Feminist Perspective: A Psychological Analysis

As a girl growing with ADHD I was told by people that my behavior wasn’t unacceptable, simply because I behaved “different" from other girls my age. I was pressured into being silent as opposed to boys my age whose loud behavior was often tolerated and regarded as normal. I was even put on medication to keep my behavior under control. Managing emotions has had a tremendous impact on my life. Emotion management can be described as an act of masking ones true feelings to react fittingly to situations where people find themselves in. (Brym and Lie 2015: 77). For instance, due to being constantly scolded as an adult I perpetually find myself trying to remain calm so that I fit in better with my friends and classmates. When I fail to manage my …show more content…
The theory emphasizes that that men and women are nurtured into their gender roles which are constructed by society. Sociologists call this perspective social constructionism because it views gender as a by-product of society. (165). Using the symbolic interactionist approach I am going to demonstrate that people attach meaning to what it means to be a man or a woman and what is deemed as an “appropriate” behaviour for a girl is socially …show more content…
Symbolic interactionist approach helps to understand how boys and girls learn masculine and feminine roles in the family and at school (Brym and Lie 2015: 166). We can see that what is considered an appropriate behaviour for a woman is merely an idea that is constructed by social forces. By analyzing my personal experience through the lenses of symbolic interactionism we can see that gender is a product of society rooted in the social structure of our society. Thus, in using sociological imagination I understand how social structures may influence my behaviour while linking it to the important social issues in broader