Davidson1

RyanDavidson
English115
ProfessorBeadle
16September2015
DivisionbySociety
Intodayssociety,menareinevitablytreateddifferentlythanwomeninmanyways.
Althoughbothsexesarealmostcompletely
similarintermsofbiologyandpsychology,
menare
assumedtobetough,unemotional,breadwinnersoftheirfamilies.
ComposingGender
,a
collectionofessayspertainingtosocietalissuescomposinggendersotospeakhighlightsthe
majordifferencesingenderandhowsocietyportraysit.AaronDevor,RuthHubbard,andJudith
Lorber
threerenownedsociologistsexploretopicsofgenderinequalityandgenderpolitics
throughtheirpersonalexperiences,insight,andresearch.Bygivingmeaningandexpectationsto
masculinebehaviorandfemininebehavior,genderinequalityremainsapressingissuetothis
day.
I
nmyexperienceasachild,havingayoungersisterforcedmetoexperiencegenderroles
firsthand.IfwehitoneanotheronlyIwouldbepunishedbecausesocietyportraysfemalesas
helplessandsensitive.However,ingrowinguptogether,mysisterandIgrewmoreandmore
similar,andbothpossessmasculineandfemininetraits.Whilesomemightconsiderme
sensitive,Iconsidermyselfemotionallyintelligent,andwhilepeoplemayviewmysisteras
aggressive,sheseesherselfasambitious.Havingalreadycomefromamultiracialbackground,I
havegrownmoreacceptingofotherpeopletwoofmybestfriendsaregay,themajorityofmy
friendshavedifferentethnicbackgrounds,andyetwestillhavecommoninterests.Consequently,

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Ihaveneverviewedpeopleasbetterthananyoneelse,ordeservingofmorerespectthanothers.
Therefore,problemswithequalityandfeminism,alongwiththeuniversalfearofbeingjudged
byothershasalwaysgreatlyaffectedme.Ifsomeonetoldmetobeaman,Iwouldtellhimthat
thatstatementisnonsensicalbecausenomatterwhatgenderyouare,howoldyouare,orwhat
ethnicbackgroundandcultureyoucomefrom,weareallhumanandenduresimilarstruggles.
Succumbingtosomeonetellingmetobeamanforcesmetoforfeitmymoralvaluestosocietyin
exchangeforsocialapproval.
I
nordertounderstandgender,onemustunderstandthedifferencebetweengenderand
sex.Sexpertainstobiology,
particularlythedifferingsexualorgansbetweenmaleandfemale.
Gender,
ontheotherhandisonesownsexualidentity.
Forexample,atransgendermaybea
manwhoidentifieshimselfasawoman,whileatranssexualhadanoperationtochangehis/her
sexualorgans.Allpeoplefallunderoneofthetwocategoriesofsex
(withtheexceptionof
hermaphrodites)
,while
genderisaspectrumofgenderidentity
.Onewouldbelievethatsinceall
fetusesbeginasfemale,maleandfemalepsychologyshouldnotdiffer.However,thisisuntrue.
Societyhasderivedgenderrolesfromsexualroles:Womenendurethepainofpregnancy
andchildbirth,whichgiveswaytomostifnotallgenderstereotypes.Forexample,when
consideredforajob,menarestatisticallymorelikelytolandthejobthanawoman,because
womenhavethechanceofbecomingpregnantandneedingtimeoffformaternityleave.
Conversely,overthecourseofhumanhistorymenhavebeenrespectedmorethanwomen,as
womenhavebarelyearnedtheircivilrightsoveracenturyago,andmenhaveahistoryof
competingwithothermen(hencethephrase,maythebestmanwin).Althoughtechnically
consideredillegal,theaveragewomanregularlyonlyreceivesaboutseventyninepercentthe

