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Joana Hernandez
Professor Corri Ditch
English 114
29 September 2014
Gender stereotypes
Many people often make comments due to stereotypes placed upon female and male
making people judge on their sex not gender. For example, when people say "you can't wear that
or that's not for you thats for the opposite sex." Some are as intense as "Don't be a girl" referring
to don't be emotional nor afraid and more of "Be a man" referring to being aggressive and brave.
If being a man is more valuable and better than to be a women, yet that's how society constructed
it to be. Social construction is important on how people started to categorize yet now it has
people creating gender stereotypes. Theres various types of stereotypes that have to do with
gender and some people don't realize when they are doing gender or when it is done. I have
found myself doing gender as well. In "night to his day" by Judith Lorber and in "Women, Men
and Society" by Claire Renzetti and Daniel Curran, talk about doing gender and how stereotypes
play a role in it.
In the article "Night to His Day: The Social Construction, Judith Lorber explains how
people created a social construction to place people on to two categorize either youre a female
with feminine characteristics or male with masculine characteristics not both. She mentions how
she has done gender and various types of situations where she usually encounters, on a typical
day, scenarios where people distinguish female and male and stereotypes. Also she mentions
different examples of how and when gender is done even when some don't realize they are doing
gender.
In the article "Women, Men, and Society", Claire Renzetti and Daniel Curran examines
and explains how children encounter gender stereotypes at an early age. These authors explains

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how most parents participate in gender stereotypes and apply it to their children even if they are
not yet born. When they find out of the sex of the baby they dress them a certain way so they
avoid confusion. Renzetti and Curran talk to parents and observe parents-child interactions on
how and what they do with a daughter compared to their sons and their actions if one of their
children is a non-conformer.
While I was reading "Women, Men, and Society" Renzetti and Curran wrote "I dress her
in pink and she always wears earring, but people still look at her and say, 'hey, big fella.' What
else can I do (P77)?" Informing us how she tried so hard for society to refer her daughter as
feminist. I also notice that in Lorber article "Night to His Day" she wrote how when a new baby
is born they usually distinguish a girl by wearing pink and a boy by wearing blue. That's
participating to gender stereotypes already. Both of them gave example on how people
participated on gender stereotypes without people really thinking it was stereotyping.
Throughout theses article they explain how society has taken stereotypes.
I myself have been placed in gender stereotypes as I grew up. When I was born I had
pretty much everything pink and everything was so feminine. I had pink blankets to clothes
growing up. Yet still today I don't consider pink as one or my favorite colors. I still remember
when I got my first bicycle, it was pink with butterflies and with pink, white and purple
streamers coming out of the handlebars. I didn't understand why my neighbors bicycle was blue,
it was simple but had more of a masculine look. As time went by, I started getting older and I
started to make my own decisions of what I wanted and I what I liked. I have two sisters and one
brother but my brother moved out when I was around three. So the household contain mostly
females while my dad stayed as the only man. It was easier for me to be raised as a feminine child.
I used to play being a "mother" and "baked" good for my dolls. Yet, when I would visit my
brother I wanted to play with him and his car toys or enjoy watching masculine shows like
wrestling and sports. He would also sometimes play house and dolls with me. At first when I

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told my parents I wanted a toy car rather than another doll they were surprised they still bought
the toy. I wanted to have my own toy car when visited my brother. So I would change gender
while I was with my brother to be around him. Until I actually started school I saw some boys
playing and I asked if I can play with them but they responded "Girls don't play with cars."
Society has put that girls should play with certain toys. I was sad because I didn't realize what
was happening so I try avoiding playing with masculine toys until I reach secondary school. I
lost time playing without cars just for gender conformity and stereotypes that are placed on
females and males.
Throughout history people have been fighting for gender equality. Not all gender
stereotypes are bad but the majority of the western people confuses sex stereotypes with gender
stereotypes. Sex is biological while gender is a performance of femininity or masculinity Lorber
mentions "gender is constantly created and re-created out of humans interactions, out of social
life and is the texture and order of that social life (p19)." Gender has limited people based on
strong and aggressive activities should only be for males while females should be based only on
activities of kindness and sensitiveness rather than doing what they desire to do. Gender
stereotypes are typically constructed by social construction. There are some topics of social
construction that gender stereotypes are in, like appearance, behavior, and the preference of
males over females.
Gender stereotypes usually start with appearance. "A sex category becomes a gender
status through naming, dress, and the use of other gender markers (p20)." In stores, owners
already place "men clothes" and "women clothes" labels in their stores to distinguish the clothes.
People are usually stereotype on what they wear. The article by Renzetti and Curran explains
how clothes is a "significant part in gender socialization." It encourages and discourages from
different behaviors and activities. Also, it "sends a message on how the child should be treated
(p77)." Usually a person is uncomfortable until we place a person on an either a female or male

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category. We usually feel uncomfortable because our visuals are focus more on trying to
categorize people.
Many western people often use behaviors as a gender stereotype. "Parents are teaching
their daughters to be more attentive to others' feelings and to interpersonal relationship, while
they teach boys to be assertive, but unemotional except showing anger (p79)." Women are seen
as fragile and are expected to get married and have children. While males are seen as strong and
are expected to be financial provider and protectors. If someone from the opposite sex
contributes to others gender exactions they are often judge for no conforming to gender
stereotypes.
Preference of boys over girls is a part stereotypes. "In many of the western society "man"
is A, "Women" is not A (p29)." Also, in many of today's jobs they prefer man over women even
if they are in the same race and class. Some have different salaries, men often get paid more than
women no matter if they are doing the same exact thing. If a man comes in with a feminine
personality and the job is more of a masculine job I doubt that person will get the job. The
gender stereotype of masculine being better than feminine affect the people.
Yet there is a big controversy when it comes to changing gender. "Fathers are taking care
of little children, girls and boys are wearing unisex clothing and getting the same education,
women and men are working at the same jobs." They are changing gender roles and stereotypes
are now changing saying its okay. However, people are still criticize when they change gender
but it easier for females to be males than the other way around. According to western society, if a
female was to change gender to be masculine it would be okay because being a man is better.
Negative gender stereotypes affects people. It affect peoples emotions of feeling
unwanted or out of place for example, cross-over genders. Western societies have two gender
while other societies have three gender according to Lorber. It also limits many people on what
they can do. I plan to try to not participate in negative gender stereotypes by not choosing for my

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children. If they want to play or dress a certain way I will let them I will try to not let them
conform to gender because of society.
Gender stereotypes is important because it reminds us of the gender biases in our lives
that we take for granted. Many people, at an early age "learn to view the world in terms of
dichotomy." Children have to learn to be either women or men by their parents and the cycle
continuities. When a gender is changed some parents think of it as failure but it only means that
their child isn't being part of gender conformity and breaking gender stereotypes. "Even when we
don't think we are behaving in gender stereotypes ways, or are encouraging gender-typed
behavior in our children, examination of our actual behavior indicates that we are (p80)." Gender
stereotypes has been a "blind spot" that majority of the western people usually don't understand
or don't realize they are participating and should become aware of it because they affect others.

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Work Cited
Groner, Rachael and John F. OHara. Composing Gender: A bedford spotlight reader. Bedford
St. Martin's, 2013.
Lorber, Judith. Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender. New Haven, CT: Yale
University. 1994. Print.
Renzetti, Claire and Daniel J. Curran. Women, Men and Society. Boston, Bedford/ St. Martin's.
2009. Print.