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Dilia Morales Monroy

Professor Ditch
English 114A
30 September 2014
Essay #1
People are born with a specific sex but not gender. Once an infant is born he/she does not
have the ability of being able to know if their sex in our society falls in the category of male or
female. This is something that is learned from their parents, media, and society over all as they
start to develop and they themselves start to build their gender and live their lives according to it.
There is a possibility that many confuse gender and sex as being the same although sex is
biological and gender is a performance that is done by many and it is socially constructed.
Night To His Day by Judith Lorber and From Women, Men, and Society by Claire Renzetti
and Daniel Curran are two articles that present their different views in similar ways by
presenting the reader with a developed topic on gender being socially constructed by Parenting
norms and parenting techniques playing a role in imposing a socially constructed gender to an
individual since birth. It is possible that sometimes it is done unintentionally, without thought by
demanding the child to perform, dress, and even play a certain way. I can personally connect this
to my life experience by seeing how in my culture (Guatemala) people get treated different
depending on their gender and sex as well as experiencing how parenting norms can affect and
build ones future for in a positive or a negative way.
Gender construction has to begin at some point. Individuals are born sexed but not
gendered (Lorber 24). Many people are anxious to know the sex of their baby in order to start
preparing and greet the infant into a welcoming specific environment. In her article Night To

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His Day Judith Lorber claims for the individual, gender construction starts with assignment to
a sex category on the basis of what genitalia look like at birth (20). If the child is said to be a
male, parents will most likely buy what are said to be masculine things for their baby boy. They
will buy clothes with colors like blue, black, gray, and decorate the babys room with toys that in
society are intended to be for boys. For example: soccer balls, basketballs, and toy cars. In the
other, hand if the child is said to be a female, parents will prepare with feminine things, think of
female names, decorate the girls room with feminine colors including pink, purple, white and
buy toys that are intended for girls to play with.
Parents try to raise their child a certain way by they way they present their beliefs of what
it means to be a boy or girl in American society. This is done with the idea of constructing
certain gender roles that seems to fit their Childs gender. With that being the case, parents have
certain expectations for their kids and want them to perform a certain way. Claire Renzetti and
Daniel Curran in their article From Women, Men, and Society state research shows that
parents do have different expectations of their babies and treat them differently, simply on the
basis of sex (76). An individual will most likely play in a soft, gentle matter with their baby girl
and in a more physical rough way with their baby boys. Parents will buy dolls for their daughters
and toy cars for their sons. While the child is growing up, he/she will be presented with these
differences, not only from their parents but also from social media, school, and televisions.
Theres a certain image that is set to differentiate boys and girl, males and females. Most are
either rewarded and praised or punish and judge depending on how well he/she play their gender
role.
There are several sources in society that contribute to the construction of gender. Some of
them are in the childs-learning environment, the shows they watch on television and social

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media. Kids are exposed to them on a daily basis. In school boy and girls are required to go to
specific separate bathrooms. Kids look up to teachers or kids that are older than them. They
follow same-gender leaders and act in gender appropriate ways (Lorber 25). If one of their
friends is very popular and acts in a certain way, the others will most likely do the same because
they believe that action to be the only right one and they dont want to not fit in. Television and
social media also play a big role when it comes to constructions gender roles. In television,
many of the TV programs and commercials are intended to influence boy and girls to act a
certain way, to play with certain toys, and show the difference between boy and girls in general.
For example in a commercial of cars, it will show a little boy playing and having so much fun
with his male friends. However, in a commercial of Barbies it will be a girl brushing the
Barbies hair, and having play dates with other girls. Another of the things Ive seen often is girls
playing with toys that are intended for females and roles that women have to follow as they grow
up, like cooking, cleaning and over all just being a housewife.
Real men dont cry is a phrase that I have grown up hearing. My dad has been one to
enforce that rule with my brothers. In his culture, crying is a sign of weakness that men are not
supposed to show. He grew up with that mentality therefore, making my brothers grow up in that
way too, in a way where they cant express themselves or show too much emotion because then
that would be consider something feminine. Of course, sometimes it is inevitable not too, like for
a funeral or some other situation that is serious then it is okay but for things like them falling or
crying and whining because they dont get what they want thats when he enforces his rule. As
they have grown, I have experienced how this has come to affect them and build their
personality. I have been able to notice that, especially on my older brother. When he goes
through hard times, instead of crying and talking about it, he hides his emotions. He doesnt have

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many close friends just acquaintances. However, him and I have a very close, open relationship
where we can talk about anything, therefore sometimes he comes to me when its too much for
him to take all at once. This is because he is trying to keep that masculine image that society has
constructed. Men are supposed to be brave, aggressive, and self-confident believing that they
can do it all without the help of other. They are also supposed to have a specific appearance.
Since birth, parents already have this whole idea of how their baby boy is supposed to look even
if the appearance is not completely formed. This is where gender stereotypes come in. In From
Women, Men, and Society Infant boys are described as tall, large, athletic, serious, and having
broad, wide hands.
I have also seen how the way my brothers have grown up has influenced on their idea of
stereotype and gender roles. My other brother who is ten years old usually spends a significant
amount of time playing with my little cousins. They are all about the same age. One day they
were playing soccer outside and one of my cousins fell. Instantly without thinking he started to
cry. My brothers first words were stop acting like a little girl. He said it without putting much
thought into it because he doesnt know better, but as far as he knows and from what he has
learned in the environment he grew up with, girls are weak and crying is an actions that only
girls do. In American society One gender is usually touchstone, the normal, the dominant, and
the other is different, deviant, and subordinate (Lorber 29). Since birth females are also said to
have a very specific appearance that just goes along with the gender they are classified under.
Infant girls were described as small and pretty, with fine delicate features (Renzetti and Curran
77). Then as they grow up the expectations are enforced in order to fit in with what society has
formed. Girls are supposed to sit in a classy way, eat a certain way, dress with feminine clothes,
and act according to their gender, sometimes this forbids them from playing specific sports like

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soccer or basketball as well as having specific hobbies for example hunting or playing certain
instruments that are not feminine enough.
Gender is socially constructed and composed by a variety of factors, but the environment
someone grows up in is what really shapes their gender. It starts even before birth and continues
through a lifetime and it is adapted as a way of living. Gender signs and signals are so
ubiquitous that we usually fail to note them- unless they are missing or ambiguous (Lorber 20).
This is still an issue at the moment because people who decide to act upon their gender are being
judge, homosexuals are discriminated, and many look at each other different if they are not like
the others.

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Work Cited Page

1. Lorber Judith. Night To His Day: The Social Construction Of Gender. Composing
Gender. Ed. Rachel Groner and John F. OHara. New York: Leasa Burton, 2014. 19-30.
Print
2. Renzetti Claire and Curran Daniel. From Women, Men, and Society. Composing
Gender. Ed. Rachel Groner and John F. OHara.