That “sexual stigma has been defined as the negative regard, inferior status, and relative powerlessness that society collectively accords to any non-heterosexual behavior, identity, relationship, or community (Walch,2012).
The experience has definitely given me a different point of view when it relates to sexuality and gender, but the question arises as to why what I was representing isn’t “normal.” At times I found myself being worried of what others would think of, even though I knew that the assignment was only temporary. What’s ironic about my feelings is that as a child I dressed as a tomboy. My breasts were more developed than most in my age group so I used to wear a regular bra then a sports bra to make my chest flat. I would never …show more content…
Gender plays a very important role in constructing our views and the way people think of others in our society. From the time we’ve entered this world, our identity has been subjected to gender norms of being male or female; masculine or feminine. We associate the sex of a child with their gender when in reality it is not the same. Sex is dealing more with biological traits while gender is the “state of being male or female” (Muehlenhard & Peterson, 2011). Categorizing people supports a system of gender inequality and cause social problems for those who decide not to live the normative lifestyle that they were assigned at birth (Schilt & Westbook, 2009). When a person decides to go against the specific set of “rules” and do what they feel, it does not fit in what is considered the "gender norm." It now has become a gender conflict that is subject to ridicule from those whose perspective falls into the “norm.” A gender conflict is a psychological state in which socialized gender roles have negative consequences on the person or others (Bates et al.,2010). …show more content…
From the womb, to adolescence, and even into adulthood, the construction of gender is apparent in mostly everything that we do. This can be recognized with simple things such as many adults associating pink with girls or boys with the color blue (Karniol,2011). Young children are bought certain toys such as easy bake ovens and little toy cars, which play a part into molding children to classify themselves with certain genders. As we grow up and become more and more familiar with what these norms say and represent, we either find ourselves going along with the norms or deciding to take another path. Sometimes it can be hard to understand how to embrace this conflict between the norms within gender and your natural demeanor. For example, a little boy might find himself being entertained with toys or activities that fall into activities what society has established are females and vice versa, and some people might not accept that.
The experience has definitely given me a different point of view when it relates to sexuality and gender, but the question arises as to why what I was representing isn’t “normal.” At times I found myself being worried of what others would think of, even though I knew that the assignment was only temporary. What’s ironic about my feelings is that as a child I dressed as a tomboy. My breasts were more developed than most in my age group so I used to wear a regular bra then a sports bra to make my chest flat. I would never …show more content…
Gender plays a very important role in constructing our views and the way people think of others in our society. From the time we’ve entered this world, our identity has been subjected to gender norms of being male or female; masculine or feminine. We associate the sex of a child with their gender when in reality it is not the same. Sex is dealing more with biological traits while gender is the “state of being male or female” (Muehlenhard & Peterson, 2011). Categorizing people supports a system of gender inequality and cause social problems for those who decide not to live the normative lifestyle that they were assigned at birth (Schilt & Westbook, 2009). When a person decides to go against the specific set of “rules” and do what they feel, it does not fit in what is considered the "gender norm." It now has become a gender conflict that is subject to ridicule from those whose perspective falls into the “norm.” A gender conflict is a psychological state in which socialized gender roles have negative consequences on the person or others (Bates et al.,2010). …show more content…
From the womb, to adolescence, and even into adulthood, the construction of gender is apparent in mostly everything that we do. This can be recognized with simple things such as many adults associating pink with girls or boys with the color blue (Karniol,2011). Young children are bought certain toys such as easy bake ovens and little toy cars, which play a part into molding children to classify themselves with certain genders. As we grow up and become more and more familiar with what these norms say and represent, we either find ourselves going along with the norms or deciding to take another path. Sometimes it can be hard to understand how to embrace this conflict between the norms within gender and your natural demeanor. For example, a little boy might find himself being entertained with toys or activities that fall into activities what society has established are females and vice versa, and some people might not accept that.