Running head: CONCEPTS OF GENDER IN THE US
1
CONCEPTS OF GENDER IN THE US 5
Matt
1.What is the difference between biological sex and gender? Biological sex is the make up of chromosomes and various sex characteristics and gender is defined as the way cultures define and society reinforce masculinity and feminine (Ardel Haefele, 2019). Society classifies males as masculine and females as feminine. According World Health Organization (WHO), gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women and sex refers to biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women. (Admin, 2014)
2.What are some of the “single stories” (Aidichie, 2009) that people in the US have about men and women? In other words, what are the stereotypical gender roles in the US? Lia Thomas, formerly Will Thomas, broke the 200 and 500 meter free style swim (Kearns, 2021). This led to speculation or "single story" that in order for Lia to win, she would have to compete against woman vs. men. This single story only portrays ones thoughts and not the actual thoughts and motivation that Lia may have. This is similar to the story of "A Legend Burned at the Stake" where Jeanne D'arc, known as Joan of Arc was captured by English sympathizers, returned to England, only to be executed to refuse wearing woman's attire(Murray, n.d.),these example provide that individuals are not able to express themselves freely.
3.How did you learn how to be the gender that you are? Provide at least 3 examples. (1) Culture - Back in the 70's boys were boys and girls were girls. Even though, at times woman dressed in men's clothes and the slang term for this was "Tom Boys", they were still considered woman. (2) Social interaction - it was assumed (3) Family - Growing up with siblings (1) brother and (1) sister , I mirrored my brothers interactions vs. sister. Until recent, I never heard of many of these terms described today. Growing up. I'm guessing the way society was, sex and gender usually portrayed or referred together as male / female.
4. How do people in the US treat people who don’t “fit in” to gender roles? How might this relate to the treatment of transgender, non-binary, genderqueer, and other individuals? Unfortunately some people don't like or approve of social change or simply don't understand it, many grow up with certain values that were instilled into them growing up as there social status. For these reasons, treatments such as bias towards individuals or simply hate could be a treatment. The US was built on the fundamental of fair and equal towards all citizens regardless of diversity, although social trends doesn't follow these values making it difficult for people to express themselves freely. But I also believe there are good people in the US with values of treating people of all diversity with the respect, and being supportive towards individual beliefs. I always hear of people having to hide there perspective of identity in fear of being labeled, I would certainly hope there are positive stories that reflect the ability for a person to express themselves freely.
Reference
Kearns, M. (2021, December 7). Male swimmer Shattering Records in female competition: Why is this allowed? National Review. Retrieved April 6, 2022, from
Murray, D. (n.d.). EDS-P-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu. A Legend Burned at the Stake. Retrieved April 6, 2022, from
Ardel Haefele, T. (2019). EDS-P-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu. Introduction to Transgender Studies. Retrieved April 7, 2022, from
Admin. (2014, September 19). Difference between sex and gender. Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms. Retrieved April 7, 2022, from
Vicky
I would say that the difference between biological sex and gender is that sex is the difference between male and female people and their reproductive functions, and that gender is the difference between masculine and feminine social and cultural differences. XX means that the person is female and XY means that a person is male. If a sonographer does a sonogram on a pregnant woman and sees some male genitalia on the screen, this means that the baby is a boy and if the doctor sees female genitalia on the screen while doing the sonogram process, the baby is a girl. Many people will start to have different gender roles, too after they are born and that they can start to wear feminine or masculine clothing and play dress up and play with different toys like trucks and dolls depending on what behavior they want to display and what they want to look like (Haefele-Thomas and Combs, 2019, p. 10). The behaviors I think that girls might display are speaking calmly and quietly and doing things like being wonderful princesses and doing ballet dancing, and that the boys might be loud and hyper and doing things like being excellent builders and playing sports such as soccer, football, and baseball. The stories I believe people have about men and women are that some men want to be police officers because they are male and that they are strong enough to do their jobs as police officers, that some women want to be hairdressers because they are female and that they love creating different hairstyles, and that both people like to be wonderful teachers of society because they can be smart at anything such as mathematics, art, physical education, computer and cell phone technology, social studies, science, reading comprehension, and writing skills ad these stories are wonderful stories to pay attention to. Some people may like the gender identity they are assigned at birth, and some people may want to change their gender depending on what they like and do not like about themselves (Haefele-Thomas and Combs, 2019, p. 12-14). It is definitely okay to change differently, too and that most people dress differently, put on makeup differently, and even style their hair differently so that they can look like the gender identity they want to be.
I learned how to be the gender that I am when I was a child by choosing the right clothing such as skirts, dresses, and dress pants and cardigans and fitting in them perfectly, by putting on lipstick, blush, mascara, and eyeshadow on, and by putting my hair in curls, waves, in a bob, or in a ponytail so that I can look feminine. I was not bullied for my gender identity and for the way I look my entire life, and that I am very confident enough to be a successful woman who is a leader of society. I also used to play with Barbie dolls all the time when I was a child, too. So, I like my gender identity, and myself the way I am and that I am very happy and joyful about these things. Some people treat people who are not connected to the correct gender roles harshly by sexually harassing them and by discriminating them against on the basis of their education and job careers (Barroso, 2020). I think that this might relate to the treatment of transgender, non-binary, genderqueer, and other individuals by the way that some people may stare at them and make fun of them because of other people changing their identities and genders, that they may not recognize other people after making dramatic changes to their genders and identities, and that some people may think that a person stil has the same gender and identity even after a person decides to change into another gender and identity. It is definitely important to be patient and kind to people of all genders and identities, and that it is necessary to be respectful to these people so that many of these people can get a lot of support and love and so that their communities will be full of success once many people learn about people's genders, gender roles, and identities. It is also necessary to respect other people's job careers, education, and feminism movements, too so that the World will be filled with a lot of equality and fairness (Barroso, 2020). Many people will even have the right to vote for different people, too once they learn about different genders, gender roles, and identities, and that the World will be a better place to live in once people accept these things.
References
Barroso, A. (2020, August 13). Key takeaways on Americans' views on gender equality a century after U.S. women gained the right
to vote. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from
Haefele-Thomas, A. & Combs, T. (2019). Chapter 1: Sex and Gender: Stories and Definitions. Introduction to Transgender Studies.
Harrington Park Press, LLC.
