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Caprice Anderson
Prof. Ditch
27 September 2017
Project Space
Many people often confuse the word gender with sex, not knowing what gender actually
means. After reading the works of Lorber, Devor, and Hubbard, the simplest definition I came up
with is: gender is the characteristics that society has created and described as masculine or
feminine. Throughout peoples everyday lives gender plays a huge role because in everything a
person does they demonstrate masculinity and/or femininity. The space a person is in will
determine the role that is demonstrated. For example, in a work space like a construction site, the
workers are usually described as masculine because its mostly males who do the job, which
involves building and heavy lifting. When a person demonstrates the gender role that isnt
expected of them, such as a male doing feminine things like wearing makeup, they are usually
criticized and judged. Society has created gender norms and becomes uncomfortable when
individuals go against these norms. Gendering is a consistent problem that goes on in everyday
life and until it is accepted that a person can be both masculine and feminine or neither, gender
Gender construction starts right from the time a person finds out the sex of their unborn
child. People use the biological sex to place the baby in a gender category because that is the
normal thing to do. Whether the child is a male or female will determine what colored clothes
would be bought for them, how they will be spoken to and treated, and what type of toys will be
given to them. As the child gets older they will start to accept that category and play the role they
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were given all on their own. Once a person is old enough to be aware of that category then they
will start to associates themselves with others like them and act how they think they are supposed
to. Being in 2017 there has been some change to the restriction of gender roles and people have
come to accept that it is possible to demonstrate masculinity and femininity; however, that
doesnt mean that person changes the category they were already placed in. It is not uncommon
for females to wear what is labeled as boy clothing and males to wear what is labeled as girls
clothing. As a result, they may often be labeled as dykes, gay, or lesbian. All though people
sometimes play both masculine and feminine roles, it is still mostly unacceptable because there
is still inequality with gender. Unfortunately, society will find any way to maintain this
inequality.
Femininity is usually the role that society wants the females to do. To be feminine and
demonstrate feminine qualities a person has to be delicate, ladylike, sensitive, patient, nurturing,
and etc. femininity is seen as being soft. Because of what I am used to, often times I demonstrate
feminine qualities in many spaces that I am in. For example, not too long ago at work, I was put
to work in the backroom for the first time with basically all men, the job required lots of heavy
lifting with boxes, packaging items, and the use of machinery. The way I demonstrated
femininity was by me complaining how heavy some of the boxes were even though I was still
cable of carrying them. I wasnt used to doing all that physical/difficult work so I often asked for
one of the males to do it for me and Id go and package things instead. I didnt necessarily
intentionally demonstrate femininity in this space but I was so used to doing easier things like
fold towels or hang up clothes. In Ruth Hubbards work Rethinking womens Biology she
talked about the physical differences between men and women, and she also talked about limits
to strength. In Rethinking Womens Biology, she says What women do is interrelated with how
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our bodies and mind function are collected dialectically. (Hubbard,47) If men and women were
treated equally and werent gender constructed by society both male and females height, weight,
Since women are supposed to be feminine that means men are supposed to be masculine.
Some masculine traits a male is constructed to have is strength, stability, confidence, less
emotional, freedom, and anything that would make them tougher. But I am and many others are
perfect examples of how women can demonstrate a masculine role as well. As time went on of
me working in the backroom I started to get used to doing all the work the rest of the guys did
without any help. I realized I was perfectly capable of physically and mentally getting the same
work as them done. And I also got praised and a hand clap for doing so because it was a surprise
to them that there was a woman who worked backed there without getting her position changed
to cashier or something else. In Night to his day: the social construction of gender by Judith
Lorber, she says Women who become men rise in the world and men who become women fail.
(Lorber, 30) And I couldnt agree more with her because I was able to do exactly what the men
did and if the tables were turned my male coworkers possibly would not be able to do the same.
What caught my attention most in reading Night to His Day by Lorber is when she said, In
western society, man is A, woman is Not-A. (Lorber, 29) This is a perfect example of how
society has made males and masculinity the dominant gender and why there is inequality in
gender. Women are stronger than the strength society gives or tells them to have and we have the
Many people would disagree with Devor, Kane, Hubbard, and many others about
gendering and inequality. Most see gender being a norm and as something that has gone on
forever and doesnt need to change. They feeling gendering is okay and they should be able to
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raise their child however they want. For example, in parents responses to childrens gender
nonconformity 31 parents had negative responses and reactions about their sons picking to play
and wear girl things. Most of these parents would just avoid the opposite sexes sections in stores
to prevent their child from choosing such a thing. Parents and people like this are just
heterosexual. It is understandable why these parents place their children in a gender role because
that is how they were raised and their parents were raised and all the generations before that.
Gender construction is the norm society has created for them and parents only keep it going with
their children.
Masculinity and femininity is the gender roles society has placed on the people. This
socially constructed norm has created inequality and many other ongoing problems. This is why
writers like the ones in Composing Gender argue and discuss why gender is a problem and
should come to an end. They also state that a person must be labeled in a certain category in
order for everyone else to feel comfortable. Every person is capable of demonstrating both
masculinity and femininity in every space and no one should be judged for doing differently. In
No Way My Boys Are Going to Be Like That: Parents responses to gender nonconformity
by Emily Kane is a great example of how gender construction starts at very young ages and the
responses of heterosexual parents. I feel it is wrong for a parent to restrict their children from
certain items based off their sex. But there are some parents out there who allow their children to
be free to play any role and those are the patents doing it right. Gendering is a consistent problem
that goes on in everyday life and until it is accepted that a person can be both masculine and
feminine or neither, gender inequality will continue and gender construction will still exist.
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Works Cited
Lorber, Judith. Night to his day: The Social Construction of gender. Composing
Hubbard, Ruth. Rethinking Womens Biology. Composing Gender. New York, 2013.
46-52
Kane, Emily W. No way my boys are going to be like that: Parents Responses to