Aaron: “Very young children learn their culture’s social definitions of gender and gender identity at the same time that they learn what gender behaviors are appropriate for them (426).“
Caitlin: I believe this statement is accurate because when children are young, they are taught what behaviors are acceptable and how to react to certain situations. Aaron’s thoughts are very much in tune with what I think about gender and how it affects the way people grow in society. I believe that children learn about behaviors from the moment they are born because of how people act around them. This statement can be seen in everyday experiences when you see boys being taught that dolls are for girls and that they should play sports. For girls, they are taught that they should focus on looking beautiful and should be interested in clothes. I remember when I was younger that trying to identify if a person was a male or female would be based on their clothing and hair style. If a boy had long hair, I probably would have thought that they were a girl and if a girl had short hair, I more than likely thought it was a boy. Children that are around 5 typically don’t identify gender by anatomy.
Aaron: “These two clusters of attributes are most commonly seen as mirror images of one another with masculinity usually characterized by dominance and aggression, and femininity by passivity and submission. A more even-handed description of the social qualities subsumed by femininity and masculinity might be to label masculinity as generally concerned with egoistic dominance and femininity as striving for cooperation or communion (427).”
Caitlin: I agree that this statement is quite true in our society today. However, I do not agree that this is the way things should be. I see no reason why men always have to be the dominant people in society and that women must always submit to men. I think this idea is an ancient concept and way past due for a makeover. Women today are on the rise in politics, are well-educated, and have very substantial careers. This idea that men are supposed to be the “bread-winners” in society really irritates me because it makes me think that they believe they are better than women. Women can think for themselves and should not have to “cooperate” with men all the time.
3 comments:
I completely agree with you about Aaron's viewpoints. His work was obviously from a much older time when women were to only think of others and not themselves. Now-a-days women aren't cooperative because they're too busy trying to establish their own life and career and isn't going to do every single little thing a man tells her to do. What, does he think of women as slaves?
I also recall a time when I identified gender by hair length.
I agree with what your saying. Since children do not know what is right from wrong, they are very vulnerable to the effects of the people and media around them. They will just follow the things that are portrayed around them. I also with your viewpoints about Aron's many of his thoughts are pretty archaic. It seems that hes implying that society itself has not changed throughout the past century. I just think many of his thoughts are just outdated.
It seems like we all have the same ideas on gender and culture. Alyssa, I sort of do think he views women as slaves almost. He expects us to be submissive and do whatever it is that men say. (Hm, he needs to get a clue). JP, you are so right about children being vulnerable to what is said by the media. I think it definitely influences their decisions,especially teenagers. They seem to be even more so influenced by the media and what they advertise on television.
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