A major question this video addresses is whether or not gender is a socially constructed concept. While the video offers both a nature and a nurture perspective, I do not think that a person could argue for a single side because we need to look at both biology and society to understand gender. Based on the definitions of sex and gender that we have defined in class, sex refers to the identity of a male or female based on human anatomy and sexual reproductive organs. While many people tend to confuse the two terms, gender is not synonymous with sex. Gender refers to the personal traits, behaviors, and positions that are attached with being either male or female. Before watching this video, I used to think there was a clear cut answer to the question posed previously. I simply thought that sex was determined by biology alone and gender was determined by society’s influence on people. However, when the idea of transgender people was discussed, the video mentioned how some people say that they “feel” male or ‘“feel” female. At this point in the video, I was no longer able to agree with my original idea that gender was simply determined by society’s influence on people alone. I now think that gender in a mix of both nature and nurture. While I completely understand the idea of feeling a certain way, whether that be male or female, and being comfortable or uncomfortable with who you are, I do not think that we inherently “feel” male or female. For example, if a baby could be taken out of society and could raise itself in complete isolation (even though this would not be good for the child socially), I do not think that the baby would grow up and know that a sex opposite of himself or herself existed. In addition, the idea of gender would be foreign as well because we as humans cannot categorize people, or anything for that matter, unless we know two or more types exist. So, unless we are living in society surrounded by both sexes and we can actually see the gender roles carried out by those around us, we cannot inherently feel one way. Our feelings are deeply attached to our experiences and our environment, so in order to distinguish gender and gender roles we need society to show us the differences that exist and then, and only then, are we able to feel and say if our gender aligns with our sex or not. Finally, the gender and the gender roles we have in place do not mean anything unless we as a society give them meaning and start attaching them to certain favorable or unfavorable feelings. MySliceofthePi012
I do think that quite often -- especially among older, middle-aged citizens-- people confuse the terms sex and gender. They believe that there are two sexes and two genders: male and female. In reality, there are two sexes, if a baby is born with male genitalia, its a male; if not, it’s a female. With that said, that does not necessarily determine their gender. While a majority of the time, nearly all of the time, a person’s sex and gender align, there are situations where they do not. This is where many people experience culture shock and disbelief. Because they choose not to accept or learn, stereotypes and fear are created, unfortunately leading to hate and discrimination. -CSP012
This video gives people the answer on rather or not gender is a socially constructed concept. I love how the video broke down what gender is just in case people didn't know what gender was instead of jumping into discussion. Gender is basically just the state of being male or female then it also determine how one should act in some cases. Some people categorize females as being feminine and males being strong and dominant. I know this is off topic but I never knew it was that many different kind of genders I think he named like 9, I was def mind blown while he was naming the different genders I only knew about 4 so that was def some new and useful information that I learned. Before even watching this video since high school I had psychology an we learned about nature vs nurture. I believe gender norms is a nature thing. I believe your environment influence why you act a certain way or think a certain way. Then again I know a lot of people who are gay and they never grew up in those environments and they say they were born like that so I guess that would go against my claim in way. I think that story about David reimar is crazy. I watch a lot of shows about kids wanting to be the opposite gender but I never heard of anything like that, I think that is just out right crazy. I love how they mentioned even though his parents and doctors wanted him to be a girl he didn't fall into the pressure of being a girl he did what he wanted and decided to go back to who he really was. I think his parents should feel a little responsible for the fact their son killed himself, he probably suffered depression due to the fact of his gender problem. Then on top of that, I don't think the parents should of turned there son into a girl that young but too each its own I guess. I think this video made a good point that would lead me to believe that there are some differences that are biological and some that are socially constructed. - jolly rancher
