Richman

Gillian Richman
Jon Beadle
English 115
1 December 2015
What Has Society Done?
In society, gender and sex are considered the same thing. However, this is not the case.
The genitals a person is born with does not determine their gender. Sex is biological while
gender is created over time. For example, a female is able to play sports, but society claims it as
an activity for males. In the articles From Women, Men, and Society by Claire Renzetti and
Daniel Curran and Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender by Judith Lorber,
the common idea is shared that society has a negative impact on peoples perception of gender. I
agree with the authors because I have been both a part of the norm and the nonconformity. The
authors are writing about this to inform the readers of they way that people put everything into a
gender category without realizing it and to persuade everyone to go against this bias. Society
largely impacts how we perceive the concept of gender.
The authors of these articles are tying to show us how the society has a negative impact
on peoples perception of gender. For example, almost everything on the market is categorized as
either for girls or boys including clothes, toys, and even commercials. From a young age, we are
encouraged to be a specific gender; this starts with our clothing as a child. When children are
first born, most parents dress them a certain way in order to show others that their child is either
a male or a female. The girls are supposed to be dressed in light colors, flowers, bows, and
earrings, whereas the boys are supposed to be dressed in darker, more primary colors with fewer
accessories (Renzetti and Curran 77). This teaches us that by dressing a certain way, you must be

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a certain gender, which isnt necessarily the case. Boys can wear pink, girls can wear darker
clothing, but societys ideas conflict with this concept. For example in the article Night to His
Day, by Judith Lorber, she explains how when she saw a baby on the subway she immediately
judged the child by its clothing. Since the child was wearing a baseball cap she believed it was a
boy. She then goes on to tell us that the child had earrings so the child could have been a girl
(Lorber 20). This just proves how society has trained us to be biased and judge people based on
the smallest things such as clothing.
Also, toys for children are made to support certain activities for boy and girls. The toy
companies make the girls toys geared more towards being a housewife with dolls and play
kitchens, while boys toys deal with being athletic and discovering new things. The commercials
on television show the boys playing with cars and the girls playing with dolls to influence the
children to play with those specific toys (Renzetti and Curran 80). This is teaching the younger
generation their role in the gendered society. These toys promote the idea that girls are supposed
to be housewives, and not scientists. This puts ideas in the minds of young children that these are
the roles they should pursue in the future. These toys influence children to stay on the path that
society has created for them rather than explore other options. People should not be limited
based on societys labels. Girls should be able to know how to fix a car and boys should know
how to cook for themselves.
Parents are also guilty of promoting these stereotypical gender roles. Mothers and fathers
treat their children differently based upon their sex. They teach their daughters to be emotionally
aware, but they teach their sons to be unemotional and more aggressive (Renzetti and Curran
79). Ive witnessed that when a man is emotional most people look at them with a weird
expression, as if they arent allowed to have emotions. It is uncommon for a man to cry because

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they are supposed to be tough. When I was in elementary school, a boy in my class became
really upset and started crying. My classmates just ignored him because society teaches us that
boys arent supposed to shed tears. This is just one way in which our society isnt having a
positive impact when it comes to gender. The parents also feel that certain things are meant for
daughters and certain things are meant for sons. They want their boys to grow up strong and
independent, but they dont want the same for their girls (Renzetti and Curran 79). This lays
down the foundation for females to rely on other people and not take initiative. This explains
why women are so dependent upon men later on in their lives. This feeds in to societys concept
of gender with men being strong and women being weak. Men then feel that they need to be
dominant and protective in order to fit in with society.
The authors of these two articles are writing to let us know what we are doing, but also to
persuade us to go against the stereotypical gendering, and branch off. They use these examples
of how society is ultimately training us to follow the general perception of gender to get in our
heads that we arent necessarily following our own mindset. As stated in Lorbers article, gender
inequality, is produced and maintained by identifiable social processes and built into the
general social structure and individual identities deliberately and purposefully(30). These
authors bring to our eyes what some may be blind to. They bring to our attention that society is
just reinforcing the expectations that most of us have regarding gender. Both articles use their
own experiences, as well as facts to make it clear that even though gendering seems like a
normal thing, it is very easily overlooked. Lorber supports this by writing that, though
individuals may be able to shift gender statuses, the gender boundaries have to hold, or the whole
gendered social order will come crashing down(27). This just goes to show that the more
changes that are made, the more people start to notice, but if this happens societys norm will

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be ruined. Ruining the norm in societys eyes is a bad thing but if the norm were to be ruined
then we wouldnt have all these judgments and expectations laid upon us.
Some people might say that society doesnt have a negative impact on these gender roles,
but that instead it has a positive impact. What these people may not realize is that by feeling that
they have to conform to society, some people who dont feel comfortable in their gender
category cant easily express themselves as freely as they want. Lorber points out that, In social
interaction throughout their lives, individuals learn what is expected, see what is expected, act
and react in expected ways, and thus simultaneously construct and maintain the gender
order(28). This supports the case that people act how they feel they should and not necessarily
how they want to act. By limiting people in this way, society is not allowing people to be
themselves. Some people are not able to truly live the lives they want because of societys
expectations. She also states, Gendered norms and expectations are enforced through informal
sanctions of gender-inappropriate behavior by peers and by formal punishment or threat of
punishment by those in authority should behavior deviate too far from socially imposed
standards for women and men(28). Society is, in essence, punishing those who express
themselves differently than what is expected. Society definitely has a negative impact when it
comes to categorizing gender.
In my own experience, I have been a part of the norm but also a part of the
nonconformity of societys gender roles. When I was younger I played with dolls. I played dress
up, house, kitchen, pretty much what is expected of little girls. At the time, I didnt really know
why I played with dolls, or did any of this stuff; little did I know it was trying to prepare me for
my future. Yes, I love to bake and that is the typical womens work, but I do go against some
things that are set for women to do. I am a music performance and education major with my

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main instrument being the saxophone. In my high school, my section was predominately male.
Out of 24 saxophones only 7 were girls, and now currently in my saxophone studio class, I am
the only girl. My professor told me that I am the first girl in 5 years to be in that class. This
instrument gears towards males, because thats the way it is depicted. There are some females,
but a majority are males. Posters usually have pictures of male saxophonists on them and I have
hardly seen any with females on them. This was always very discouraging to me. When I
decided to be a saxophone performance major I had some doubts because I saw it as a career for
men. I always pictured saxophone musicians as men, same with music teachers. I had to go
against the mental picture I had in my head when I decided on this major. Also, I was the leader
of the saxophone section in high school, something that is more of a male role, according to
society. Leadership is considered a masculine job because females arent supposed to be
dominant and authoritative. I went against this stereotype to become a leader, take charge, and
become assertive. Just because society feels that I should adhere to these feminine tasks, doesnt
mean that I have to.
Overall, society plays a big role in how we as a whole perceive gender. Gender is created
by people, not by DNA. They make us think that we have to follow along with the norm and
they influence us to not get off course from the path they think we are supposed to be on. The
authors of these two articles show us just how much of an influence society has in our lives, and
in our conceptions of gender. I agree with the authors that we should go against the regular
perceptions of gender, because otherwise things will never change.

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Works Cited

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. 19-33. Print.
Renzetti, Claire, and Daniel Curran. "From Women, Men, and Society." Composing Gender: A
Bedford Spotlight Reader. By Rachel Groner and John F. O'Hara. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin's, 2014. 76-86. Print.