Gender Identity
Many people in society think that "gender" and "sex" are the same thing. In reality, they are far from being the same. "Sex" is based ones anatomy, while "gender" is how one identifies. This basically means, you could be a girl, and have all physical features of a girl, but in your mind you think of yourself as a boy.
In my sociology class we watched a video of small children answering questions about gender.
"Are you a boy or girl?"
"Does the boy doll or girl doll make more money?"
"Who likes to clean the house: the girl doll or boy doll?"
So on and so forth. While watching I could tell that the clip was dated. During the whole clip, I kept thinking to myself, "if they asked the same questions to kids today, the answers would be completely different."
I see many news stories of young twins, and one twin identifies with the opposite gender. This is becoming more of a societal norm. There is even a TV show about a transgender 14 year old, who was born a boy, but ever since he was little he wore dresses and wanted to be a girl. Instead of fighting with the child, his parents allowed the child to get a sex change, to feel more comfortable. Now she is happier than ever.
I believe that our society is made up of more forward thinking citizens, and I think, soon, it will not matter if you are male, female, or transgendered. The gender stereotypes are fading into the background and will soon be gone forever.
What do you all think of gender stereotypes? Will they last or disappear completely?
-ab(BAE)
I am very happy to see gender stereotypes slowly extinguished, and i agree a lot with your article. However, if the children of the present were asked the same questions as the ones you described, I am not entirely sure their answers would be very much different from those provided by the children in the video. Although our society is becoming more accepting of other genders and sexualities (which is great), children are very prone to stereotypes at a young age.
ReplyDeleteI am very happy to see gender stereotypes slowly extinguished, and i agree a lot with your article. However, if the children of the present were asked the same questions as the ones you described, I am not entirely sure their answers would be very much different from those provided by the children in the video. Although our society is becoming more accepting of other genders and sexualities (which is great), children are very prone to stereotypes at a young age.
ReplyDeleteDo kids under the age of 5 understand what it means to be homosexual, heterosexual, transsexual etc. to be able to answer the questions differently than the ones in the video?
ReplyDeleteDo kids under the age of 5 understand what it means to be homosexual, heterosexual, transsexual etc. to be able to answer the questions differently than the ones in the video?
ReplyDeleteI think I have seen the show that you are talking about on TLC and it is pretty interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat video sounds interesting! I think it's great that people are finally accepting transsexuals more and more, it allows individuals to truly be who they want to be!
ReplyDeleteI don't think our gender stereotypes will fade, it will always be a traditional thing that boys wear blue and girls wear pink. Of course some stereotypes will fade, such as the husband going to work and the wife taking care of the baby.
ReplyDeleteIts jazz! She is so empowering! I do think the wuestions would be answered differently maybe not completely but it would show improvement in acceptance.
ReplyDeleteI hope that these stereotypes that keep people down soon disappear. I don't think anyone should be forced into behaving or living a way they don't want to. With our progressive and forward thinking generation, I really believe we can change our world for the better, including dissolving gender stereotypes.
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