Nature versus Nurture -- the question that has confounded scientists since the dawn of the modern scientific era. This video separates this debate into its two hemispheres, and then tries to determine a solution. Specifically, is gender determined by nature or environment? The video uses five theories to discuss the question at hand. Personally, ever since taking an Anatomy & Physiology course, I leaned on the nature/genetics side of things. However, after taking an intro Psychology and now Sociology course, I am definitely back on the fence -- more appropriately appreciating the environmental side of things. Honestly, I do not believe this debate will ever be resolved. I firmly believe that our genetic AND environmental factors and experiences shape us into the people we are. Something so complex as human personality and behavior cannot be determined simply from either nature or nurture. Specifically about gender, I used to believe that we were born a gender and that is how and who we should accept and behave as. Now, after being in college for nearly a year, I definitely am much more accepting of differential opinions. While I will never make the effort to learn the countless amount of (fill in the black)-gender labels, I can learn to appreciate and accept them. After all, we are all humans and as long as everyone is happy and enjoys their lives, who am I to judge? Don’t get me wrong, I will admit that I still feel uncomfortable when I encounter someone of a “different” gender (not talking about a female). I have no shame about this, though. I was born into a binary gender generation, and now have grown up in a poly-gender society. This movement causes quite the societal shakeup -- and definitely a culture shock. All I can do is accept others’ opinions and judge them as the person they are. -CSP012
This video was slightly confusing for me. I didn't understand what exactly I was following as far as are men said to be physically stronger than women or was I supposed to be following the biological history of gender. That kind of through me off so my response to this video will be very brief. In the beginning of this video he said he would tell his sister men are stronger than women and she'd respond men are socially conditioned to be stronger. Well, I guess it all depends. Yes, in society we view men as muscular and powerful. In some cases this is true. If you think about it there are women boxers out there that can take down a man with no boxing IQ. On the other hand there are bodybuilding men out there that can lift a skinny petite woman over his head. Personally, I don't believe the saying "men are stronger" because that's not always the case. I didn't know there were so many meanings behind the word gender. I thought it meant one thing and nothing more. I believe the sayings we use such as "be a man" play a huge role in this theory that men are stronger than women. The whole issue with David Reimar was very interesting and sad. Going between genders must have been so hard and I feel it was wrong to inject a 22 month old baby messing with the mans hormones before he could even live life, that's sad. The worst part is he had no control over it. Although this video confused me I did learn from it. -JEWELS012
Well wait just a minute!! This video was actually very amusing to me and left me wanting an ‘ale’ (again- no I am not an alcoholic ) All this discussion of is it Nature vs. Nuture, more than 2 genders (genderless, transgender, thirdgender, genderqueer, genderfluid, cisgender, binary gender, bigender, etc… whaaaaat???), Biology vs. Environment, Feminists vs. Naturists and Man or Woman vs. Male or Female. This is just all a bit too complicated and a little silly. Instead of asking questions such as if biology or our environment and which makes us who we are, why not just say both? You were biologically born one way and your environment influences you very little or a lot. Conformity of social expectations, let’s just not have gender expectations so everyone can just be who they want without it being shouted from the rooftops. Just be YOU no matter what you were conditioned to be! I do believe that is the solution to such divergent ways of thinking and it really is that easy. We are all guilty of overlooking arguments from the opposing sides of the spectrum- there are biological factors such as testosterone and estrogen as well sociocultural factors that all tie into the ‘given’ effectors. We are now living in a world where almost anything can be altered whether this group agrees or that group doesn’t- it’s just awesome to be alive and if you want to do/be whatever you want- it’s a decision, your decision. I am going to be honest, I don’t agree with altering who and how you were born, but that’s my opinion. Just as everyone should be allowed to be who and how they want, I agree everyone should be allowed their opinion- ALL WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES!! And then maybe we could get rid of the many sub-genders because let’s be honest, that’s just silly. TRM-012
I agree with what you said about being allowed to have your own opinion. That we all have both biology and environment to shape who we are as individuals. Everyone should be able to express and state their opinion and how they perceived the main point to this video because as Americans we have the right to speak up and even teach others what we know. -IDK123012
The way the guy started with the video is like the topic he takes as a joke. Stating he always would argue with his sister about how men are stronger than woman. States how she had a good answer saying only because socially that is what we are taught, or you would not feel this way. He goes about hormones and the body structure, seriously said I mean I wish I had two jugs hanging I just cannot believe the way he has started this video and stated her boobs in this way. Brings up feminism/ feminists and how they do not look at all the picture and facts but when I think of a feminist I think of equal rights between genders. When many believe that gender is not defined and there are more than two genders mentally and physically. He goes into transgenders and really all the genders that are considered throughout the world and goes into details about how socially it does not change how a male or female feels even when they feel like they are in the wrong skin. It was crazy to hear davids story because I have not really heard of anything like it a male born but they changed him physically into a girl which is kind of crazy because who are his parents to make this choice. Growing up feeling male but looking a female when he was genetically a male and wanting to be a male I could not even imagine the depression and going through surgery to become a male once again. He chooses a positive conclusion stating that there is no good answer for this question and we should all just be defined as humans or as he says ALE. The way he wraps up the video you really need to fully watch it to not feel like it is so negative it comes together to make sense and not be one way or the other. -campbell012
