Aguilar 1

Janely Aguilar
Jon Beadle
English 115
2 October 2016

Segregation Between Genders

For many centuries sex and gender were thought to mean the same thing, when in
actuality they are not. People are only born sexed, not gendered; we are taught to be either male
or female. Aaron Devor, Judith Lorber, Claire Renzetti & Daniel Curran from Composing
Gender, aid by explaining in their articles how both genders have a set of rules and norms that
state how they are supposed to act. As we grow up, we face a society where there is a clear
distinction between both genders and are expected to behave accordingly; which should not
continue because it restricts the way the people want to behave. People should be able to decide
how they identify themselves based from their experiences not by the influences of their parents
or what society expects of them.
Once people are gendered as male or female, there are certain behaviors that have been
established and viewed as normal for each gender that they must abide by. Aaron Devor in
Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meaning of Gender, claimed that men are often
associated with dominance, aggression, and superiority whereas women are associated with
being submissive, passive and cooperative. In other words, Devor is asserting that men should
act more like a leader and should act controlling in situations whereas women should be more of
a follower who should only work by his side. In my family my mother acts more of the leader in
some situations, but they both equally take care of my brother and I regarding issues in school. It
is the opposite of how men are expected to be in society. Females are required to have warm

and continued relationships with men, a sense of maternity, and have an interest in caring for
children (Devor 40). Women were deemed to only take care of their children and husbands
in the past, but times have changed and women have gained the right to decide whether they
want to have a baby or whether they want to marry a man at all. In my family my mother and
father expect to me work, not to just be a housewife who cooks and cleans for her husband while
he is one earning the money for the family. Many activities are often divided into genders
suitable or unsuitable for the other which can only lead to men and women being treated
unequally (Devor 40). It occurs often where people of the opposite are expected to perform
poorly and are often ridiculed even if they succeed in it. Whenever I watched a television show
with my father where mostly men are participating in results in him assuming that women will
not be able to do it as well as men. It correlates with how Devor expects people to behave when
viewing someone of the opposite gender attempting something suitable for men only. Aaron
Devor may have wrote this article in order to demonstrate how men and women are viewed as by
society. People shouldnt be expected to act as how they are told because of the sex they were
born in, but as they grow when they can identify themselves as either gender.
Children begin to learn how to behave by not only society but from their parents who treat
them differently according to the sex they are born in. Claire Renzetti and Daniel Curran in
From Women, Men, and Society, claim that parents respond differently to newborn babies
based on sex such as boys being expected to grow up tall, large, athletic, serious, and having
broad wide hands. By setting expectations for their children they are further encouraging the
separation between both genders and are not teaching their kids that it is also suitable to establish
themselves as the opposite gender. Boys and girls were expected to behave differently; parents
expected boys to be fussier (Renzetti & Curran 78), while girls were expected to be well-

behaved & easy-going (Renzetti & Curran 78). The assumption that girls and boys shouldnt act
the same has made parents set rules that they have to follow and if they are not met they must be
disciplined. As a young girl I tended to act well-behaved while my brother often got in trouble in
school. In my family the expectations parents wanted were met and I continue to behave
accordingly while my brother has changed and become more responsible since entering high
school in 2010. The sex of the parent has also been relevant to how their children are treated;
Father's usually play more interactive games with their infant and toddler sons... whereas they
promote vocal interaction with their daughters (Curran and Renzetti 79). The gender of parents
further contribute to how children are influenced to act in appropriate behaviors according to the
sex they were born in. Curran and Renzetti wrote about this in their article in order to further
explain as how children are influenced from a very young how they are supposed to act in order
to conform to societys expectations of them. Parents shouldnt attempt to gender their children
and teach them how to behave at a young age, but allow them to discover who they are as they
grow by exposing them to different influences and experiences.
Women and men are often perceived as different in workplaces even when they are
working in the same job, which further strengthens the separation between both genders. Judith
Lorber in Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender, claims that there are
different job names depending on the gender such as in a military academy where women were
...required to wear makeup - at a minimum, lipstick and eyeshadow - and they have to take
makeup classes, because they were Woman Marine. Men were viewed as having an
advantage against women in terms of attaining jobs, but that has changed as women are now able
to work in the same jobs as men. Although men and women work in the same establishments
they should also be allowed to have the same titles as that men have. In many countries that

prevent gender discrimination Men dominate positions of authority and leadership in

government, the military, and the law while ...women still do most of the domestic labor and
child rearing... (Lorber 30). Even though women work full time, they are also held responsible
for caring for the children while men are only expected to work to support the family. My father
has 2 jobs that provide a lot for our family, but my mother also has a job while also selling
various products in her own time. Both my parents work and help take care of my older brother
and I. I view them equally because they both spend most times working and taking care of us
whenever the other is working. Judith Lorber may have written this article in order to explain
how men and women are not treated equally even when they are both assigned the same type of
work. Women have progressed eminently to be able to work and get the same education as men,
therefore they also deserve to acquire the same job title as them.
Although each gender has responsibilities & norms they must follow, it should be taught
that one has the right to decide whether they identify themselves differently. As one begins to
grow & learn, they will be exposed to different experiences that will influence their decision. It
should be clear that societys rules and expectations dont need to be followed because it will not
only limit people from behaving the way they want but also further encourage the segregation
between both genders.

Work Cited
1. Judith Lorber Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender Composing Gender,
edited by Craig Bartholomaus, Laurie Cella, Robert Cummings, Lyne Lewis Gaillet, Karen
Gardiner, Christine Howell, Samantha Looker, Derek Malone-France, Stephanie Odom, Megan
ONeill, Michelle Sidler, and Carrie Wastal, 1st Edition, Bedford/St.Martins, 2014, United States
of America

2. Aaron Devor Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meaning of Gender Composing
Gender, edited by Craig Bartholomaus, Laurie Cella, Robert Cummings, Lyne Lewis Gaillet,
Karen Gardiner, Christine Howell, Samantha Looker, Derek Malone-France, Stephanie Odom,
Megan ONeill, Michelle Sidler, and Carrie Wastal, 1st Edition, Bedford/St.Martins, 2014,
United States of America

3. Claire Renzetti and Daniel Curran From Women, Men, and Society Composing Gender, edited
by Craig Bartholomaus, Laurie Cella, Robert Cummings, Lyne Lewis Gaillet, Karen Gardiner,
Christine Howell, Samantha Looker, Derek Malone-France, Stephanie Odom, Megan ONeill,
Michelle Sidler, and Carrie Wastal, 1st Edition, Bedford/St.Martins, 2014, United States of
America