Gender And Gender Roles In Society

The idea of gender and gender roles in society are shaped by many factors. Biologically, your gender is defined at birth. However, society has expanded gender to be more than just female and male and can be changed based on personal preference. However, this shift in cultural belief has not significantly changed gender roles. Gender roles are roughly defined as a set of societal norms that shape behavior and expectations. For women, feminine roles have been associated with nurturing. For men, masculine roles have been associated with strength. Gender socialization begins at birth and continues through the influences of family, education, social groups, and media. I grew up in a family of four: My mom, myself, Aaron, and Mark. My mom was a …show more content…
In particular, children are exposed to a variety of cultures and beliefs in the educational system. In my case, it wasn 't uncommon to go to school with classmates who were raised significantly different than I was. Personally, I never struggled with gender identity. I knew who I was and I didn 't have a problem participating in traditional female roles. It wasn 't until middle school, that I understood the word gay. I remember witnessing a boy being bullied for being “too feminine.” This is where the cross between family and social groups played a part in my understanding of gender identify issues. It was my freshman year of high school that I started asking questions–how did someone become gay, what made them gay, was it a choice or something they were born with? My family was conservative and my friends were liberal. Some how, I had to decide for myself what it all …show more content…
For example, The Simpsons, are one of American’s most popular television shows. Ironically the show reinforces vulgar behavior and classic gender roles. Homer Simpson represents the typical middle class father. He is portrayed as having a masculine role–going to work, coming home, drinking a beer. In some parts of our society, this is a common practice for men. In this particular episode, Homer wears a pink shirt to work. He is described as being humiliated for wearing, what is considered to be, a feminine color. Homer also portrays aggression when dealing with his son, Bart. In the cases where Homer is violent, he lives up to stigma that men are made to be dominate, masculine, and aggressive. The Simpsons are a prime example of gender messages. Men drink beer. Men can’t wear pink. And it’s okay for men to be aggressive. When I was younger, I remember being particularly vulnerable to the way Disney portrayed their princesses, specifically Cinderella. Cinderella was skinny, she had blonde hair, and blue eyes–everything I wasn’t. Looking back on the story, there are many gender expectations portrayed in Cinderella’s story. Cinderella patiently suffers all kinds of abuse by her stepmother and sisters without any complaint. On the surface this teaches patience, but when we take it a step further, it shows Cinderella as being passive. A quality