This video was talking about how the biology between men and women are different and if gender is a social contract. In the clip I heard two word that I already knew nature and nature meaning is it our environment that makes us who we are or our biology. Whether people realize it or not both are apart of who are as individuals. Everyone has a physical appearance and a certain or several behaviors of how act when we are around certain people. An example would be how you act with your friends verses how you act with your parents. Gender and sex are not the same thing gender focuses on the behaviors or personal traits or an individual while sex is the physical traits like the body parts. I learned that just because in our culture we have two or more classified genders does not mean that’s how the rest of the world is, in India they have three genders. As a culture and society, we have certain phrases that pressures genders to be a certain way in the video he used boys do not cry as an example which is a result that men are supposed to be strong and endure in something like that often because then they are considered to be weak. I was really blown with the story about David Reimer I think that the situation was crazy because then parents made such a huge life changing decision for their 22-month-old child. It was their choice, but I think if it was handled differently the results in the end would have different. I think that the sub genders are too much like just be who you are and do your thing because you have a right. Will everyone agree with all of your actions..no but who cares do what makes you happy. -IDK123012
I do believe a part of the difference of genders is biological. Parts of a girl brain and parts of a boy brain develop at different rates and times. Boys testosterone levels are different and can make them more aggressive and rowdy when younger. I believe the base of gender differences starts off biologically then grows off that. Women and men have more similarities then we all like to admit but there are obvious differences. I believe since we start off maturing and developing at different rates that instead of both genders being more similar at a young age we are taught how different we are. It is always said boys get in more trouble than girls etc.. Since saying like those are put in our heads we role with it. Biological and sociological differences then both play a role in each gender. Instead of keeping it to just our biological differences then society exemplifies those into a huge construct we all follow. Sometimes even girls feel odd when they are not super "girly". Most often I wear no makeup and like to wear my ripped jeans and funny t-shirts. Some days I feel like I should try harder on my appearance and wear more of my classier clothing. Do boys wake up feeling that way? NO. They wake up, roll out of bed and put on their sweats and t-shirt knowing they feel good and who ever they like will still think they are just as attractive even when they do not put effort into their appearance. This is all because society puts a gender role on us all. Girls see the girls in the media then look at themselves and feel no where near attractive or worth it. It is a shame the media only shows off girls with certain features, because then the rest usually do not feel as feminine or pretty. Society has done us all wrong with the gender construct they have created. gea012
The content of this video was really good and explained a lot about how gender is a social construct. We may be born male or female but that doesn’t just classify biology. Rather, being born male or female gives the person social constructs for their society. All societies are different but in America girls are raised to be dainty and sweet and boys are raised to be rough and tough. Of course, there are exceptions to these constructs, but this is how America generally sees boys and girls. I think what they said about gender not being a solid one deal thing is very interesting and opens up my mind. They have made all these different genders besides male and female based on people’s feelings but that only causes more diversity in a sense. If we add more and more genders to our society then that will create more differences between us. Whether we like it or not it is hard for us to accept differences of other people. So essentially, I think we will always have a hard time accepting each other because of our differences but we can get better in accepting differences. Differences will usually stick out and be so noticeable because they don’t follow the norm. This happens the same way for males and females. If a boy is told he throws like a girl then that is meant to be an insult because of the social constructs it involves to “be female”. In the video, I like how they talk about muscle mass for boys and girls. Boys tend to have more muscle mass but there is nothing stopping a female from working out, taking testosterone, and gaining as much muscle mass as a guy. This idea even takes it into the biology side of it along with hormones, which makes me think that there really shouldn’t be a fine line between men and women. If they have help or not, a man can do anything a woman does and vice versa. -curlyhead012
