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Dalton Turner

English 115
Professor Beadle
September 15, 2015
Stereotypes in Gender Roles Today
The idea of gender has been implemented in our society for many years. We all have
been told since the day we were born what we are classified as and what we are supposed to
offer to society with this classification. This stereotypical generalization of one by their gender is
a creation by society to make life easier for them, but not for an individual. Being placed in a
specific gender shouldnt be based on what you are born as; it should be a choice that you are
comfortable with. Many authors have spoken out about this atrocity and have made valid
arguments that have shown a new outlook on the idea. The book Composing Gender has many
articles that shed light on the argument. The two that really stood out were Night to his Day:
The Social Construction of Gender by Judith Lorber and Rethinking Womens Biology by
Ruth Hubbard. Both these articles strongly express the valid arguments of gender construction in
society, expressing the statement that gender roles are just a stereotypical classification created
by societys imagination.
Gender is a method constructed by society in order to create judgments of someone more
easily. Both articles shed light on this idea by detailing everyday examples that people see
through their everyday life. Judith Lorber talks about a time in her past where she experienced a
father who was putting a blue baseball cap on his baby girl. Judith Lorber states, Then I noticed
the gleam of tiny earrings in the childs ears, and as they got off, I saw the little flowered

sneakers and lace-trimmed socks. Not a boy after all. Gender done (Lorber 20). People usually
think of clothing as a way to classify someone by the gender. This father broke that trend and by
placing the blue baseball cap on his girl showing that classifying someones gender by their
clothes is stereotypical, unethical and completely irrelevant.
Ruth Hubbard argues that a womens biology is how society stereotypically identifies a
woman compared to a man. Since women are born physically different, people are able to tell the
difference between the two. But most of the physical differences are from the fact that men are
more physically trained then women because of the expectations that men and women have from
society. Ruth Hubbard explains, Women and men are physically not very different. There are
enormous overlaps between women and men for all traits that are not directly involved with
procreation (Hubbard 47). Since men are more physically trained, society is able to tell the
difference between both genders, which is technically not the most logical way since there are
many women who are more built compared to men. I know of many that make me not look like
societys expectations of a man. So in that sense, saying a woman has to be someone who is not
as strong as a man is already outdated to these times and isnt a logical way to identify a persons
gender.
Throughout every article, the authors make one thing especially clear: gender and sex are
two completely different things. Sex is what a person is born with. Whether you are born a man
or woman is completely decided by the laws of nature. How that person comes to be though, is
completely up to that persons preference as they grow. By that time though, society will begin
to judge that person and tell them how they are supposed to be. Aaron Devor, another author
involved with Composing Gender, states, Masculinity thus becomes innately valuable and
femininity serves a contrapuntal function to delineate and magnify the hierarchical dominance of

masculinity (Devor 42). Since the level of masculinity plays an important role in gender
classification, one is intensively judged for it. If a man is feminine, they are automatically judged
due to the fact that when society thinks of a man, they think of someone who is strong, brave,
into sports, etc. Society also then start to assume their sexuality. What many dont realize that
sexuality and gender have no direct connection between each other. This is one of the many false
assumptions made by society and every author explains this in the book.
The process of assuming and judging has been classified as the roots of stereotypes.
Lorber and Hubbard both explain how the assumptions of society plays a huge part in denoting
gender roles. An example that Hubbard writes about reads, womens reputed maternal
instinct needs to be looked at in light of some womens desperate efforts to avoid having
children, while society persuades or forces them to have children against their wills (Hubbard
50). Hubbard was arguing that society is pressuring woman to have children due to the fact that
society expects them to do so; explaining that society assumes that a woman will have a child
and if not, they are extremely judged.
Another argument of assumptions is made by Lorber when she begins to talk about the
differences between sex and gender. Lorber writes, Western societys values legitimate
gendering by claiming that it all comes from physiology-female and male procreative
differences. But gender and sex are not equivalent, and gender as a social construction does not
flow automatically from genitalia and reproductive organs, the main physiological differences
of females and males (Lorber 21). Since the day everyone is born, people assume how you will
turn out due to the sex you are born with. This is one of the biggest stereotypical assumptions
anyone can make. Petra Doan, another author in Composing Gender, is a perfect example of
someone breaking that stereotype. She is what most people call a transgender while she titles

herself gender variant (Doan 2007). Breaking the stereotype that you are given premature of
your birth is a hard task, yet proven possible.
Stereotypes within gender have been shown to hurt more than help. What society
classifies as the normal way of acting isnt what many want to base their life on. Judith Lorber
and Ruth Hubbard both explained why the stereotypical approach when considering gender roles
isnt the most ethical. Both articles shed a different perspective on the statement against
stereotypical assumptions and judgements. Gender roles fade a little more every day and as time
goes on, eventually, society will be more accepting and understanding. Until then, many people
will fight the stereotypes and more will break the boundaries that have been there for a life time.
There will be more articles published, and there will be more essays written about the topic until
the stereotypes of gender roles are eliminated from society. The tyranny of the gender
dichotomy is an artifact of the patriarchal structuring of gendered space and it is time to lay it
aside (Doan 64). Once people accept the fact that anyone is allowed to be whom they want to
be and how they want to be that person, then society can break down the walls of genders and
have a universal understanding of life choices.

WORK CITED

Devor, Aaron. "Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender."


Composing Gender. Boston: Leasa Burton, 2014. 19-30. Print.

Doan, Petra. "The Tyranny of Gendered Spaces: Reflections from Beyond the
Gender Dichotomy." Composing Gender. Boston: Leasa Burton, 2014. 53-64.
Print.

Hubbard, Ruth. "Rethinking Women's Biology." Composing Gender. Boston:


Leasa Burton, 2014. 46-51. Print.

Lorber, Judith. ""Night to His Day": The Social Construction of Gender."


Composing Gender. Boston: Leasa Burton, 2014. 19-30. Print.

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