When looking up gender on the internet the definition provided is “either of the two sexes (male and female), especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones.” I think the biggest thing we must take in consideration when looking at this definition is the idea of gender being more a social and cultural construct. 

where do we see it? I think the real question is where don’t we see it. Gender is everywhere. From clothings to colors, society has pressed the idea of everything having a specific categoric place of either male of female. Lets look at colors for example, before you’re even born depending on if you’re a boy of girl there are certain colors society has deemed worthy of you wearing. For example, if you are a boy the color blue is already associated with your gender seeing as it Is deemed a more “masculine” color rather than pink of purple. Another example we can look at is emotions and how it’s associated with gender norms. For a very long time society made it Clear that for men, their job is to be the bread winners of the household and unfit to show any type of emotion as It would make them weak where as women were supposed to be the care takers and give the children the love and emotion.

This ultimately relating to power and privilege. From the beginning of time men have always had more power and privilege than women. This being because society has made up this idea that men posses certain qualities and characteristic that women don’t. This in the end effecting women place in society as a whole. I think a prime example in which we see this is the gender wage gap. The gender pay gap is the difference in the average hourly wage between men and women across a workforce. This being a consistent problem seeing that it has been proven that women put in way more effort than men yet get paid less. In the end, in ever case scenario, men always benefit more than women. 

And while society has pressed these ideologies when it comes down to gender and how things are categorized, The truth behind it all is that these ideas are unreal and unfair to the world we live in today. We have seen that in the world we live in today we cannot place people In these 2 boxes to try to understand them but realize that gender exist in so many different forms.

Gender, defined by Google is described as “either of the two sexes (male and female), especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones.” We see the two categories of gender enforced upon us everywhere, in the media, in products, clothing, etc. The terms of being “masculine” or “feminine” are thrown around constantly, putting limitations onto people.

There are always gender roles or norms placed upon people. For example men are expected to be stoic, powerful, bold, whereas women are seen as sensitive, emotional, submissive. It’s seen everywhere- mostly coming to mind when thinking about clothing products or marketing in general. You walk through a shop and see “mens razor” and “women’s razor”; nearly identical products, but pink colored for women and blue/gray tones for men. Gender itself is subjective, and there are many ways to identify yourself. However, there are many people that only believe in the idea of “men” and “women.” This mentality leads to gender inequality and puts people in fear to define themselves as what they choose.

Gender inequality has always been around and you see it in jobs. One coming to mind is the film industry. Most of the time, female directors speak about how male actors refuse to work on their projects because they think the movies won’t do as well. The film industry is filled with successful male directors, whereas female directors don’t even get their films funded.

Gender is not assigned, but what you choose to identify as.

Gender is the way someone labels themselves to help describe the way they express and present themselves. Gender is seen everywhere in our society. The media plays a big role in defining and reinforcing gender roles. This could be seen in movies, or even in advertisements that target certain groups, such as the target audience for kitchen appliances would be women. This could also be seen when the target audience for sports equipment is boys.

Throughout history, men have been in positions of privilege and power. This causes them to generally have fewer obstacles than others. This is because men made the system that directly benefits them, meaning these obstacles are extremely systemic. This could be seen in the gender wage gap or in the justice system’s reaction to sexual assault accusations.

The idea of there only being two genders is restrictive. Identity and expression are everchanging and should not be limited to any number. People should be free to express themselves however they want without needing any labels.

Gender, as stated by Medical News Today, “can refer to the role of a male or female in society, known as a gender role, or an individual’s concept of themselves, or gender identity.” Some people may see gender as just simple male or female and others see it as a whole spectrum.

Society definitely stresses gender roles to an extreme that it does not need to be. Men are expected to be tough, hardworking, and dominant while women are seen as emotional, weak, and submissive. In modern day society, this is not always the case. Older people don’t always understand that it’s a new era and continue to enforce these gender roles but the younger generations know that the times are changing and people are less willing to be put into a box.

Society as a whole is what actually enforces these gender roles and power. People get one idea stuck in their head because others are continuously repeating it and that’s how people end up stuck and feeling not like themselves. In the case of modern day society, men are the ones with the power and privilege. Women and all others are forced to stay quiet and listen in most cases. Women are more likely to get assaulted or shamed for their actions or even things out of their control. As a woman, I experience this every day, at work, on the street, in my own home even. Men also experience harassment and assault and its definitely legitimate but not to the extent that women experience it. Men do not fear for their lives every time they speak to someone or step outside.

There may as many genders as people decide there are. Gender is a false concept created by society which is commonly mistaken for sex (which is not the same thing). Whatever people choose to identify as is valid.