In Learning to be Gendered by Penelope
Eckert and Sally McConnell- Ginet the authors discuss that gender is not of
which we are born in but what we are taught and learn by. In the book it says “until about the age of
two, boys and girls exhibit the same play behaviors. After that age, play in
boys` and girls` groups begins to diverse….” We are born not knowing of gender
and because of gender norms we learn at an adolescent age of what gender we
are. In a way it is bad to classify certain traits and ideas with men and
others with women, but it does play a role in how we learn to establish
ourselves. In The book, she also talks about how names were gendered
differently in the past. She says,” Evelyn was available as a male name in
Britain long after it had become an exclusively female name in America, and Whitney,
once exclusively a surname or a male first name in America, is now bestowed on
baby girls.” Gender norms have changed drastically. When we older gender norms
become typically broken, but unspoken of. As women now have more courage than
the average male as they enlist in the army and protect our country. Women have
now started a new trend of gender norms that is breaking the barrier. In the
past women would be viewed as the maidens of the house. As men being compared
to women, we pictured it as a being inferior and as a sign of disrespect. We
would be made fun of, but women in the present are not just housewives. Some
provide the income necessary to support the family, contrary to the idea that
is a man’s` responsibility. There will always be gender norms in life ridiculing
every man and women.
I essentially agree with you that Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet, authors of Learning to Be Gendered, believe that gender is something to be taught not born into. Gender norms seem to dictate so much; what colors are appropriate for us to wear, and the names we are supposed to give our children. I had a friend who was a boy and his parent's named him Shelby. Everyone always thought this was a strange name for a boy since usually Shelby was considered a girls name. In this case gender norms may not have been harmful but just ridiculous. No one should feel as though they have restrictions on what they can name their child just because society says "that's a boys name" or "that's a girls name". I do believe that gender norms are hurting individuality. People should have freedom to express themselves in every way they wish. If a boy wants to wear pink I say let him. As long as there is no harm being caused to others then it is okay to take a stand against society's gender norms and say, "we aren't going to let you define us, we are all individuals, and we will find our own way." It is so important to know who you are and society created such intricate gender norms that many people are deprived of this. Gender norms not only cloud judgment but also creates more judgement towards others whom stray away from that norm.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion about this gender norms is, is it really needed? Can the world go on without gendering things, such as, “…nurseries provide pink caps for girls and blue caps for boys…” From personal belief, the people in the world wouldn’t be the way they are now. If we weren’t taught about these gender norms people would act in different ways and most likely have different preferences for what makes a boy and what makes a girl. In the color sense of course. It’s not necessarily harmful for society or individuals but it certainly has shaped how our minds work and how we see society today. Girls are supposed to like pink colored objects such as dolls, bracelets, and many more objects for girls. It doesn’t matter what people really like. In fact, I really like the color pink, I believe that it is a very cool and pretty color. Some people however argue that pink is really girly, or not masculine enough to be worn by men, which is a fine opinion, but if we had not been taught about these norms would these people argue this statement? Like I said, gender norms don’t harm us, but they do restrict our advancement when it comes to people not accepting that blue can also be taken by girls and that pink can be taken by guys.
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely right, there will always be gender norms. Due to who we are as a society gender is something which is arbitrarily assigned to us, not by biology, but by society. The text brings up an interesting subject that I had never really thought of before but is actually very obvious. In it the other says somethings that stands out, "The newborn initially depends on others to do its gender". That sentence highlights a critical part of society, that gender is something you do. It, gender, is a verb not and adjective.
ReplyDeleteNo is this a problem with society? Well no, not necessarily. I think while we can all agree that these restrictions limit individual freedom of expression it is not necessarily bad for anyone. What would happen if we did not have gender assigned to us all? Probably nothing we would be very comfortable with. I think we all like the way things are, restricting as they may be.