Gender is a social construct in which people are identified and assigned roles in society based on that identity. Society forces us to take on those roles and is rigid in its beliefs. People are put into boxes based on their assumed gender/genitalia and then must fit into the stereotypes and assumptions of society or they won’t fit in. Gender in society has of course become less rigid over time but we still see the effects of it in our daily lives. Women still take their husband’s last name (arguably a sign of belonging to him) and are expected to be the caregiver while the man makes money etc. We can also see gender being reinforced in children’s toys, boys have toy guns and cars and girls have toy kitchens and dolls to take care of. Men are expected not to share their feelings which can lead to negative mental health effects (higher rate of suicide). We also see gender in oppression. Women have historically been paid less than men for the same jobs etc. And the above are just the women and men, but there are other genders that have faced even worse ostracization and oppression. Transgender individuals have had to face so much negativity and lack of empathy from society. Even recently they’ve been the target of laws that negatively affect them. Examples of this would be under the trump administration he targetted transgender individuals in the military, who already face so many difficulties. And just a few months ago states made it illigal for transgender women to compete in women’s sports. Gender is a social construct so though many only know about a few, there could be many more as many people don’t fit into their assigned social boxes, and they shouldn’t have to.