In the video gender roles and expectations the guy comments to his sister that men are more stronger than women, her reply to his statement was that men are socially conditioned to be stronger then a woman. The truth is that a man will never have the body of a female without taking female hormones or plastic surgery. The way that we determine the sex of a person is what we call gender. This is the best way that men and women can be identified. Some people believe in the nature vs. nurture theory, this is that nature is what makes us who we are or our biology. West and Zimmerman say that gender is an emergent feature of social situations, both as an outcome of and a rational for various social arrangements, and as a means of legitimating one of the most fundamental divisions of society. They also mentioned how language forms ours reality man and woman describe certain phenomenon. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia which is a disease that may alter sex organs of people. But even when someone does have procedures done to alter their sex such as the case of David Reimar things still can bring a person back to their original gender. In David’s case he had something go wrong with a surgery which while still a baby was changed into a female, once he became older and mentioned suicide to his parents they then told him the truth about what happened. This helped him which led him to becoming married to a female, but after his marriage did not work out and they got a divorce he then committed suicide. Even though as a child and his change he still felt like a man, so even if a person changes their body without surgery or hormones they still will be either male or female like they were from birth. Just me 012
The material presented in the video was interesting and did a good job of explaining how gender is a social construct. We may be born male or female, but that doesn't solely classify a person's biology. Rather, being born male or female gives the person social constructs for their society. All societies are different but in America girls are raised to be dainty and sweet and boys are raised to be rough and able to fight. Today there are all these different genders besides male and female based on people's own feelings. If we add more and more genders to our society then that will create more differences between us. I think at the end of the day that will muddy up the waters that much more. Whether we like it or not it is hard for us to accept the feelings of other people. I think there will always be conflict between the traditionalists and the wave of people that think differently from them. In the video, I like how they talk about muscle mass for boys and girls. Boys tend to have more muscle mass but there is nothing stopping a female from working out, taking testosterone, and gaining just as much muscle. Overall, I thought the video was entertaining and gave insight to what others think about the social construct. -CUBSFAN012
This video was alright but the speaker lost me a few times in the midst of his examples. Nature vs. nurture seems to always be the big question when we want to talk about why we act the way we do. Nothing annoys me more than the people that think its ONLY one or the other. I feel like picking just one of those tries to force us to think simple minded, which is pretty easy for the kind of society that we live in today. With that being said, I think that gender has a lot to do with BOTH nature and nurture. However, when I say nature influences gender I don’t base it off of the physical differences between female and male, I think more of what is going on in the mind. For example, when the speaker mentioned that hormones affect our brains. I think that hormones over ANYTHING would be more of a factor as opposed to having a penis or boobs. Female and male are nothing but categories that somebody back in the day said would work for EVERYONE. THAT’S WHY IT WE RUN INTO SO MANY ISSUES NOW! When we as a society try to come up with one “answer” for MILLIONS of people, we are asking for some confusion and conflict. In my opinion, we need to update our behaviors and thoughts just like we do our phones. What worked back when life was easier WON’T work now. I think that we as a society need to face the fact that the human life is too complex to create distinct categories for all people. In other words, everything would be easier if we people would just MIND THEIR BUSINESS!!! What does it matter to me if the girl i sit next to in class was born a boy? IT DOESN’T! We are ALL human and have the choice to be who we want to be. LayBae012
I thought this was a very good response and I agree completely. Male and females are nothing but labels and just because you are assigned a gender doesn't mean you have to act as a girl or a boy. Like you said its all based on what's going on in the mind. We all need to start considering how we need to become more open minded to the thought of other people and their choices. Just because someone acts differently than the gender they were assigned doesn't mean they should be treated any differently. Either way we need to start working together to except one another then the world would be a much better place<3 -ILIKETURTLES012
