Gender: Gender Role and Life Essay

Submitted By kelly_illingworth
Words: 879
Pages: 4
Open Document
Illingworth1
Kelly Illingworth
English 101
Mr. Planes
March 7, 2014

Who’s Shoes?

Everyone in society wants to believe that their life is hard, much harder than the next persons because this makes us feel tough. This makes us feel like we have worked hard to be where we are and that we are strong people. Does one gender or race really have it harder than another? Clearly there is not a form of measurement we can use to answer this question, but if you asked me I would tell you no, there is not one gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religion (as a whole) that has it "harder" than another. Most everyone has things about their lives that are great. Most importantly everyone has something about their life that is not so great. We all have burdens, things we do not get to change or choose but just deal with for the rest of our lives. Sure you could say that one person’s burdens are worse than another’s, but I guess we would not really know unless we live in that persons shoes. So what life would you pick if you got to choose?
Referring to reincarnation, if I had the choice of who to come back as, I would choose a heterosexual male. Society has cookie cutter molds for how they think women should be. They are held at higher standards and are pressured into being “perfect.” According to Pavica Sheldon, “Up to 88% of women wish to lose weight, as compared to only 33% of men who are unsatisfied with their bodies. The average American woman is 5’4’’ and 140 pounds, whereas the average female model portrayed in the media is 5’11’’ and 120 pounds.” I would like to experience life through the eyes of a man because I want to know what it’s like without the pressures of being “perfect.” I want to see the friends I would make and how people would treat me. Are there societal pressures in the life of a man? I know on one side of the spectrum people treat me a certain way; would that change if I was a guy?
When I wake up in the morning I sometimes spend hours doing my makeup and hair, most guys I know spend maybe ten minutes on their hair. I also believe that experiencing both genders would be enlightening. In the mythological Greek story of Tiresias this man is traveling and stumbles on a pair of snakes mating. He hits the snakes with his stick to make them stop but the goddess Hera was upset; she loved and was an advocate of sex - even for animals. His punishment was swift and extremely cruel - the worst thing in the world a man could imagine. He was changed into a woman, mentally and physically. A couple of years later, after seeing the snakes again, and this time allowing them to have their pleasure, his curse was lifted and he resumed his original form. Just when you think that it’s over, Tiresias gets pulled into a disagreement between Hera and Zeus. Gods are arguing over who has the most pleasure during sex - the man or the woman? They asked Tiresias because he is the only one who had known what it was actually like in both of the two sexual roles. His response was, “On a scale of ten, she gets nine parts of the pleasure to his one.” Hera was enraged, and she instantly struck Tiresias blind. Zeus couldn't do anything to stop her but instead he did
Show More

Related Documents: Gender: Gender Role and Life Essay

Gender Expectations In The Scarlet Letter

Gender role is stereotype that define how does male and female should behave, speak, and dress. It is deep inside of our society, because it happens since the infancy care, such as colors of toys. Usually, toys for boy are blue and toys for girl is pink. Nowadays, children are educated in way to have gender role stereotype when they grow up. In American literature, romantic relationships often confront this gender role expectation like relationship between Nick and Amy in Gone Girl, and relationship…

Words 818 - Pages 4

Gender Roles in Children's Literature Essay

| | |Gender Roles in Children’s Literature | | | |Kate Moore | |11/22/2010…

Words 1849 - Pages 8

Gender Roles Essay

Gender Roles Human Sexuality Psy 120 -Brittany Tucker Gender roles in early and middle childhood appear to stem from stereotypical gender role expectations. Children in today’s society are taught to identify with their gender role before they can even form words. From the moment children are born they are dressed in gender specific clothing and generally given names that fit that role as well. In the videos “Early Childhood: Gender Roles” and “Middle Childhood:…

Words 572 - Pages 3

Essay on Traditional Gender Role

Annie Stenftenagel Mrs. Luebbehusen AP Language and Composition 30 January, 2013 Sexuality and Gender: What Is the Effect of Parental Relationships on a Child’s Sociological Perceptions? “The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says: It's a girl” (Chisholm). Shirley Chisholm could not have been more accurate when she made this observational statement. This statement spills truth onto the plate of the naïve and serves as a rude awakening to the slumbering…

Words 1737 - Pages 7

Gender Roles Sociology

has evolved and created a chain of effects in its wake. Gender roles changed from a survival and a necessity in preserving a species into a cultural formality, creating specific jobs and expectations for both genders in almost every aspect of life. Many cultures adapt similar expectations. Leading one to believe that root causes of gender roles exist and from these roots, variations have branched off, creating a diverse set of gender roles around the world. To explore these shared cultural experiences…

Words 780 - Pages 4

A Doll's House Gender Roles Essay

Gender Roles and Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’ On December 21, 1879 Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House premiered in the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen. A common belief that was heard worldwide was that “a woman cannot be herself in the society of today, which is exclusively a masculine society, with laws written by men, and with accusers and judges who judge feminine conduct from the masculine viewpoint” (Farfan, 2). During the time period that Henrik Ibsen’s wrote A Doll’s House the gender roles were very…

Words 1656 - Pages 7

The Straightjacket Of Gender Analysis

The Straightjacket of Gender The history of gender has always been the tradition separation of men and women in terms of roles and biological anatomy. Some would argue that gender is strictly a natural biological element but others such as Judith Butler argue the complete opposite claiming that “sex as a natural category is itself evidence of its very unnaturalness.” (Addison, Human Sex is Not Simply Male or Female. So What?) Gender is constructed through our interactions with others and through…

Words 713 - Pages 3

Early Childhood Gender Role Research

At birth, gender is assigned. The child is announced boy or girl. How this announcement dictates the child’s life from that point on is determined by parental influence in a home setting, then reinforced by the child’s environment outside of the home (Witt, 1997). There are numerous examples of “appropriate” gender roles according to American society. This paper will first explore the home and the impact that parental influence has. Next, the focus will turn to early childhood, predominantly focused…

Words 650 - Pages 3

Essay on Sexual And Gender Identity

Running Head: Sexual and Gender Identity 1 Sexual and Gender Identity Mayssa Elassaad Human Sexuality (01) Professor Laurie Kosek July 17, 2015 Sexual and Gender Identity 2 Sexual and Gender Identity What makes a person a boy and a girl ? Is it their anatomy, or is it their personal decision? What are some factors that can contribute to your sexual and gender identity ; religion, society, or family? Does there ha…

Words 768 - Pages 4

The Performance Of Drag Artists And The Social Construction Of Gender Roles

states that the social constructions of gender are seen in drag performances. She explores the ideological construction of all gender roles, and rejects the view of drag as copy or imitation of true gender identity. She analyzes drag performances to explain how the gender performativity used by drag artists are not a subversion of the normative gender roles as they initially appear to be. Although drag performances are superficially a presentation of gender binaries, it is more useful to construe…

Words 748 - Pages 3