Heteronormativity

Downton Abbey is currently being shown on PBS that is about to start its sixth season. Season one began in 1912. The show is about an earl and his family. It is set during a time when social norms were very strict. Women worried about who their husbands would be. Men worried whether or not their wives would give them male heirs. The earl and his wife and three daughters, and no sons. All of the daughters in this series fights social norms, some more than others. The first daughter, Mary Crawley,…

In our society, we have many different expectations of people’s gender. From the way which we interact with each other to the activities we enjoy, there are many things which are assumed of people because of their gender. I think of myself as being pretty stereotypically feminine. I don’t like sports, nor am I good at them. I love fashion, shopping, and makeup. I am horrified of spiders and other insects. I take great pride in how I look, which for me means that I am usually in dresses and…

Since a young age, women and men are exposed to gender roles. In the documentary, Disney Monopoly, they discuss how young girls see princesses being saved by princes and it makes them think they need a prince charming to save them. Humans learn to act by imitating others, the behavior we “[take] for granted is shaped by social structures” (Anderson). If these gender boxes are rooted since a young age, it is no surprise they stick with people for the rest of their lives. Gender socialization…

Every child has a different experience of childhood depending on the social location the child is being brought up in. Those including women and girls and those of different race or abilities are looked at as “disadvantaged.” According to Dictionary.com, those who are disadvantged are those who are “lacking the normal or usual necessities and comforts of life, as proper housing, educational opportunities, job security, adequate medical care etc.” Different places across North America look at…

Traditional gender roles permeate every aspect of society, dictating how we sit, eat, bath, dress, smile, and walk. Thus, it is only reasonable to assume that gender, and the roles ascribed to each group within the binary, will also impact the political nature of an individual. Differences in socialization, education, experience, and demeanor have ultimately developed a dichotomy between male and female legislators. The dualistic terms in which we assign traits (e.g. classifying one…

This article looks at how gender stereotypes are challenged by children and adolescence by addressing the conditions in which individuals found it acceptable to reject gender-stereotypic expectations and examining how children conceptualized the costs (Mulvey & Killen, 2015, pg. 683). Past studies show that children’s knowledge of gender stereotypes emerges during preschool and that interaction with teachers and peers can influence segregation of gender in playtime activities (Mulvey & Killen,…

I started this class having zero knowledge of what was to come. I did not know what the actual meaning of feminism was, or how it affected people. When surveyed if I was a feminist, I circled “not sure” because I was not going to say yes to a topic I knew little about, while I still believed in equality for women and men, I did not have the sufficient amount of information to circle “yes” or “no”. As of now, the knowledge I have accumulated has taught me that feminism is not just a noun, but…

Knowing certain societal constructs and expectations can be a major burden on every individual within that society. In Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” we see a young girl named Pecola Breedlove struggling with her community’s beauty standards, causing her to consistently beg for blue eyes. While the poem “Much Madness is divinest Sense” by Emily Dickinson shows that while the majority who follow all of the “rules” may be the truly be the ones that are mad, the ones who go against the grain are…

We often see being called a “pussy” seems to be the worst insult because you are being compared to a women. Women are being held back and losing opportunities simply because of the fact that they are female. We now have the Feminist Movement allowing families to have similar roles without being discriminated because of their sex. Feminism is society accepting the mindset that both genders can hold the same occupation without facing criticism because of our cultural norms. It is the elimination…

Society creates a format in which individuals are expected to craft themselves in order to live up to society’s expectations. People act a certain way or reflect in a manner that is constructed through what is understood as social norms. When that social construction is not practiced, these individuals are punished under the law. This paper will discuss how sex work involving adults should be normalized, such that activities associated with Adult Prostitution, such as advertising sex for sale or…