The evolution of human society is closely related to the development of such constructs as gender. This concept defines the roles and responsibilities that are characteristic of representatives of a particular group. However, physical differences are not always associated with the same gender differences, which makes them significant factors of social segregation. Thus, from childhood, a person learns what kind of behavior is expected of him or her in society but can also choose patterns that are personally acceptable.
Gender in society exists exclusively as a social construct that ensures the functioning of its member. Lober (1994) emphasizes that “gender norms are inscribed in the way people move, gesture, and even eat” (p. 57). Through the assimilation of gender norms, a person learns cultural and ideological values that are approved in a particular society. Thus, sameness is expressed in this concept as an example of socially determined behavior.
The difference in society is illustrated by the segregation of the activities of society members depending on gender as a socially constructed element. Lober (1994) emphasizes that the diversity available also allows people to shift between gender-specific activities, which provides them with choices. Thus, if desired, people can develop in themselves traits inherent exclusively to another gender, which provides a difference in society.
In society, a person is trained to be similar to representatives of the same gender. This process occurs, for example, through toys with which it is customary to play. Everyone knows that dolls are more often bought for girls and cars or constructors for boys. Such objects help to explain to children, through play, what responsibilities in the future they will perform in society and what behavior is expected of them. This practice is common today, although the modern world is less structured in terms of gender differences.
The fulfillment of gender roles prescribed by society is necessary within the framework of established social constructs. In this case, do gender means to perform exactly those actions that are accepted and regulated in society. The ways of doing gender include, for example, the division of responsibilities in the family into women and men and the choice of appropriate clothing. I feel comfortable within the gender prescribed for me since childhood, which allows me not to resist it. Probably, one this circumstance is associated with the strong cultural and traditional influence that was brought to me during my early years by members of my family and society as a whole.
References
Lober, J. (1994). “Night to his day”: The social construction of gender. In J. Lober, Paradoxes of gender (pp. 13-36). Yale University Press.