The Concept Of Gender Identity - 2760 Words

Introduction: The concept of gender identity can only be formed within society because it reflects social expectations and beliefs regarding gender roles in certain historical period. Several centuries ago women were expected to get married early and concentrate totally on housekeeping, family, and religion. Women were regarded as opposite to men, less intelligent and incapable to be in charge of themselves. They were not allowed to own property, vote on elections, and hold leading positions. Fortunately, the development of civilization and democratization of society resulted in women becoming more equal and free from many humiliating stereotypes. After a famous quote of Simona de Beauvoir â€Å"one is not born a woman, but rather becomes, a woman† feminists directed their critique to traditional women`s subordination to men which was built upon structuralists` theories and biological determinism (Beauvoir, 2011). Since then the discussions about sex as of cultural construct do not cease. It seems that it is impossible to argue with a nature which divided men and women with the help of different chromosomes: XX for female and XY for male. Scientific proof that female and male genders are conditioned and not as opposite as it seemed came with the research data from hormones study: it was revealed that both male and female contain hormones of both sexes Judith Butler, another important feminist writer, gave a new impact to feminism studies with her book â€Å"Gender Trouble: FeminismShow MoreRelatedThe Concept of Gender and Gender Identity1223 Words   |  5 Pages I am interested in the concept of gender and the deeper meaning of being considered a transgendered person. I feel that a lot of people do not know or care to know about these topics on a more in depth level. People who close their eyes to the idea that a person could be born with the physical aspects of a male yet have the psychological aspects of a female and vice versa, tend to be the ones who say that those people are going against nature or god. Discriminating against people on the principlesRead MoreSociological Concepts Of Family, Gender, And Identity Essay1362 Words   |  6 PagesThis essay discusses the way in which I understand the sociological concepts of family, gender and race - nuclear family, doing gender, and identity, in particular. Arguably, these three concepts can relate to each individuals life, through different personal experiences. To demonstrate my argument, I highlight relevant situations in my own life that further explain my chosen sociological concepts. The first concept I chose to focus on is family. In particular, the idea of the ‘nuclear family’.Read MoreGender Identity : An Unfamiliar And Confusing Concept956 Words   |  4 PagesGender identity is an unfamiliar and confusing concept to many people. Until recently, Americans have been taught and conditioned to believe that one’s anatomy and genetics are what determines one’s gender. Acting or dressing like the other gender was considered disgusting and taboo, and people who claimed to be transgender were thought of as severely mentally ill. Some would even confuse gender identity with sexual orientation; like believing that all transgender people are gay. However, now thatRead MoreThe concept of social identity, social class,gender and ethnicity.1635 Words   |  7 PagesSocial Identity is the understanding of who we are, and reciprocally, other peoples understanding of themselves. Richard Jenkins believed that this social identity is achieved throug h socialization within social groups. He argued that by placing themselves in the role of others, people, particularly children, gain a greater understanding of the role that they should play. For example, a six-year-old girl playing mommy with her dolls will, as she gets into the role, begin to understand what a motherRead MoreGender And Gender Identity1648 Words   |  7 PagesIn light of performativity, political transformation via hegemonic cultural practices continues to advocate for gender parody. Overall, the recent exploration of alterity ethics complements performativity politics by exploiting the subversive potential of gender identity as well as female identity. For the oppressed individuals, power should be subverted via political strategy guided by the consequences and punishment with the objective of maximizing the good in the society. In other words, performativityRead MoreSocialisation, Personal Identity, Gender Identity And Gender Roles1313 Words   |  6 PagesSo cialisation, Personal identity, Gender Identity and Gender Roles: Boundless.com defines ‘Socialisation’ as â€Å"a term used to refer to the lifelong process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs and ideologies providing the individual with the skills and habits necessary for precipitating within one’s society, thus the means by which social and cultural continuity are attained† (Boundless.com, 2015). The process of socialisation involves an individual such as an adolescent to have interactionsRead MoreGender, Gender And Race, By Christine Overall And Cressida Heyes1702 Words   |  7 Pagesacceptable. Their arguments are opposing to each other. Overall insists that both surgeries should be acceptable while Heyes does not agree with Overall. They both agree with that race and sex-gender are socially constructed. Thus, Overall has no problem with the concept of identity changes—for both sex-gender and race—however, Heyes argues that they are not constructed in the same way. Christine Overall is advocating the claim that transracial surgery is not problematic if transsexual surgery is acceptableRead MoreGender Inequality And Racial Inequality Essay924 Words   |  4 PagesFor centuries and even today, gender inequality and racial prejudice continue to exist. Throughout time these concepts have overlapped and intertwined, each other creating complex interactions and a negative influence upon society. In the 1980s, Kimberle Williams Crenshaw through her article, named Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color, introduced the term â€Å"Intersectionality.† Intersectionality, is the theory of how different types of discriminationsRead MoreDifferences Between Girls And Boys893 Words   |  4 Pagesrelevant heuristic that correlated students’ gender identity to what students thought as perceived fit and social accurate behaviors. The article highlights that the male stereotyping of math and s ciences implies greater misfit between girl’s gender identities. Similarly, the stereotype that effort and engagement at school is feminine leads boys to a misfit between their gender identities. The idea that a school subject being more strongly associated with one gender rather than the other confuses childrenRead MoreWhat I Call The Social Constructionist1259 Words   |  6 PagesWhen I reflect on chapter 5, what I call the social constructionist chapter, there are numerous concepts that I remember. Michael Kimmel says in the book that gender identity is socially constructed, our identities are a fluid assemblage of the meanings and behaviors that we construct from the values, images, and prescriptions we find in the world around us. In my opinion, Kimmel means that people behave in a way that they chose to, influenced by what they see in their surroundings, or the communities