Social Construction Of Gender Roles Essay

Words: 1642
Pages: 7

Americans live in a country that controls the opinions and outlooks on social topics around the world. Gender is defined as a state of being male or female, while gender identity is defined as a personal concept of oneself as male, female, or both (Medscape). This idea is relative to the concept of gender roles, which is defined as a presentable embodiment of male and female identity. It is difficult to determine if what people think of gender identity is their own idea or if it is a product of a consumer based society. For more than twenty years, the ongoing debate has been whether or not gender is a part of nature or if it is nurtured. Nature is often defined in this debate as genetic or hormone-based behaviors, while nurture is most commonly defined as environment and experience (Good Therapy Nature …show more content…
The viewpoint on who is in charge of what part in a relationship has transformed from the famous “Make me a sandwich” line to the response of “Go and make your own”. Should a woman cross her legs or can she sit openly like a man? “Am i allowed to burp in front of people?” “Can I cry or is that not masculine?” Can a person be who they are and not be limited by a stereotype that is not even correct? There are aspects of separating gender that can be dangerous and make us closed minded to those who may identify fluidly. The idea of gender roles becoming gender neutral breaks the chain of natural thinking, but that identity as both genders are already breaking that mold. The idea of people being genderfluid, someone who identifies as both genders at alternating times, or transgender, someone who is physically one gender but identifies as the other, is a concept that does not fit into a specific gender role. It is a category that lacks a purposeful representation. It is a product of nature and