Gender Development Reflection

Sexual and gender development is one of the least explored topics for me personally through my years of development. From early on in life I felt I was given the same heterosexual expectations as my other male counterparts and it wasn 't until much later on that I began to question the topic of sex and gender identity. It was from an early age I was socialized as a male and expected to adhere to the role of acting like a boy. This meant playing only certain toys, wearing the right clothes and watching the shows that all the other kids would talk about. For many children I think you really become aware once you begin becoming attracted to your peers, and when you begin considering the concept of liking someone it begins to change the way you …show more content…
As a male you are almost constantly reminded to behave in a tough and exacting manner even from a young age. Another way I emulated my brother was by trying to my best to do well school because he did well in school I always felt I like had to do the same. As a boy growing up I can remember hearing phrases like "don 't cry" or "what are you a girl?" and "you have to these kinds of idea about gender being conveyed to me and wanting to meet to meet those expectations so that I would not be made fun of or out casted. For me my older brother was a prominent male figure who I followed by example. These types of gender roles are heavily enforced in American society and are generally excepted as the norm, although this is undergoing some change. Different gender types are being acknowledged in the media and contemporary curriculum. If I were to realize one day that my identity did not match how I am socialized I would most likely struggle dealing with the social pressures and stigma 's from my peers and family. I would most likely deal with these issues on my own or possibly with someone who can understand my struggle so wouldn 't have very many friends. It might be safer to distance myself from peers and family until I choose to live openly with that …show more content…
In our culture gender is viewed primarily as a binary concept, with two fixed options: male or female, mainly grounded in a person’s physical anatomy. Gender is actually taught to us from the moment we are born with expectations and messages reinforced constantly. Our upbringing, culture, peers, schools, community, media, and religion are some of the many influences that shape our understanding of this core aspect of self. How we learned and interact with gender roles as a young child directly influences how we interact with the world right now. In short, many aspects of gender are socially constructed, particularly with regard to gender expression .But even if gender is to be restricted to basic biology, the binary concept still fails to capture the existing variation. Rather than just two distinct genders, biological gender occurs across a continuum of possibilities. This new set of knowledge may influence my views of gender if some reason I have children within the next ten years. I think it has opened my mind to some possible gender identities and how I might deal with them if my child were to fall into the a category that isn 't binary. I don 't see my own gender identity changing that much to be