The Gender Roles

The Gender Roles

Introduction

The occurrence of gender differences is widely seen in every society. The gender expectations begin from time of birth as parents decide color of clothes and types of toys for baby. Mostly, blue color is for boys and pink is for the girls. The boys expected to be rough in comparison to girls, who expected to be sweet and soft. The boys taught to fix and build things, whereas the girls taught to sew and cook. The meaning of gender often confounded with sex. Sex is a biologically defined characteristic, whereas gender is a social one. Gender not based on biologically, but on socially. The social or interpersonal relationship of a man or a woman with respect to social and behavioral norms termed as gender role. The gender role can differentiate in terms of cultures, societies, ages and classes. Factors like impacts on the global economy, household structure, ecological conditions and access to resources may have an effect on the gender-specific roles and responsibilities (Harris, 2005).The gender differences could be based on the biological and physiological differences, social and cultural factors that are the products of socialization, and the differences in behavior based in the inborn personality of an individual. Cultural and particular gender roles exist that defines how an individual, male or female should dress, speak, interact and think within the context of society.

Discussion

The Gender Socialization

An individual's common identity could be classified in terms of the biologically (nature), and the socially (nurture). The general identity of an individual comprises of socialization and the biology. The process of learning about the societal expectations by individual is called gender socialization. The individual, male or female learns and observes the societal expectations with reference to their characteristics of sex. Gender socialization is not just about the learning of expectations, but it also influences a lot of factors in an individual's life. The self-concept, the perception, the mind set, the thinking, the relationships with other, the daily life routine, the political and social attitudes, and all these factors heavily influenced by gender socialization (Wester, 2006). The gender socialization of an individual gets successful with the help of socializing agents. The socializing agents are an individual's family, friends, school mates, things learned at school, religious training, effects of media and culture.

The Gender Identity

The formation of gender identity is the gender socialization. The gender identity is an individual's recognition of being a man or a woman. Gender identity is not just a presentation of an individual, but it also affects the behavior of an individual. It could affect the way an individual thinks and perceive things. The gender differences could also exhibit in the forms of alcoholic use, drug use, aggressive and violent behavior and depression. The certain behavior exhibited by the individual affects body image and appearance of the individual especially the women.

The Cultural Origin of Gender

The origin of gender in terms of cultures varies with the differences in cultures. Most of the societies who are typically west industrialized likewise the ...