My Personal Gender History And Gender Socialization

My personal gender history began in September of 1995, when I was born a biological female in Bethpage, Long Island, New York. Growing up, I would say I had an atypical gender socialization experience. Girls were playing with dolls, learning to prepare food and clothes and essentially everything that is associated with â€Å"women’s duties† and boys were playing with toy cars, weapons, and action figures, while being encouraged to practice different sports. Upon this humanly devised and regulated binary, how does our society determine or define so-called manhood and womanhood? How are these constructed? Gender socialization begins the moment we are born, from the simple question â€Å"is it a boy or a girl?† (Gleitman, Fridlund, Resiberg, 2000) We learn our gender roles by agencies of socialization, which are the â€Å"teachers† of society. The main agencies in Western society are the family, peer groups, schools and the media. In respect with gender socialization, each of the agencies could reinforce the gender stereotypes. Gender differences result from the socialization process, especially during our childhood and adolescence. In American society, the color pink is associated with girls and the color blue with boys. Even as babies, boys and girls are dressed differently, according to what is considered â€Å"appropriate† for their respective sexes. Because I was born a biological female, my family automatically decorated my room with every pink or purple item imaginable, and I wasShow MoreRelatedGender, Gender And Gender Roles863 Words   |  4 PagesGender can sometimes be seen as biological characteristics humans have, when in fact it is the social characteristic ones society deems either masculine or feminine. Sex, on the other hand, is the biological differences in humans, for example, hormones and sex organs. People usually play gender roles in society, otherwise known as gender ideology. 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