Salas 1

Anthony Salas
Professor Beadle
English 113A

8 November 2015

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 urge 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

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OHaras novel, Devor and Kane both give many examples in which society criticizes individuals
because gender roles maintain stability, yet threatens their reputation.
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 each gender is 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 children start learning about gender at 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

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states that, As children, and later adults, 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 are 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 used to watch a Cartoon
Network show called, The 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 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 gender roles in
society. We begin to follow societys rules and this is known as gender construction. This affects
our identity construction because as children 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

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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. (Kane, 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 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 individuals fault to blame if they do not agree with society. Society and people are
programed as children 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 trying 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 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

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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.
Once again, 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 began 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 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 cruel 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 are taught in a cycle. As children 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 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

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