no internal or external sex

organs whatsoever. Is this possible? Surprisingly, it is

possible. It is very possible, in fact, probably more so than

one thinks. Though...

Adler, Leonore Loeb. 1993. International handbook on Gender
Roles. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Kornblum, William. 1997. Sociology in a Changing World. (2nd
ed.) Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Parsons, Talcott, and Robert F. Bales (eds.). 1955 Family
Socialization and Interaction Process. Glencoe, IL: Free
Press You should cite this paper as follows:

MLA Style
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