POSADA 1

Katherine Posada
Professor Beadle
English 113A
21 August 2015
Progression I Essay
From birth we are given a specific sex whether it be female or male. Once
categorized in that sex we have to follow certain expectations and rules that each gender
adheres. Many people are trapped behind closed doors not expressing who they want to
be because they are afraid of the criticism theyll receive if they do. Many people in
society have gotten so used to these gender roles placed on women and men that they are
very closed minded and will annihilate anyone who does. In the book Composing Gender
by Rachael Groner and John F OHara they both discuss the importance of gender roles
in the text. Throughout the book there are several articles discussing the topic of gender
but two articles in particular are similar because they discuss how society shapes
individuals to fit a certain gender. The article, Night to His Day by Judith Lorber
discusses how many people in society are judged solely on their looks. For example, such
as their appearance or the way they act. It explains the difference between sex and gender
and how it plays a role in todays world. For example, sex refers to the biological
characteristics one possesses and gender refers to roles, behaviors and expectations
society has.
Furthermore, society plays a big part in gender roles because if it werent for
society, people wouldnt be worrying looking a certain way. People have always been
judged by society, it addresses the topic of always having to look a certain way and act
the part youre given. Acting feminine if youre a female or vise versa, acting masculine

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if youre a male. Through out my life I have seen others being criticized because of what
people wear, look, and act if their gender is identified. Throughout my experience, both
my friends and family have judged me on of what I wear and how I look. For example, I
remember wearing baseball Ts and baseball caps in my teen years and always getting
criticized for wearing masculine clothing. Being different in this world is something that
is not allowed and is something that is considered wrong for many. Gender roles must be
followed or you are the outcast of society.
Another familiar article is No Way My Boys Are Going to Be Like That by
Emily W. Kane which also addresses a similar topic to gender however the parents are the
ones that have preferences to how they want there child to come out. If they have a girl
they want them to act feminine and continue to play their role as with boys, they want
them to act masculine. I can relate to this because in my childhood their was many times
when I had to wear a certain type of clothing in order to fit in with my parents standards.
My mother would dress me as my gender, which in this case was pink for being a girl and
acting like one too. For instance, every time I would wear a dress for any special occasion
I would be mandated to cross my legs and sit and act like a lady. These roles are
addressed by our parents and are taught by our own role models. Learning from others
about gender roles is gender construction and it starts with children learning about gender
in a young age. Thus in the future when someone breaks a gender role they are influenced
to think that it is strange or simply taboo. There are many situations in life where there is
many gender roles being a part of everyones daily lives and are being broken.
Nevertheless, parents are acting as society because they to want to categorize
their kids into the sex they are given. Parents have the fear of their kids being

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homosexual but have a bigger fear if it was with their boys. Surprisingly most parents
have a problem with the males being homosexual and not acting their gender. Gender has
always been a subject that both articles refer to throughout the text and discuss the topic
of the roles one should surpass in becoming one in society.
In the article Night to His Day by Judith Lorber she discuss how society has
shaped many by constantly creating and re-creating the human interaction. Lorber states
how every girl or boy is classified into categories and is given a certain role to play.
An example in the article Night to His Day by Judith Lorber makes is an example of
riding the train and seeing a baby wearing a white crocheted cap and white clothes. You
could not tell whether it was a girl or boy. The child in the stroller was wearing a dark
blue T-shirt and dark print pants. As they started to leave the train, the father then put a
Yankees hat on the childs head, making it more difficult to tell the gender. Then as
theyre walking off the gleam of tiny earrings in the childs ears and little flowered
sneakers and trimmed socks. Making the child a girl and not a boy after all.(Lorber 19)
Many times society has a way of getting to people in a way that makes us judge gender
by there appearances.
In the article No Way My Boys Are Going to Be Like That by Emily W. Kane
discuss how parents want their children to be fit into society and conform to their gender.
Kane explains how parents have preference toward males and wants them to not become
homosexuals. Kane states they reported allowing or encouraging traditionally girls toys
such as dolls, doll houses, kitchen centers and tea sets(Kane 91). They consider
themselves failures as parents if their children ever become homosexuals especially with
males. Kane discusses the way the parents allow their boys to play with specific kind of

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toys. They could either play with trucks and solider however it does look right for a male
to play with Barbies and girl toys. In many responses of the parents, these are the typical
concerns the parents had to accomplish gender with their sons. For example Hes asked
about wearing girl clothes before, and I said noHe likes pink, and I try not to
encourage him to like pink just because, you know, hes not a girl(Kane 93). All these
specific gender roles are put into peoples heads all because society has a huge impact on
many individuals and categorize people into their proper gender. Many people argue that
gender roles should not be broken and should be kept the same because theyve been and
stayed the same for as long as they can remember and if these gender roles werent
specified then our society as we know it would have no order. Despite that many believe
that changing gender roles is against the norm change is actually a good thing because we
help other have an open mind which leads those hiding behind gender roles be true to
themselves and not following what others consider to be normal.
I argue that society does have a huge impact on people and that it can be a
dangerous thing because many times people do not wish to come out and say whom they
really are. Gender is displayed as something that shows who you are as a person and
whether youre women, men or transsexual you can always break from the status quo and
be who you are and express who you want to be as an individual. The idea of society
constructing people to become who they are is what effects peoples identities. As
children develop and become who they wish to be, they find out that breaking gender
roles isnt always bad. Instead it should be looked at as something that makes you
different from the rest in society.

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Work Cited
Lorber, Judith, and Emily W. Kane. ""Night to His Day": The Social Construction of
Gender/"No Way My Boys Are Going to Be like That":Parents Responses to Children's
Gender Nonconformity." Composing Gender. By Rachael Groner and John F. O'Hara.
New Jersey: Richard Stockton College of New Jersey