This is a very good presentation on the differences between nature vs. nurture, and this is seeming to be the reasons why we think and act the way we do. I do believe that we all either male or female, and that’s it nothing more, nothing less. God created us in a beautiful way in two types of gender male and female in a way that we complete each other. Other types of gender are all new things that people created it trying to get money starting from the psychologist and ending to the doctor who did the surgery. I understand if there is a hormonal problem that makes some people confused, but as far as it is clear for them biological who they are they need to work on solving the problem not to change the problem into more complex one. At the same time when we are born the society is telling us what to do and what not to do under the female-male categories. it tells us that girls can be emotion and wear pink, where boys should not cry and can wear blue. And I see this as being a natural thing because our hormones and our body makes us the way we are, and the society is supporting this. I don’t understand why people tend to make it difficult when it comes to equality. For me, as a woman, I encourage the equality between men and women as a human being but that doesn’t give us the right to play with what we are in the first place, the day when we were born as a boy or as a girl. I think we all have the choice to be what we want, BUT not to change our gender because we don’t feel it. I don’t judge people who chose to change their gender, but I wish if they could accept their nature the way they are instead of losing themselves in an unending process. POINTOFVIEW012
Gender as a social construct is interesting. This video discussed the nature vs nurture concept. When a baby is born they are identified as male or female based up on their sexual organs. The organs that were developed during the conception and development phase in the womb. These organs are developed from the surge of hormones inside the wound that helped to develop them. The development of a person after birth continues and some men do not develop the same masculinity as pothers including muscle mass while some women may develop with more “manly” features than others. The way a person is “nurtured” may also influence how they act if they become more masculine or feminine. For example, there are young children that report they feel like the opposite sex and want to dress and behave in that manner. This is where it is hard to explain, why they have these feelings or emotions. Is it being influenced by their environment or their parents, have they read this someone, is it curiosity? I personally don’t understand this. My personal feeling is that God gave each of a gender with the associated sexual organs. I don’t feel that people should be discriminated in jobs such because of gender. For example, there is nothing wrong with a male being a nurse or a woman being a construction worker but at the end of the day their gender is really determined by their organs. Now how one decides to use their organs is another story. Some people are heterosexual, others are homosexual and some are bisexual. However, when a person needs to use the restroom, they should go into the genetically appropriate restroom. I have strong feelings about transgender restrooms that may make others feel uncomfortable. This is almost reverse discrimination. We all have to be respectful of our surroundings. -SBC012
Regarding your last statement about making sure people use their designated restrooms is honestly a good subject matter for conversations. Personally, I feel like people should be whoever they want to be. If they feel like a woman but were born another way, it doesn't affect me at the end of the day and they should do their thing. At the same time though, I don't feel as though men who "feel" like a woman should come in to womens restrooms. I don't want to sound ignorant or transphobic or anything but I feel like that topic is up for debate. I think I would be very uncomfortable because biologically we are not the same. Internally sure you might be a woman but I don't know where I am at as far as how that would go. I don't mean to be offensive I just wonder how other people feel regarding that scenario. HOOTIEGRL012
This video raises a lot of questions I think. It clearly emphasizes just how complex it is to be male or female in this society today. You wouldn’t think so but being “male or female” isn’t always black and white. There are people who you would be conditioned to see as one or the other in terms of sexes but behave entirely different. Biologically, we are different I think. Males are typically bigger naturally, and have more muscle, but there are definitely cases where women are bigger and stronger than men. So, you can’t really say one is one way and the other is another. I did find the part where the did the study on babies of different genders very interesting though. They said that baby boys and baby girls responded differently to toys placed in front of them. Boys naturally gravitated toward the more mechanical toys and girls swayed more to the comforting faces of people. They also went on to say that may be part of the reason why girls grow up to have more social jobs, such as healthcare jobs involving people and taking care of people. Where as boys pursue more engineering and mechanical careers. I found that really interesting because even in my own life it seems to be true. I know way more girls who are looking for health careers, and way more boys who are in school for science and engineering degrees. It’s honestly fascinating how much our gender really persuades us to behave. And how much it influences our decisions all throughout our lives. We believe that society conditions us, but the study shows that might not be entirely true. Biologically, women tend to be nurturers more so than men. Contrary to popular belief that women are TAUGHT to be more caring than men. It’s very interesting.
