Gender Is A Social Construct: Exploring Different Ideas Of Gender

A nursery rhyme made in the 19th century made by Robert Southey, gives a clear visual of how gender lines are drawn and how both males and females are perceived. “Snips and snails and puppy dog tails, that’s what little boys are made of. Sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of.” Boys are rough and rugged, girls are gentle and delicate. This nursery rhyme, like many things in society have painted a picture of how each gender should act and appear. Gender roles are ideals that are placed on us by society. We are taught how to act, what to like and what is expected of us from our parents, our experiences at school, at our places of worship, and what we read and see on television.

Webster’s dictionary defines gender as the behavioral, cultural or psychological traits associated with one sex. Many people view gender roles as natural or biological, however they are socially constructed. From birth we are all thrust into this reality of blue or pink. Moments after taking their first breath, babies are cleaned up, wrapped in a blanket and the appropriate color hat is placed on his or her head; little blue hats for boys and pink ones for girls. At that moment your gender is defined. If you are a boy you will very likely be introduced to sports, toy trucks and action figures. If you are a girl, little pink outfits, dolls and stuffed animals. Society and the activities and attitudes we are exposed to tell us what is normal for one gender or the other. These experiences have an impact on how we act, what we say and feel.

Women have forever been viewed as the weaker gender. Society has given us the role of the caregiver. This has placed women in a category of specific things they must do. Such as keeping the house clean and caring for everyone in the family. Women were not allowed to do things the men would do, like going out and doing physical labor. Even as young girls we are prohibited to do things that boys would do like going fishing. Boys were allowed more freedom to wonder and be adventurous outdoors, while the girls were forced to come inside earlier to help get ready for dinner. As a women we are not given the independence we crave. Sheltered away from the cold harsh reality because we are believed to be to sensitive to handle it. A young girl may ask to go outside and her parents will say no, or she would have to be accompanied by someone, like a bodyguard. You may think this is being said for their own safety, but it is a bias viewpoint on how young girls and women are seen.

Men on the other hand are also shoved into a classification by society, that they must be stable and strong enough to support their families financially. From a young age little boys are taught not to cry and show any form of weakness. This causes them to grow up and be oblivious to how they truly feel about something or someone. Men are also expected to do laborious things, and when they want to actually do things away from the hard working task such as becoming a librarian they are looked down upon. In an essay called Being a Man written by Paul Theroux he states “...I found it hard to admit to myself that I wanted to be a writer. It was my guilty secret…” Being a writer was known as a job for a woman, so it discouraged many men from pursuing it. Back in the 1900s men were very adamant on what women should do and what men should do. Men were taught to be the head of the household, so they were expected to do tougher things that separated them from the women.

In today's society many people do not believe that gender is something we have created from different types of human interactions. Men and women are always adjusting their behavior or thoughts to match the expectations of the community. When people start to see things being done one way continuously they grow to believe that it is the right way, but in reality there is no right way. In Judith Lorber's essay the social construction of gender she says “Gender is such a familiar part of daily life that it usually takes a deliberate disruption of our expectations of how women and men are supposed to act to pay attention to how it is produced.” Gender is driven so deep into our heads we do not realize the mess we have created. Now people are more open to the idea of gender and the roles have been changed tremendously. Men are doing things “women should do”, and women are doing things “men should do”.

We are now in the 21st century and different ideas of gender has been brought to the table. People are identifying as more than just male and female. Individuals are given more freedom to construct their own gender and be who they want, whether that is transgender, male or female. Things that were once shunned upon have surfaced and are being shown in our day to day life. For example people of the same sex are allowed to attend prom together and be seen in public places. Women have become more independent, and men have grown to do what they truly love. Although there are people in our society who are still stuck in the past and are not accepting of it, it has become something of little concern by many. Gender has become very fluid and has shown growth in the way the world is viewed today. Even though gender is still something constructed by society, it has allowed each gender to place themselves in their own category.