Gender Identity and Social Structures Essay examples

Gender Identity and Social Structures What is meant by identity? Firstly this essay is going to explore what is meant by identity. Identity is made up of individual characteristics by which a person is known. Internal factors such as physical appearance, personality, mental ability and sex would have an effect on a person’s identity. Then there are the external factors such as family, class, religion, culture, occupation and nationality which would influence one’s identity. Then, even beyond all these personal and social structures, societal opinions about gender, race, culture, ethnicity and nationality must have an impact on identity. Many attributes of identity are formed from childhood experience, adolescence, early†¦show more content†¦It is still very rare to find men wearing make-up unless they are cross dressing. There is also genetic evidence which can be used to differentiate between men and women. This is done with a DNA test, which in women would present two X chromosomes and in men one X and one Y chromosome. Generally people would only have two sex chromosomes, but on the rare occasion there have been people with more than two, and in these cases they could be defined either way, male or female. There are many aspects to identity, and there are several dimensions to each of these aspects. Culturally, where we come from, different religions, beliefs and values that we may have. Class, our economic background, education and the lifestyle we have. Occupation and Income. Life experience and upbringing. Change. Biology and Genetics. Society. All the factors that make up a person’s identity are so complex and often intertwined, it is impossible to any one of them, but all are ever changing and always developing, which is why the identity of a person is always changing and forming. In what ways can occupation and employment affect identity? Occupation plays a great role in who we are. In earlier times it was men who went out to work and were the sole breadwinners, while women stayed at home to care for their children and the home. In more recent times, although men are generally the primary breadwinners, there are a significant number of women who are in paid employment. Many women goShow MoreRelatedHow Is Gender Identity Influenced by Social Structures? Essay1292 Words   |  6 Pagesmeant by identity? Firstly this essay is going to explore what is meant by identity. Identity is made up of individual characteristics by which a person is known. Internal factors such as physical appearance, personality, mental ability and sex would have an affect on a persons identity. Then there are the external factors such as family, class, religion, culture, occupation and nationality which would influence ones identity. Then, even beyond all these personal and social structures, societalRead MoreTo What Extent Can We Form Our Own I dentities771 Words   |  4 PagesAre our identities established through choice or constructed for us by society and what is expected of us in line with our gender, class and culture? Can we change our identities to fit in with how we want society to see us rather than how society expects to see us? Firstly we should not confuse personality with identity. Personality traits may be something we have in common with people we meet but identifying with a certain social group is something we choose to do usuallyRead MoreGender, Sexual, And Gender862 Words   |  4 PagesWithin Western society, frequently, we hear the terms ‘gender’ and ‘sex’. However, each of these terms are used interchangeably and therefore incorrectly. We are born, assigned a sex, and sent out into the world. For many people, this is cause for little, if any conflict. However biological sex and gender are contrasting; gender is not inherently nor solely connected to an individual’s physical anatomy. Even so, one’s biological gender or ‘sex’ is determined at birth through physical attributes,Read MoreGender Analysis : No Mas Bebes994 Words   |  4 Pagessocialized to believe that there are only two genders: male and female. The idea of gender is socially constructed. Society and culture create gender roles and through those roles we all learn to enact our specific roles. With this in mind, this essay will seek to exami ne how gender shapes the structural and lived experiences of Chicanxs and Latinxs in the U.S. This essay will draw from Abrego, Acosta, Ocampo, and the documentary â€Å"No mas bebà ©s† to see how gender affects an individual’s experiences in theRead MoreCosmetics: Depicting False Femininity in Vogue Essay893 Words   |  4 Pagesindividual identities. The concept of consumerism allows Vogue to profit materially, targeting certain aspects of culture through three methodological tools of research, such as ethnography, textual, and political/economic analysis. Through the methodological tools of cultural research, I will analytically critique, how, through the use cosmetics in Vogue, the female gender is objectified and leads to profiting political, economic and social systems which distort the cultural identities of women.Read MoreEthnic Identity And Cultural Identity1204 Words   |  5 PagesEthnic identity much like racial identity is difficult to clearly discern a nd delineate. As a social construct, it is an umbrella term that mark a group affiliation to a common origin, culture, religion, or geography; it consists of shared traditions, behaviors, values and beliefs. (Waters, 1990) Outlining the elements and components of ethnic identity, Phinney and Ong (2007) stress its multidimensionality and dynamism, it encompasses several cultural, linguistic, behavioral features as well as beingRead MoreGender Inequality And Racial Prejudice1130 Words   |  5 PagesGender inequality and racial prejudice are alive and well in the United States and around the world despite the strides that have been made here over the past fifty years. Over time fixed notions about gender differences have been interwoven into the fabric of society, each leading to complex interactions among people. Traditionally, most of these rigid views have supported the dominance of men and the subservience of women in most social structures. In her article entitled: Mapping the Margins:Read MoreThe Psychological And Medical Views On Transsexuality Essay1308 Words   |  6 Pagescosmetic surgery for intersex infants has been practiced for decades to eliminate gender ambiguity. Proponents of this practice claim that, by assigning a gender at an early age, parents will bond with their intersex child and the child will be subjected to lower dozes of peer rejection and teasing. They virtually ignore the fact that we are forcing people to be forever haunted by their gender-constructed identities, hormones, plastic surgeries and other medical treatments to ‘feminize’ and becomeRead MoreSexuality Is A Social Identity That Goes Beyond The Objectivity1636 Words   |  7 PagesSexuality is a social identity that goes beyond the objectivity of the title and into the subjective scope of the personal lives of individuals, which in turn fabricate the social constructivism of a nation. Classism, heterosexism, and cisgenderism are further reinforced within t he institutionalization of heteronormativity, being the promotion of the gender binary and heterosexuality as the only valid form of gender expression and sexual orientation. The normalization of this system is not enforcedRead MoreWar And Peace, By Nancy Scheper Hughes And Philippe846 Words   |  4 Pagesdeprivation to injury and death. From an anthropological perspective, all dimensions of violence are shaped by cultural and social structures, ideas and ideologies. In their publication titled Violence in War and Peace, Nancy Scheper-Hughes and Philippe Bourgois suggest that expressions and repressions of violence are sometimes so deeply embedded in broader socio-cultural structures that they go unrecognized. According to Scheper-Hughes and Bourgois, these misrecognized and often invisible forms of violence--