Progression 1

Brianna Johnson
Professor Jon Beadle
English 115
9/15/15
Gender Has Replaced Sex
Every day someone is being positioned in a certain group of gender roles based on their
biological differences. Sex is biological while gender was created and is continuously changing.
Society has molded our views on gender roles through social interactions with others to create
structure.
Regarding the issue I agree with everyone who does believe that it has started from a
society as a whole because there is no specific person who started this trend, it was a collective
effort and was passed down through generations of parenting. How and why society chose our
gender roles is from what sex a child identified as during birth. For example, if someone was
born a woman their gender roles would focus on having and taking care of a family, the man
would be the provider of that family and would focus on working to earn their living. As Ruth
Hubbard states in her article about womens biology, the concept, woman (or man), is a socially
constructed one the little girls (or boys) try to fit as we grow up (46). Moving through
childhood to adolescence we become what we are exposed to because it influences how we
address things in the future. Since society formed our gender roles based on our sex expectation
it does not matter what we do so long as our actions are the opposite.
Gender identities act as cognitive filtering devices guiding people to attend to and learn
gender role behaviors appropriate to their statuses, (Devor 35). Gender seeks to provide order to
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who goes to which activities, practices and social events. I do not understand why we have given
so much power to these inclinations. It is like you signed a contract saying that you have to
follow all of these restrictions and rules given to you by society right after you were born but we
do not have to. Everything we do that was set by society has a reward but when we want to do
our own thing we reap the consequences. In my case something as simple as playing softball was
a double edged sword I gained approval from my father though some of the women in my family
did not believe I should have played in such a hands on sport and after I quit three years later it
felt like my father did not have a reason to take pride in me anyone while some others praised me
because they rather me spend more time studying and working around the house anyway.
Someone can feel the pressure to fulfill or act according to these roles from anyone, not
just their parents or caretakers. While we are young and even as we continue to get older parents,
friends and teachers have influenced what we learned, how we learned and told us why we
should to learn it. People develop concepts of themselves as reflected in the eyes of others
(Devor 37). I can remember feeling inclined to wear certain clothes or to start wearing makeup
because I wanted to keep up with my girlfriends. Even when no one has to force you to act and
behave a certain way you can still pick up on those subtle hints and underlying suggestions to
want you to do so, so you can feel like you fit in.
It is seen as important for people apart of their community to act according to their
gender behaviors in order to make the identifying process easier. After reading the second and
third paragraph in Judith Lorbers article it became clear that when people could not identify
someone as a boy or girl, whether it is a young child or an adult, it leaves most people confused
and uncomfortable. (Lorber 28), As a process, gender creates the social differences that define
woman and man. Most of society thinks that having someone know their gender identity is
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important because they can then start to feel and behave differently. Most importantly they start
to get treated according to their gender status and expectations.
The nation has shamed change so much and for so long that many parents are less willing
to let their children stray away from their socially anticipated gender roles nor are they
comfortable with seeing other people changing between their own gender obligations. Today
woman are still fighting to be treated and paid the same that men do while they are employed
because some still expect women to stay home. It is about having a specific place amongst
everyone because we were divided into specific groups and so the world has decided that you
have to fit into one. Without this the said person would be deemed as an outsider because they
did not feel acquainted with either groups and decided to make and become their own category.
The balance between the two gender roles of masculine and feminine are then thrown off as a
result of being uncooperative and not adjusting the scale to accommodate everyone and the
different wants, needs and personalities.
Nonetheless society has not effected everyones upbringing. For example I was raised by
a single parent, my father, and though I am considered a tomboy and I did not just grow up
learning only masculine or feminine ways. I grew up knowing the male and female aspects of
life. I still played with Barbies and nail polish but also monster trucks and sports equipment. I
was not limited because of my fathers masculinity but he also did not push me to be a feminine
either. Some parents now expect their children to play with gender neutral toys because they
recognize that everyone needs to be aware of certain skills not one way or the other. Gendered
roles change, although most social groups stick to the more traditional views, others are
becoming more lenient (Lorber 21). Society thinks in black and white but it does not have to
always be masculine or feminine, there are people that can relate to either parties or none at all.
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How someone else identifies themselves has never bothered me because their decision to
be who they want to be has never affected me but when I am forced to think about the topic as a
whole it frustrates me. This is an important topic for everyone to cover but for now I think
society, including those making these decisions to change, are taking it too far. It should not
bother so many people that others want to be different and frankly I do not think that those other
people should seek acceptance from everyone around because not everyone is going to agree
anyways. We, as a society, need to just learn to roll with the punches and adjust to all these
different preferences instead of arguing about it. We should start to think about how we refer to
them in public or more importantly in the doctors office and what we are going to about public
restrooms. It is too late to criticize what has already been done and to argue with someone about
their feelings and how they want to live. I believe it is going to be a slow and uncomfortable
process for most people but honestly we can get through this and come to a common
understanding.
Gender roles have replaced sex roles. Gender was socially constructed and could always
change while sex represented only the physical features someone was born with. Though it did
not affect everyone, it did have a huge impact on the way most children grew up. People think
that others that choose to be different are making things more complex but I think that once we
learn to accept all of these differences things will become simpler.

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Work Cited
Acker, Joan. "From sex roles to gendered institutions." Contemporary Sociology: A
Journal of Reviews (1992): 565-569.
Alesina, Alberto F., Paola Giuliano, and Nathan Nunn. On the origins of gender roles:
Women and the plough. No. w17098. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011.
Hubbard, Ruth. "Rethinking Women's Biology." Composing Gender: A Bedford
Spotlight Reader. By Rachel Groner and John F. O'Hara. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 4652. Print.
Kiecolt, K. Jill, and Alan C. Acock. "The long-term effects of family structure on genderrole attitudes." Journal of Marriage and the Family (1988): 709-717.
Lorber, Judith. ""Night to His Day": The Social Construction of Gender." Composing
Gender: A Bedford Spotlight Reader. By Rachel Groner and John F. O'Hara. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin's, 2014. 19-34. Print.