Categories Of Gender Essay

Gender is all around us. When first meeting someone the first thing that is noticeable is if they are male or female. We have been able to identify male from female by several different characteristics. When one is born their gender is immediately determined based one factor, if they have a penis or vagina. But what happens when one is born with both. What exactly is gender? For centuries Americans have recognized two categories of gender that’s acceptable in society. Male and female are the categories acknowledged in society. Gender is socially constructed and have been effectively installed into us and have successfully worked for centuries. Gender is what one does and who one is. It is socially constructed to assign people into one category based on one’s sex. On the other hand what happens when people do not fit into the groups that society have given to …show more content…
With this statement one can already make the conclusion that she has a vagina, that she may be more nurturing, compassionate and emotional then a male. This is because women are expected to be feminine. Some characteristics of femininity are: modest, neat, orderly, obedient, dependent, nurturing, frail, emotional, compassionate and weak. Males are expected to be the exact opposite of that. Women are defined based on their relationship to men and their space in male hegemonic structures (Guy-Sheftall). Hegemonic masculinity is the perfectly created male and is class and race bound. Hegemonic masculinity are against femininity. Characteristic of hegemonic masculine are: strong, aggressive, competitive, fearless, controlling, virile, sexual, rational, tough, manly, affluent, dominate, powerful. One example of a hegemonic masculinity in today’s society is Donald Trump. Many people in our society are alternate hegemonic masculinity meaning they are gay, minorities, immigrants or