Gender Roles

Words: 1870
Pages: 8

In forming gender roles and maintaining those roles, language is a very important element. It is important because language is shaped by and reflects culture, which is needed in order for us to understand gender. As we all know, males and females are treated very differently from each other beginning at a very young age. Male children are taught to not show fear or sadness, being ridiculed and made fun of if they cry or show fear. Female children are told that it is “unacceptable” or “un-ladylike” to lash out in anger when they’re upset. So from early childhood on, males are tough and authoritative while females are gentle and less assertive. Men and women do in fact think and speak differently from one another. Even if a male and female …show more content…
The concept of losing my surname in order to take my husbands last name doesn’t bother me one bit, but other women sure have something to say about it. It is believed by some that the act of taking your husband’s last name means that you are his property, in a way, and that you lose your identity and have to start all over again. This explains why some women refuse to take their husband’s last name at all or hyphenate it with their maiden name. Yes, I can see how taking her husbands name could affect her professional life and be a hassle to get her name changed, but I see the pride in taking his last name. For instance, my boyfriend, brother, and brother-in-law are all three the only boys on their side of the family, therefore they are the only ones that can pass their surname on. So I see the importance and pride the husband has passing their name onto their …show more content…
Non-verbal communication is something that fascinates me. I like how she asked the audience to take note of their body position as they sat there and listened. It made me assess my body and its position and really got me thinking. Body language says something about a person without that person saying anything. It helps us make our own judgments on someone. It’s also very important to take notice of your body language when you’re out on the prowl for a date or a job. Because body language can say more about someone that their words can’t, we can better understand that person and decide whether we want to date them or hire them. Cuddy also talked about the possibility of “faking it until you make it.” I’ve heard of this concept and I’ve always found it extremely intriguing. As of right now in my personal life, I’ve been diagnosed depressed. Over the past few months, I’ve been learning how to deal with it. This concept of faking it until you make it has been brought up to me many times and I always wondered if it really worked. Could I really fake being myself again enough to make my brain actually believe it? As of right now, I’m still not quite sure of this, but listening to her talk about it really made sense. What really caught my eye was the question “Do our bodies change our minds?” It makes sense to me that if you smile when you’re happy, if you fake a smile for just a little bit it can in turn make you happy. It’s