he Impact of Heteronormativity on the Transgender Community
In society, children are taught expectations as to what is sociably acceptable: who to like, what to wear, and where to live, based on of the environment they grew up in. As children grow up, and go on through life, they then begin to impose these expectations onto the people around them. More often than not these societal expectations conform with that of a heteronormative mindset1. In a modern western context, heteronormativity is the notion that people fall into distinct genders, male and female, and lead natural roles in life all while conforming to the ideology of traditional binary gender roles. Such heteronormative bias asserts that traditional binary gender
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Accompanying these gender idealist notions came a set of criteria as to how a woman should act around men, present herself, and deal with various other social aspects of life. This perpetuated the idea that woman were nothing more than subservient caretakers(see figure 1). Such criteria iphysical appearance before the arrival of their husband from work, having dinner ncluded prepar Tphis mentality created obvious implications such as the belittlement of woman, therepared before t idea of male dominance, and unequal opportunities for woman, while reinforcing the notion of female standards and the treatment of women as second class citizens. On the reverse for men, there was the notion of the "ideal man" in which men were personified as powerful, mysterious, and dominant figures, who would take care of business, the Mad Men, Don Drape-esque image; this also helped to perpetuate the "ideal woman" stereotype. Although western society is more progressive than in the 1950's, these deep seated personas of man and woman continue appropriate gender roles (men are still strong and women are still pretty), the only difference bStatistics Canada, Gallup Politics) and conform to these appropriations (to some eing that woman extent), it is assumed that they are culturally normative which causes minority groups to fall outside of the sociological norm. This cultural script thus
Women’s social standing was very important to both men and women. A woman’s appearance was the easiest form of determining her social class. If a woman was dressed in a skirt and blouse or a
Stephen Bonnycastle lists a set of traits or stereotypes in his work In Search for Authority, that are considered "feminine" and an opposing list that is considered "masculine"; these traits seem to be inevitably true to life (Bonnycastle 10,11). For example, one of the traits listed is emotional, women are expected to be emotional and when this is not the case a man is often confused and indifferent towards the woman. This is especially the case if she is not emotional she is viewed as not feminine. Any time a woman does not fit the idea of what society expects of her she is outcasted and frowned upon. This hatred runs even deeper if a woman crosses over into what is considered "masculine", a woman who shows any type of authority over a
“The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of a women begins when the doctor says, ‘It's a girl!’” Women are forced to conform to a set place in society, and the pressure they feel to conform starts when they are born.
Society expects males and females to adopt, accept, and accommodate specific gender roles and stereotypes that have been previously established. In western society, males are expected to be an alpha, independent, and athletic type, whereas females are typically expected to be obedient, nurturing, and reserved. Society demands conformity to an enforced gender order. When these gender norms are pushed beyond its boundaries, it is common for labels to be given, questions to be asked, and individuals to be ridiculed. While “traditional” gender stereotypes have remained fairly constant over the past few centuries, they have also been challenged.
No one lives with a specific gender until the age of three. That’s when most children begin to explore their surroundings and learn to categorize themselves as boys or girls. Moreover, the difference in strength between male and female turns into the foundation of gender stereotype. Generation by generation, we inherit this socially constructed rules that society puts on us. With a background like our society, Lois Gould----the author of “The Story of X” examines how individuals would blindly follow the mainstream under the impact of society and how they might force people to confront due to the faith in common values.
Both Deborah Blum’s The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over? and Aaron Devor’s “Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes” challenges the concept of how gender behavior is socially constructed. Blum resides on the idea that gender behavior is developed mainly through adolescence and societal expectations of a gender. Based on reference from personal experiences to back her argument up, Blum explains that each individual develops their expected traits as they grow up, while she also claims that genes and testosterones also play a role into establishing the differentiation of gender behavior. Whereas, Devor focuses mainly on the idea that gender behavior is portrayed mainly among two different categories: masculinity and
These key ideas are harmful societal expectations of a woman
Social norms in the United States reflect a gender binary, hence there are cultural expectations for women and a different set for men. Nurturing, aggressive, reckless, polite, flirtatious, strong, independent could describe either a male or a female, but we subconsciously associate these traits as either feminine or masculine because our culture has reinforced that notion.
Gender roles are the portrayal or demeanor learned by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by the prevailing cultural norms. Currently many women and men are trying to escape the traps of society that force them into a precise “women” or “man.” Why are women who want to better the way they are, seen as wrong because they want to one-up men. To what extreme will culture go in order to manipulate women into believing they need to live by certain rules created by the thought that men are and will always be better than women. The goal of our research paper is to show the gender norms in each culture, and to inspire the readers regardless the gender to diminish the boundaries that gender roles, and society form and try to demand from an individual. We will first address communication between the genders, the gender norms in the Mexican culture followed by the Russian culture and the African culture. Then we will address the genders at work and home as well as the eyes of society. In many different cultures, the stereotypical aspect of how women should be, result in women being inadequate to express their true feeling and thoughts because of the fear of being dishonored, thought of as less and the fear of being less of a women than those that remain in the women stereotypes.
In the social realm of life men and women have to meet different standards brought on by different sanctions to certain actions. This shapes the way that the general populous’ mannerisms carry over to the perception of the public eye. Women are still seen as subordinate to the male population by many factors and in some circumstances act lesser due to the pressure put on by the influential factors of society brought on by an older way of thought, made apparent usually by the figures who shape the behaviour of the individual.
Throughout today’s society, almost every aspect of someone’s day is based whether or not he or she fits into the “norm” that has been created. Specifically, masculine and feminine norms have a great impact that force people to question “am I a true man or woman?” After doing substantial research on the basis of masculine or feminine norms, it is clear that society focuses on the males being the dominant figures. If males are not fulfilling the masculine role, and females aren’t playing their role, then their gender identity becomes foggy, according to their personal judgment, as well as society’s.
Gender roles are categories that characterize what it means to be feminine and masculine in society, on how people think about gender as they relate to one another (Adams et al., 2013). For example, women are expected to be accommodating and emotional, while men are usually expected to be self-confident and aggressive, this shows how men and women are to behave in society. However, these sayings were taught to individuals based on norms, or standards created by a society which is called Gender Socialization (p. 318). Growing up as a child, we were taught as girls to play with dollhouses, pretend kitchen sets, cleaning supplies and play dress up. Whereas boys are taught to play with cars, sports equipment’s, action figures, and weapons. However, if a boy was playing with dollhouses, or playing dress up, he would be considered gay, or not masculine and looked down upon by society, and families. The same goes for girls who play with boy toys, or dresses as a tomboy, this is what we are taught to play with at a young age. Our families tell us how to behave, our schools tell us what
Children learn as early as age two what it means to be a “boy” or a “girl” (Aina & Cameron). This is described as gender identity, a person’s sense of self as male or female. Gender stereotyping emerges hand in hand with the development of gender identity in Early Childhood (Halim). Gender roles are society’s expectations of the proper behavior, attitudes and activities of males and females. When babies are born they are either put in pink or blue, as they grow up they still maintain the same “gender” colors. As young children start to socialize, they are playing with either “girl” toys or “boy” toys. When they get older they
Their roles were still emphasized as wives and mothers. Women were viewed as naturally suited to a different social role than men, and sometimes known as inferior to men. This was a social issue because woman had to be told where they were allowed to go and what they were allowed to do according to their husbands.
In today’s society, the imagery of men and women are portrayed in their different personalities. The ideal male is always characterized as being competent, stable, tough,