Jacques 1

Angelica Jacques
John Kubler
English 114B
1 April 2014
Nature versus Nurture: Is there an effect on gender?
When an expecting mother finds out that she will be having a son, images of footballs,
trucks, soccer balls, the color blue and stinky laundry may run through her mind. But what
would happen if the baby boy she brought into this world, that she pictured to be the varsity
quarterback, ended up wanting to be on the cheer team instead? You may be laughing at this
thought, but this is a real life struggle that many people face with their children. In the film, A
Girl Like Me, a single mother struggles with the fact that from a very young age her eldest son
the son that was supposed to be the man of the houseacts very feminine in everything he does.
She has to struggle with the fact that her child that was born a boy, may actually want to be a
girl. This movie shows the real life trials and tribulations that families go through when their
child wants to be the opposite gender. In the end, her son was murdered for being who he felt
he should be. Gwens mom did all she could do to try to make her son what society thought he
should be but it never worked. She forced him into liking boy activities and criticized him when
he liked girl things; basically, he was never good enough for her. This whole situation was very
agonizing and she got a lot of hate from society for having a transgender child. Society and
Gwens friends did not think that gender fluidity was acceptable and this greatly influenced his
mom in a way to not accept him. But Gwen could not help that he felt that way! So, this leads
to the question of, is gender based on genetics or how we are raised?
Jacques 2

The controversy of gender fluidity relates to the idea of nature verses nurture. Are we
born with a specific gender or are we shaped as we grow up into our gender based on our sex
organs? Well, this is where the controversy arises. Psychologists say that when we are born, we
are already preprogrammed with our gender and others say that the people we surround ourselves
withfamily, friends, acquaintances, etc.shape us to who we are going to be (McLeod, Nature
vs. Nurture in Psychology). However, there are some peoplelike meand experts who think
that it is the influence of both nature and nurture that make up our gender. The way society
shapes us has a lot to do with our gender but we, as human beings, will be who we want to be.
I believe that this is due to the fact that we are born with a set plan. In this essay, I will argue
why I think that it is both nature and nurture that shapes our gender.
Our nature as a human being and the way we are nurtured growing up both have roles in
the development of our gendered expression. Let me be specific as to what I mean by nature and
nurture. Nature is our genetic and hormonal makeup that is present from conception and it is
usually referred to as our sex differentiation (Find the Right Therapist). Most people think the
nature aspect of this topic is simply what our body looks like. But the nature of our sexual being
also includes the hormonal and genetic makeup. Nurture has to do with the environment that we
are placed in and the life experiences that we go through (Find the Right Therapist). The way we
perceive ourselves has a lot to do with nurture because our experiences and the people we have
around us develop it. This is referred to as our gender identity. It is my belief that there are a
variety of factors that can influence someones gender identity and that includes, ones genetic
makeup and outside influences.
When a baby is born, it is either wrapped in a pink blanket or a blue blanket, which
signifies its gender. Children are put in one of two categories the minute they are born based on
Jacques 3

their biological genitalia. But this is not the end of the story. As Erving Goffman, a Canadian
sociologist asserts, people are actors in a never-ending play, which he refers to as life. In his
book on performative self-identity titled The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, he states that
When we are born, we are thrust onto a stage called everyday life, and that our socialization
consists of learning how to play our assigned roles from other people (Goffman 1). Erving
believes that from a young age, gender is demonstrated to us and it is not in-born. I like this
theory because it shows that the people that surround us from the start have a big impact on our
gender whether they know it or not. For example, balls are bought for little boys the minute that
they have acquired the skills to kick the ball, therefore influencing the traits that they need to be
athletic and tough.
The ways that people affect our gender as we are growing up is summed up very well in
an article written by Susan Golombok and Robin Fivush who are professionals from Cambridge
University. They stated, Parents perceive boys to be stronger and rougher than girls, and girls
to be more delicate and prettier than boys and I believe that this is very true (Human
Sexuality). Parents nurture their children differently depending on their gender. If parents
baby their son, he is more likely to turn out more sissy than the other boys he hangs out with.
And the same goes for girls, if the parents treat their daughter the same way they would treat
their son, she would grow up being tougher than her girl friends. A more specific example of
how parents treat their kids differently depending on their gender is through enrolling them in
gender specific sports. It is unlikely for someone to enroll his or her daughter in football verses
enrolling her in cheerleading.
There are some obvious biological differences between men and women and this is one
of the challenges many researchers and philosophers face when talking about this topic. Thanks
Jacques 4

