Reconco, Erik

Reconco 1

Professor Ditch
English 114A
December 9, 2014
How are we supposed to be?
Judith Lorber the author of Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender,
Claire Renzetti and Daniel Currans From Women, Men, and Society, both have something
different to say about gender in our society. Lets start off by explaining their own definitions of
gender. Gender isn't the same as sex. For example sex has to do with biological characteristics. In
the human world we generally have two sexes, male and female. Gender has to do with
masculine and feminine. For example a masculine gender role is something like being strong or
dominant. While a feminine gender role is more like emotional or submissive. Back on the main
topic, both of these articles propose a common theme. The theme i found common in these two
articles is that we as humans put gender roles on people such as the way they should act, look,
and dress according to their sex. A women should act and look feminine and a man should act
and look masculine or it is seen as nonconforming and it is commonly looked down upon to non
conform to socially constructed norms. However, in our society, that outlook on gender is slowly
changing due to the people we are surrounded by and the culture we were raised in. My
university for example shows how people are more understanding if a man acts feminine or a
women acts masculine. Some people might see some different themes in these articles, but this
one stood out to me because it showed how society takes it when a specific sex acts non
accordingly to their gender.

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Judith Lorbers article is focused greatly on how gender can be changed through society
and culture. She compares gender to culture because it can be diverse. A man in some cultures
can act with feminine gender roles and it is seen as okay. However in our society here in the U.S.
generally speaking, a man who acts femininely, for example, a little too emotional, can be seen
as weak or even gay because that characteristic of being emotional is typically speaking, a
feminine gender role. I am a male and can be emotional sometimes, to some people in my
society here in the university i can be seen as weak because that is not a masculine gender role
that i am displaying. I need to be strong and emotionless to fit in with the societies definition of a
male. I can be harshly criticized if i were to move to a society where displaying feminine gender
norms is strongly looked down upon.

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Today fathers are taking care of little children, girls and boys are wearing unisex
clothing and getting the same education,women and men are working at the same jobs. (Lorber
21) Lorber is explaining to us how gender roles are being changed. Most societies see a man
taking care of their kids as progress and a good quality for a man to have, but some societies see
it different. They see it as a man shouldn't take care of the kids, a women should take care of
them while the man is out working bringing food to the table. So some societies see the way
these gender roles are being used among the sexes and either react in an accepting way and say
well the world is changing, might as well adapt, while others see it as what has become of this
world. everything is getting messed up, we need to fix this. Some people will criticize or accept
the changing uses of gender roles. Lorber also explains how girls and boys are wearing clothes

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not accordingly to their sex. In some societies a girl should wear earrings or colors that
correspond to their sex. While a male child should wear clothes and colors according to their sex.
This is done so people can differentiate them and not confuse their sexes. But should we really
have to dress our children according to their sex just so people could know what sex they
are? Aren't we all human?

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The other article By Claire Renzetti and Daniel Curran has the same theme i found in
Lorbers article. They explain how gender is introduced to young children and show how gender
roles are placed on kids to show them how they should look, dress, and act. They explain
research shows that parents do have different expectations of their babies and treat them
differently based on sex (Renzetti and Curran 76). Society expects a baby girl to wear gender
constructed girl clothes like dresses, act like a girl, and boys to wear loose clothes and act like a
boy since the male is considered to be the athletic one. It is very common to see this in kids . I
know i do that with my nephews. I tell them to act like their sex, and if they act the incorrect way
i correct them and tell them how they should act. So gender roles are proven to be placed on
children right from the start through my own experience and others close to me.

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Parents communicate differently with sons and daughters. Parents use a greater number
and variety of emotion words when talking with daughters and sons. They also talk more about
sadness with daughters, whereas they talk more about anger with sons (Renzetti and Curran 79).
This quote shows how behavioral gender roles are placed on children like how a boy should act

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and how a girl should act. Parents speak to girls in a more soft tone because you cant talk to a
girl in a rough voice because girls are considered more fragile. While with a boy you could talk
very rigid to them because boys are expected to take on tougher things. When talking to female
friends i tend to speak more nice and in a more formal tone. When talking to friends that are
males i let all of my unconventional vocabulary loose. I don't hold back on what i want to say.
Same goes for all my close friends. It goes to show how similar gender roles were placed on us
on the way we should talk and behave when it comes to talking to talking to male friends and
when it comes to talking to female friends.

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Even though American parents do not express a strong sex preference, research shows
that parents do have different expectations of their babies and treat them differently, simply on
the basis of sex (Renzetti and Curran 76). They explain how parents expect different from their
babies and will thus show them how to act accordingly to their sex to achieve the socially
constructed goals society has for the sex of the baby. However nowadays women can become
almost anything and parents won't restrict their kids on what they want to become because the
children will grow up in a more understanding society such as the western society in the U.S.
Gender roles are constantly being placed on people based on their sex. People have it fixed in
their minds that a man should act masculine and females should act feminine. Maybe we should
break that thinking?

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Both of these articles explain what gender is and how it is used. They each have a little
bit of a different main topic but both clearly have a common theme, that we as humans put
gender roles on males and females. A male should act masculine and a female should feminine,
and if this cycle is broken the person may be criticized or he or she may be looked good upon. It
really depends on how its seen by different people within their societies.

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Gender plays a huge role in my life. It defines the way i treat people, the way i act, look,
and express myself. Being a male i have to be masculine, but I'm not always masculine. I can be
a feminine gendered person and still be a male. Gender does not correspond to sex, as Lorber
explained in her article. Lorber went right into what she wanted to explain to her audience.
Which is good because you know her point right from the start. Renzetti and Curran do the same
and express their point quick. Both of these articles show their views clearly on the differences
between sex and gender and how gender roles are placed on people based on their sex. They also
show that the western society is slowly changing this habit of placing socially constructed norms
on people based on his or her sex.

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Works Cited

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Lorber, Judith. Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender. Composing Gender.
New York,Boston. 2014. Print.

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Claire Renzetti and Daniel Currans. From Women, Men, and Society. Composing Gender.
New York, Boston. 2014. Print.