Sunday, December 29, 2019

Essay about Women and Men Are Made, Not Born - 987 Words

‘Women and men are made, not born’ The statement by Simone de Beauvoir, ‘Women and men are made, not born’ proposes that a person acquires the identity of a man or a woman over time, by means of complex social processes. Beauvoir’s statement suggests that gender roles and behaviour are not inherent and that social positioning should not be determined by sex. This essay will begin by drawing a distinction between sex and gender, and will then discuss two arguments that explore the origins of gender difference; social construction theory as implied by Beauvoir’s statement, and the biological determinist position. Gender refers to the socially constructed categories of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ and the attributes and behaviours that†¦show more content†¦The assertion, ‘Women and men are made, not born’ conveys that we become gendered people. Children are born as blank slates, through their interactions with people; infants learn what sex has bee n attributed to them and what this entails. They acquire their sex and gender by a process of modelling, imitating parent, teachers, siblings of the same sex and so forth. The reinforcement of this behaviour eventually causes the child to internalise the gender identity attributed to them. To support their argument, social constructionists argue that gender cannot be inherent because variations in femininities and masculinities occur across cultures, across a particular culture over time, within a culture at the one point in time, and because there is heterogeneity within one sex. However, there are limitations to the theory; research shows that many boys and girls of a young age make gender stereotyped choices themselves, irrespective of whether parents actively create a sex-neutral environment. Thus, children’s early spontaneous gender commitments cannot be readily explained by the social construction theory. Furthermore, attachment of adult men and women to elements of mas culinity and femininity that they desire to transcend, particularly men and women involved in men’s movement and women’s movements respectively, suggests that gender is something that is embedded and not malleable. On the other end of the continuum is the biological determinist position.Show MoreRelated Why men should do cosmetic surgery Essay641 Words   |  3 Pages Plastic surgery has always been overrated by Hollywood celebrity stars in the past. Nevertheless, all the decisions made about plastic surgery were well known by women. Nowadays, the trend for cosmetic surgery has changed dramatically because more people seeing cosmetic surgery in some way is more normal and acceptable. Cosmetic surgery is a surgical procedure that can be performed primarily to enhance ones physical appearance and self-esteem. Sometimes it is necessary for some people to have plasticRead MoreShakespeare s Viewpoint About Gender And Gender Roles1412 Words   |  6 Pagesaccomplished this missions by manipulating her husband and attacking his manhood. Macbeth was a noble, respected man but due to the manipulation of his wife he became a very ruthless leader after he became king. The witches told him no human â€Å"woman born could hurt him† so he went on a killing spree, killing anyone who intimidated him or got in his way. Macbeth became cold hearted, pessimistic and fiercious. However Lady Macbeth ends up becoming vulnerable, which resulted in her having sleepless nightsRead MoreThe Sexual Revolution During The 1960 S1512 Words   |  7 Pagesthe emancipation of women, who are the chief victims of patriarchy, and also with the ending of homosexual oppression.† Kate Millett could not have described the Sexual Revolution any better, a sexual liberation to argue that women are in fact, equal to men in more ways than society allows. In the 1960’s, women began to catch on that women are treated inferior to men, in ways that women are a disgrace if they were to have intercourse with many men, whilst it is acceptable for men to have several sexualRead MoreA Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman1454 Words   |  6 Pagesam drawn by the evidence that she provides to support her claim that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. Her essay is one that discusses overcoming the ways in which women in her time (18th century) are oppressed and denied their potential; which naturally presents a problem in their household as well as society. The essay is one of the first works of feminist philosophy. The title alone suggests that women have been oppressed, doubted, denied and criticized for a period ofRead MoreJohn Stuart Mills Analysis Of The Oppression Of Women947 Words   |  4 Pages The Subjection of Women looks at the society and its struggles in adjusting to an environment where women are treated equally. John Stuart Mill’s approach to changing society comes from the viewpoint that after many years of su bmission and discrimination, women should be treated equally. This conclusion comes from a reflection on past classes of people that were similarly oppressed. Mill looks at similar situations throughout history where one certain group was dominant over another submissive groupRead MoreThe Innocence of the Devil by Nawal El Saadawi722 Words   |  3 PagesGanat was accused for being born with her eyes wide open, not wearing a veil and supporting Satan. The judge that tried her was an oppressive man and sent her to an asylum for treatment. I thought it was injustice that Ganat had no say in what was accused of her. Having wide-open eyes when born was in no way Ganat’s fault yet she was punished for it, simply unbelievable! I understand that in the Islamic culture, a women needs to keep their head down but what does a new born infant know about culture/religionRead More Human Gender and Mathematics Essay1381 Words   |  6 PagesGender and Mathematics Is there a difference in the mathematical ability between men and women? Historians have no precise method of quantifying or comparing their individual accomplishments (Olsen). Not only in mathematics, but also in many other career areas in the past, women were looked upon as inferior to their male counterparts. Women were not encouraged to pursue a career in mathematics. Historically, women were seen working around the home, cleaning the house, taking care of the childrenRead MoreGender Roles : Undermining The Female Gender1732 Words   |  7 Pagessociety men are supposedly the predominant gender, which then leads others to believe and treat women as the subsidiary sex. Women throughout history have endlessly worked to earn their rights, while men basically have everything offered to them. Recent laws have given women more freedom and rights, thus convincing people that gender roles are no longer a problem. Regardless of what society has convinced people, women still do not have e quality because of gender roles. In this world, men have beenRead MorePersuasive Essay On Transgenders1524 Words   |  7 Pagescompeting with an unfair advantage. The biological men are causing a big problem around the world. They are breaking records and winning competitions in wrestling, weightlifting, track, softball, volleyball, basketball, mixed martial arts, and more. Transgenders competing in women’s sports ask for equality, but it is proven that men are bigger and stronger than women, so they are making the sports unfair for the biologically born women. You are either born as a male or a female, with this being said, youRead MoreAll Men Are Not Created Equal Essay1161 Words   |  5 PagesAll Men are Not Created Equal Since the beginnings of our nation’s it has been implied that all people should be viewed as equals but the question is, are all people seen as equal? Our founding fathers wrote that all men were all one of the same. Everyone is familiar with Thomas Jeffersons famous quote, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.† The passage claims that we are all equal but where is the proof that we are? It was stated in the Declaration of Rights

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.