The Social Construction and Institutionalization of Gender and Race

At first, sex and gender seem like easy words to define.  However, when we attempt to wrap our minds around what it means to be a female or a male, we realize it is far from simple.  Biologically, a male has the chromosomes XY, and a female has the chromosomes XX.  In terms of reproduction, the sex of a person is understandable.  Where the subject matter becomes more challenging is when we try to define the gender aspect of females and males.  Of course, we can describe gender in terms of physical appearance, emotions, and language.  Unfortunately when we tried to describe the ideal male or female, we described these fake people that none of us are or strive to be.  


I disagree with some of the media-made stereotypes that we were portraying in class.  While the media does use the "sex sells" campaign, they have started to show that beauty comes in many forms.  When I was younger, I remember seeing advertisements with models that were super thin and had straight, blonde hair.  I, on the other hand, had an athletic build and curly, brown hair.  With the pressure to conform to this "ideal" look, I straightened my hair and even used sun in (epic failure might I add).  Eventually, I feel that the media started to embrace different shapes and sizes.  They embraced women with curves like America Ferrera, and Tyra Banks decided to have a "real woman"  top model show.  I embraced my curls and body.  I think the thing to realize is that no one is perfect.  Even those who appear to have it all together don't.  The important thing is to let our true beauty shine through.  


I believe that many typical gender qualities that we associate with males and females can overlap.  Yes, our language may spin the adjectives to sound more masculine or more feminine, but when it comes down to it, men and woman are more of a Venn diagram than two separate concepts.  For example, my boyfriend and brother love cooking.  I prefer the so-called male chores like yard work, and I love sports.  In my relationship, I have always been the more outgoing, independent one. My boyfriend is the more emotional one.  In order to avoid being categorized as something we do not want to be, we use adjectives with a connotation that positively displays our gender.