Salas 1

Anthony Salas
Professor Beadle
9/21/15
English 113

Progression 1 Essay
In society people know each other from two different sexes, as men and
women. If a person begins to act like the opposite sex they begin to be criticized by
society and are seen as an outcast. Many people who change their sex wonder why
they are rejected and seen as monsters. The reason is because of the rebellion to
break an important role in society, which is called gender roles. In the novel,
Composing Gender, by Rachael Groner and John F. O Hara, it consist of many chapters
by different professors from various universities. They all explain an important role
in society which people follow because of their sex. On the other hand, two authors
go in depth about gender roles, Aaron Devor, who wrote, Becoming Members of
Society and Emily W. Kane, who illustrated, No Way My Boys Are Going to Be Like
That. Both authors present a role, in which every person follows because of their
sex. This role we follow is called gender roles. At first Aaron explains these strange
looks that we receive from other people when we begin to break gender roles; since
everyone follows these rules it is strange when people begin to act like the opposite
sex. Gender roles are not only broken when people change their sex, but also when
men do feminine activities or when women do masculine activities. I can relate to
this because there are times in which I did something that was considered feminine
but I was a child and I was still learning about these so called gender roles. In
connection with Groner and OHaras novel, Devor and Kane both give many
examples in which society criticizes individuals because gender roles maintain
stability, yet threatens their reputation.

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To Begin, It is important to know the difference between sex and gender. Sex
is knowing that you are a man or women because of your genitals. Gender is the
role you follow in society, such as men being more masculine and women being
more feminine. If the baby is a boy, then he must be dominate. If it is a girl, then
she must be passive. In Devors article, Becoming Members of Society Devor
explains how as kids we begin to discover about gender roles. As children we begin
to learn about the differences boys have from girls. As we grow, we begin to learn
that there are expectations that we must follow because if we do not follow these
rules, then there is a possibility we can get rejected by society. In the article,
Becoming Member of Society, by Aaron Devor, he states, Children start to
understand themselves as individuals separated from others during the years that
they first acquire gender identities and gender roles. (Devor, 37). This
demonstrates that as children, we begin to discover what gender roles are from the
role models we learn from. Some of the roles models can be parents, teachers and
even friends. These people can help us discover how are sex are supposed to act in
society. In society, men act masculine, meaning they are confident, dominate and
strong; women are feminine, which they should act passive, emotional and weak.
Learning from others about gender roles is gender construction and it begins a child
to start learning about gender in a young age, so in the future when someone
breaks gender roles the grown child can judge the individual because they are
manipulated to think that it is strange to break those roles.
In addition, some controversy about gender construction is that it makes an
individual not tolerable for people, who change their sex or break gender roles. As
children, they begin to learn that breaking gender roles is not allowed and it grows
with the child as they grow. Aaron Devor states that, As children, and later adults,

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learn the rules of membership in society, they come to see themselves in terms
they have learned from the people around them.(Devor, 35). When Devor stated
membership this demonstrates that people are disrespected and out casted when
they break the rules in society. The rules that are reinforced is gender roles because
people grow up thinking that gender social order is mandatory. Once it is broken,
people do not want to be involved with the people who break the rules. When I was
a child I use to watch a cartoon network show called, Power Puff Girls; the show
was about these three super hero girls that fought villains. One night my father
made me watch another show called Dragon Ball Z because he thought I would
enjoy it more. Society believes that only men are capable of defeating the
antagonist in television shows. This shows that as children our parents try to teach
us about gender roles, so we can avoid not being rejected by society. As a child, I
did not know my father made me watch another more violent show that involved
the man taking the dominate role and being the hero of the situation, it is a part of
patriarchy, in which, men are dominate and in shows such as Dragon Ball Z it
portrayed how strong and dominate men can be. But I thought it was more
entertaining seeing a hero beat up a villain to death. But after reading these articles
it makes me think back and notice that my father was teaching me about gender
roles as a child.
Furthermore, Gender roles are constructed everywhere we go. When we walk
down the block and we see a girl in a dress and a boy in a leather jacket, we know
that they are following gender rules. If there was dysfunction then the girl would be
wearing the leather jacket and the boy would be wearing the dress. When we are
children we begin to discover about gender roles in society. We begin to follow
societys rules and this is known as gender construction. This affects our identity