to nature, it is sometimes easy for parents to identify their childs gender. Once the gender is
determined, the parents, grandparents, friends and so on know how to treat the child once it is
born. Judith Butler is a philosopher and a gender theorist who is very influential in the academic
world. She wrote an essay on feminist theories and she claims, The body is invariably
transformed into his body or her body, the body is only known through its gendered appearance
(Butler 523). The majority of society identifies gender in this way. The physicality of the body
determines your gender, which is why it is difficult for some members of society to understand
others who dont believe they are in the right body. Although, there are some exceptions as to
where women are born with some male parts which then complicates this issue even more. But
as for now, I am only going to focus on people that are born with normal body parts.
How the body is born isnt the end of its gender identity. In the book Persepolis, Marji,
the main character, can tell that her body is going through changes as she is growing up. She
states, Finally my chest developed and my center of gravity was balanced out by the pounds on
my butt! (Satrapi, 35). This is what society likes to call puberty. Both men and women go
through pubertyalthough it is slightly different for each genderit is due to nature. For
example, men grow facial hair, their voice deepens and they grow taller. For women, they grow
breasts and their hips widen. Puberty turns us into more of what nature assigned our gender to
be.
My life experiences have shown me and proven to me that gender is not only biological
but is also learned. I grew up with an older brother and throughout our childhood I always knew
we were different. This is both because of our biological differences and the way we were raised
by our parents. My parents would reinforce that he was a boy and I was a girl. For example, if I
were to fall and scrape my knee on the sidewalk, I would cry for a lot longer than he would if he
Jacques 5

were to fall and scrape his knee. And as we grew older, his physicality became more dominant
because he was always bigger and stronger than I was. We also developed in typical gender
roles. For example, I was more sensitive and compassionate while he was more rough and
straight forward.
Recently I had an experience that magnified the gender fluidity issues. A few weeks
back, I went to my first drag show. While I was there, I saw men transform into women to
perform! If I didnt know that they were men, I never would have thought that they werent
women. The men were doing the splits, going up and down stripper poles and putting on skits
that were originally performed by women! These men have the urge to be and act out a woman
personality and figure just like Gwen Araujo did. This is an abstract example of both nature and
nurture. The men were born feeling as if they should be both women and men which is the nature
portion and they are going against societys norms of not being the gender associated with their
genitalia which relates to nurture. They are going rejecting their parents claims of the typical
boy/girl roles.
The controversy surrounding gender fluidity is obviously going to be around for years
and years to come and it will continue to be debated. Everyone has different opinions on
whether it is nature or nurture that affects our gender the most, but at the end of the day, this
should not matter. Of course, there will never be a happy medium. I think that regardless of
whatever side you are on, or if you are on both sides like me, everyone should be treated with
compassion. Regardless of why someone may be struggling with his or her gender identity,
nature or nurture, we are all human beings and should be accepted. If Gwen Araujo were treated
with this kind of compassion and acceptance he would be here today to lend his voice to this
debate.
Jacques 6

Works Cited
Butler, Judith. "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and
Feminist Theory." Theatre Journal 40.4 (1988): 519. Print.
"Find the Right Therapist." GoodTherapyorg Therapy Blog Nature vs Nurture Debate
Comments. N.p., 7 Apr. 2013. Web. 05 May 2014.
Goffman, Erving. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life: Perfomative Self Identity. Garden
City, NY: Doubleday, 1959. Print.
"Human Sexuality." Gender Is Determined Biologically and Socially. N.p., 1995. Web. 23 March
2014.
Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. New York: Pantheon, 2003. Print.
McLeod, Saul. "Nature vs Nurture in Psychology." Nature Nurture in Psychology. N.p., 2007.
Web. 04 May 2014.