Gender Identity Influences

Formation of Gender Identity Through Societal Influences When discussing the process of gender identity, it is thought to be strictly a biological function. I believe societal influences can outweigh biological influences when it comes to the formation of gender identity. A major part in the development process as an adolescent is the formation of identity. The second a newborn is brought into the world they are immediately grouped into a category of boy or girl. For example, my precious girl or my sweet boy. Society has created gender expectations for what it is to be a male or female (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). The formation of identity has been pushed by society from the beginning of childhood socialization. For example, girls are supposed to play with dolls and boys are supposed to play with trucks. When …show more content…
Peers can influence one’s identity greatly. The emergence of mixed-sexed relationships begins, which can have negative and positive outcomes. For example, females start to loose their voice when they interact with mixed sexes because of the need to adapt to society. One the other hand, interaction skills are being learned and expressed by both females and males (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). Adolescent’s decision-making will be impacted by this change. Adolescents, especially females will feel the need to follow others, than find their own identity. There are cultural aspects that create a positive influence on the gender identity process. Regardless of the culture, there will be conflict in adolescence, however each culture will have unique ways of handing each situation. Having this positivity in culture will allow adolescents to bring harmony to themselves and their peers (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). Society has changed their perspective of gender identity slightly by awareness, however there are still unrealistic expectations held for individuals