Vatsala Poddar Week 1

“Night to his Day”: The Social Construction of gender   -Judith Lorber

Gender is a concept widely spread in the society and is constantly created and reinforced with its connected stereotypes. Certain attributes determine the society’s conception of who a girl and who a boy should be like and whenever somebody deviates from these notions, they are seen as ‘odd’. Gender is a fluid concept which does not depend on the reproductive organs, but in some western societies there is always a binary between men and women. However, certain societies recognize transgenders as “male woman”. Transsexuals are not considered a third gender; they go through surgery and change genders to either a woman or man. Their dressing, way of dressing, taking, appearance etc. play an important role in the society’s approval of their fitting in the binary. The hormonal changes during puberty only determine the sex and in no way affects the gender. The societal gender norms affect the raising of a child in an environment where he/she has to act, behave and appear in a certain way, parents too fall under these to give effect to gendered parenting. Sometimes responsibilities such as jobs are also selectively given according to a person’s gender. What is important to note is that there is a lot of room for institutional change so that the category of one being the dominant one and the other being submissive can disappear. We live in a society where the social structure governs the individual identity of something as personal as one’s own gender. Gender is a social construct, but the society should not begiven the power to actually influence someone or for that matter alienate those who deviate from these conceptions. This is an individual’s choice and one must be given the freedom to confer with the gender they identify with. Even though society cannot completely be separated from this, its role must be limited.

The gender Trap: Parents and the Pitfalls of raising boys and girls   -Emily W. Kane

Glamour Babies” and “Little Toughies”

 This article also talks about how parenting is affected by societal notions of gender and the challenges that parents face if they want to raise their child in a neutral environment keeping in mind their own biases apart. There are many kinds of parents, some who are affected by what other would think if their child deviates from the known binary and some who do not pay heed to it. Interestingly, gender is a result of dominant societal forces which are organized under some kind of power. Both the readings talk about a ‘gender trap’ which is a socially created mechanism which reinforces gender stereotypes. A child essentially is inclined towards one due to parenting where parents usually differentiate between their daughters and sons. Societal expectations also come into play to influence one’s gender.  This ranges from taking the pain to dress them in a particular way, selecting toys and colours along with the type of stories they would narrate at night. The author basically says that even if parents want a neutral environment for their child, the society always interferes and plays an equal role in molding the gender of the child. 

Both the articles talk about gender being associated with a certain set of characteristics which are socially determined. The first one talks about how society directly influences gender norms and the second one talks about the role of a parent in one’s childhood. 

Submitted By:

Vatsala Poddar 

BA.LLB(Hons.)

18010450