Gender Identity

Recently I read an article about gender identity. In this article, the writer talked about the differences between gender and sex and the different theories about how we, as humans, recognize our gender. To make things more clear to understand, I have drawn and written out four diagrams. I think that they are easy to understand.










 



I never actually thought about the difference between sex and gender. To me they were always the same thing – until now.

The article (Stewart) clearly pointed out the difference. Sex is the biological term used to differentiate between a male and a female. Gender is the socially constructed idea shaped through our interactions with others in society that helps us determine whether we are masculine or feminine.

In today’s society I think that gender stereotyping has become less and less of an issue. I mean, back in the day of my grandparents women were given “women’s” jobs or expected to be a homemaker. Men were expected to work and make the money. Now, it is more socially acceptable for women to be in the workplace and they have a wider variety of occupations to choose from. However, it is still difficult for a woman to receive a promotion, or hired for a high ranked position as well as paid the same as a male worker.

For me, this sort of stereotyping has not yet been an issue. But I am a living example of gender stereotyping. Before I was born my parents knew that I was going to be a girl. They prepared a room for me of all things they considered feminine. My grandparents bought me a doll to play with. My parents decided on a name for me that identified me as a girl. Soon as I grew older I began to play with Barbies and I learned to braid hair and I wore clothes that identified my gender as feminine.

I remember one time when I was young and my younger brothers were really into baseball. They got on a team and started playing and they played really well. I mean, they were absolutely brilliant! My brothers were the best players on their teams. They also began to gain more and more of the attention of my parents – which I wanted. So, one day I went up to my mom and asked her if I could play baseball. I figured that since my brothers were good at it, I could become just as good. My mom told me no, baseball was for boys and that I probably wouldn’t be as good as they were – because they were boys. She told me I could play softball because it was a girl sport.

                As you know, my favorite television show is The Office. I find the topic of gender identity and gender stereotyping to easily applicable to this popular television show.  One of my favorite characters on this show is Pam Beesley. Take her for example. She is the secretary of the office. She is also a woman. Pam has a stereotypical desk job for a woman. Seriously, how many men do you know that are secretaries? It is also part of the comedy of the show that the producers and writers would put a woman in this position. Pam, then, falls victim to many of the office jokes concerning women – which also refer to gender.

                However, there is one exception to the rule in this show. We have Jan. Jan is Michael’s boss. She is a manager at corporate. She is also Michael’s girlfriend at one point in time. I personally think that he just likes her because she is in a position of power and he could potentially use her to get farther in his career at Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

 Source: Stewart, et.al. Communication and Gender. p. 13-36.