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construction because as child we are programmed to think that being a boy and
playing with girl toys is improper. Emily Kane explains if a boy plays with something
feminine it must be at least a bit masculine to not demolish the boys image and
make people think he is a homosexual. In Kanes chapter, No Ways My Boys are
going to be Like that, Kane discusses a claim from Kimmel that states, notion of
anti-femininity lies at the heart of contemporary historical constructions of
manhood. (1994, 119).This quote exemplifies that men cannot act feminine. When
young boys do feminine activities they get negative responses from their parents.
The reason is because of gender roles and how society pictures of a man acting
masculine. This helps construct the way children begin to act as adults, they
criticize people who break gender roles just like their parents gave negative
responses when gender roles were violated. It is not an individual to blame of their
behavior but the way society and people that programed the child to think that
gender roles must be followed.
Moreover, Emily W. Kane gives examples in how our parents begin to teach
us about the way our sex is supposed to act. Kane explains her study on a husband
and his wife and how they will allow their child to play with feminine toys but it
should include a bit of masculinity. In Kanes study , No Way my Boys are going to
be like that, a father states, I would ask him what do you want for your
birthday...and he always kept saying BarbieSo we compromised, we got him a
NASCAR Barbie (Kane,94). This portrays gender roles because the childs father is
still try to give a touch of masculinity in his childs activities. Parents protect their
childs dignity and make sure their child know gender roles so they can avoid
societys hateful judgement. Some parents follow gender roles so passionately that
if their child starts acting like the opposite sex then the parents feel like they failed

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to raise them. In the chapter, No Way my Boys are Going to Be Like That, by Emily
W. Kane, a father states, If [he] were to be gay, it would not make me happy at all.
I would probably see that as a failure, as a failure because Im raising him to be a
boy, a man (Kane, 96). The father feels like a failure because as a father figure he
must teach him how to act masculine in society because of his sex. Gender is
protected within families to ensure that a child acts just the way society wants them
to act. This is the reason why homosexuals keep their secret quiet or in other terms
stay in the closet because they are afraid of the disapproval from their friends,
family and society.
In conclusion, Gender is an important rule to be accepted in society. People
who violate these rules become outcast and are seen as a disgrace in society. As a
child, I never knew what gender was. All I knew was that I was a boy and I did not
love hearts or cute things that girls liked. I knew I had to suck it up when I got
hurt and take it like a man because I was supposed to be strong and dominate. As
I grew I became following gender rules such as not going to watch Titanic 3D with
my friend because I did not want to waste my money on a girl film; I would rather
spend my money on a violate video game. Gender roles shaped and programmed
me to think in a much more critical way when people violate the roles of their sex.
Both authors both agree in how gender roles must be followed for people to be
accepted in society. They both explain how if outliers begin to ignore gender roles
then society will be crucial to those individual. As society progresses many people
are discriminated because they violate their gender roles but what they must
understand is that gender roles is taught in a cycle. As child grow they begin to
understand what they are required to do for their sex. After they learn and grow to
have kids of their own, they teach them about gender roles and it never stops. That

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is the reason why I grew up with that mindset, I follow and came to understand that
gender roles is part of society.

Composing Gender
Groner, Rachael, and John F. OHara. Composing Gender. Boston: Leasa Burton, 2014. Print.

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Devor, Aron. Becoming Members of Society Composing Gender. Groner, Rachael and John F.
O Hara. Eds. Boston: Leasa Burton, 2014.Print
Kane, Emily W. No Way My Boys are Going to Be Like That Composing Gender, Rachael and
John F.O Hara. Eds. Boston: Leasa Burton, 2014. Print