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salaryoftheaveragemale,
accordingto
TheSimpleTruthabouttheGenderPayGap(Fall
2015)byCatherineHill,Phd.,
thevicepresidentforresearchattheAmericanAssociationof
UniversityWomen(AAUW)andanauthorofAAUWreports
.Butwhyisthisunfair?Are
womennotthecaretakersinfamilies?
E
ssentially,genderiscreatedbysocietyassexclearlydeterminestherolesindividuals
areexpectedtofulfill.InNighttoHisDay,JudithLorber,professionalemeritaofsociology
andwomensstudiesattheGraduateCenterandBrooklynCollegeoftheCityUniversityofNew
York,exploresbothgenderrolesandgenderexpectations.Shenotesthat...everyonedoes
genderwithoutthinkingaboutit.Todayonthesubway,Isawawelldressedmanwithayear
oldchildinastroller
(Lorber)
.Althoughtheideaofpushingachildonastrollerwouldmore
commonlybeidentifiedas
amaternalduty
,themanshedescribes
receivespositivefeedbackfor
caringforhischildnotatraditionalmasculine/paternalrole
.Sincesocietyquestionstheideaof
amanassumingamorefemininerole,onemustquestionwhatconstitutesbothmasculinity
andfemininity.Similarly,inBecomingMembersofSociety,AaronDevor,professorof
sociologyandacademicdirectorofTransgenderArchivesattheUniversityofVictoria,Canada,
explainstheconceptofsocialmeaningsofgender.
Researcherstesttheestablishment,depth,
andtenacityofgenderidentitythroughtheuseoflanguageandtheconceptsmediatedby
language.Thelanguagesystemsusedinpopulationsstudiedbymostresearchersinthisfield
conceptualizegenderasbinaryandpermanent...Peoplearebelievedtobeunabletochange
genderswithoutsexchangesurgery,andthosewhodochangesexareconsideredtobeboth
disturbedandexceedinglyrare(Devor,36).Becausegenderisbinary,societyinevitably
dividesmalesandfemalesintoseparate,respectivegroups.Inaddition,peopleassignedtoa

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differentgender(suchasgenderless,transgender,transsexual,etc.)areviewedasabnormal,even
thoughgenderissupposedtobeonesownidentityratherthansocietys.Althoughmanywould
assumedifferencesbetweenbothgenders,thosedifferencesremainunclear.
InRethinking
WomensBiology,
author
RuthHubbard,professoremeritaofbiologyatHarvardUniversity,
explains:Iwanttostressthatweneedhavenoideologicalinvestmentinwhetherwomenand
menexhibitbiologicaldifferences,asidefromtheobviousonesinvolvedwithprocreation.I
havearguedthatwecannotknowwhethersuchbiologicaldifferencesexistbecausebiologyand
society(orenvironment)areinterdependentandcannotbesortedout(Hubbard,50).Intheend,
notwopeoplecanlivethesamelives,eveniftheyareidenticaltwinsbiologicaldifferencesare
irrelevanttothefactthatmenandwomenalikelivedifferentlives.Therefore,discriminating
eachgenderbytheirapparentdifferencesonlydividessocietyfurther,andissimplyunfairto
bothparties.
I
ntodaysstrugglewithequality,andthecontinuedconflictofcivilrights,societyseems
tocatertomen.Nowonderwhymanyfeministshaverisenwithinthepastdecade,withoutthe
needformasculinists.Inaddition,sincemenareexpectedtotakecareoftheirchildrenas
womendo,notonlyshouldwomenbeabletoperformmasculinetaskswithoutjudgment,
womenshouldreceiveequalpayaswell.Notonlywillthefuturelikelybegenderless,
society
alreadylackstheneedforgender,sinceweareallsimilar,asstatedabove.
Althoughsocietys
viewofmenasthedominantsexcreatesaselffulfillingprophecy,...Fortunately,ourtrainingto
genderrolesisneithercompletenoruniform.Asaresult,itispossibletopointtomultitudinous
exceptionsto,andvariationson,thesethemes...Itseemsmostlikelythatgenderrolesarethe

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resultof
systemic
powerimbalancesbasedongenderdiscrimination(Devor
39
).Therefore,
itis
unfairtocharacterizebehaviorasmasculineorfeminine
.
Althoughmalesandfemalesdifferslightly,weallpossessthesamebasicnature.For
example,humansareconsideredoneoffewtypesofanimalswhohavetheneedtobelong.In
ordertomakesocietyuniform,wemustfulfillthisneed,bytreatingeveryonethesame.

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WorksCited
Devor,Aaron:BecomingMembersofSociety
Groner,Rachael,andJohnF.O'Hara.
ComposingGender
,(3545)2009.Print.
Hubbard,Ruth:RethinkingWomensBiology
Groner,Rachael,andJohnF.O'Hara.
ComposingGender
,(4652)2009.Print.
Hill,CatherinePhd.
TheSimpleTruthabouttheGenderPayGap(Fall2015)
<http://www.aauw.org/research/thesimpletruthaboutthegenderpaygap/>