This video I found to be primarily about gender and the many differences in gender that we now have. The narrator in the video argues that while growing up, he did in fact use the saying “like a girl” with his sister and shares with us the reaction that it would create from his sister. He shares that in fact it is very real that the main reason for the way in which each gender acts is incredibly dependent upon the way society supports them to act. Women could be much more masculine in our society as long as that was how they were raised and supported to act. This video began to dive even more in to genre scripts in terms of the changes that we have in our society regarding transgender, gender fluid and the many other genders that our society is beginning to recognize. This video also shares the opinion that gender is simply something that we have for social reasons and not a whole lot else. It argues that gender is something that we may not need outside of our social standing and society. This is a fascinating worldview that I had not experienced a whole lot so it was definitely interesting the hear and learn more about. I think gender as a whole will be a fascinating topic to continue looking at as the years go by, even in the near future. I agree with the narrator as he argues that no matter what gender you are, male, female or otherwise, this country as well as the world should treat you as equal and not as something different or unequal. We are all human beings no matter your gender and it is important that each person feel supported and respected within their workplace and the society. -THEARSONIST012
This is a fascinating conversation. The different between sex and gender is very complicated. There is some truth to the fact that even though someone might be a certain sex biologically, they feel as though they are different on the inside. If gender is in fact a social construct, then I don’t think that there are hundreds of different genders that people can chose from. However, it takes sense that people feel differently about themselves than a perfect impression of what society’s ideal male and female roles look like. It makes sense that someone may lie on the spectrum of male and female personalities and activities. However, this just means that they don’t match society’s version of male of female. Not aligning perfectly with society does not make anyone less of a male or female, it just shows that vapid constructs that are a results of certain parts of society do not often hold weight in the real world, and do a poor job of representing all types of people as they really are. If our society did not push such heavily male and female roles, then there would no doubt be less people with “personal gender crisises” that result in confusion and anger - the truth is, some people are just different. Instead of creating a hundred little boxes to put people in and cause them to be upset and feel misunderstood, why not just understand that each and every person is different, and do away with the unhelpfully strict gender roles that an leave people feeling left out, misunderstood, and under-represented. Nature vs nurture is something that most people are not strictly one or another. A society full of people who only followed their natural instincts and desires and people who only based their interactions on feelings and emotions would be a sloppy one indeed. It is necessary that all personalities to be different, and for that to be the case, all males and females would look, act, and behave slightly differently from one another.
I thought that the thought monkey brought up some really good point but at some points I didn't completely agree with what he said. I glad he brought up the biological reasoning for gender construct. I believe that when it comes to gender and how we feel all depends on how we were conceived. For example, If you were born a male but later on in life want to become a female I believe that there is something that happens genetically which is the congenital adrenal hyperplasia. However, a lot of people think that you aren't born gay but you become gay. Society also has such high standards for gender roles that its ridiculous. Children are born into a world where it is thought that women are stay at home mom when the father is working all day. That's not 100% true. I think that's a issue we need to start working on. That's the whole idea behind feminism because women just want to be able to do the things men do without it breaking the gender roles. Nature vs. nurture has a HUGE impact on all of it. When it all comes to nurture it depends on how you are raised. For example, a girl could grow up with having brothers and could act more like a boy because of what they grew up around. On the other had it also depends on nature. Like I said before, you could also be born wanting to be more like a boy because of the hormones they have received when being conceived. i thought the story about David was really interesting because it was something I had never heard of before. At the same time I felt really bad for him because how can you mess up a circumcision? No would should have to suffer from something like that because it was the doctors fault. Either way nature vs. nurture has a huge impact on how we classify gender and gender roles. -ILIKETURTLES012
This video was informative. While I definitely don't agree with some of what he said, it was interesting to hear some of the arguments from the opposing side. I believe that there are only two genders. Either you're born a male or a female. There isn't anything in between. I can understand being gay and that is totally fine, I don't have a problem with that. What I don't agree with is that you think you belong to the other gender. You either have the male parts, or the female parts. I also believe that sex and gender go hand in hand with each other, and is not entirely a social construct. While society has an influence on gender( boys get blue, girls get pink as an example) I also believe it is part of you when you're born. Men and women are wired differently and have different interests. JE012
What a powerful topic with many very passionate and opposing sides. Is gender simply a social construct? My simple answer to a complicated question? No. Does our personality, which includes are feminine and masculine traits, differ greatly from person to person? Yes. Are we very easily angered by people who oppose us without truly giving them the time they deserve to speak their thoughts? Yes. Are there people in this world who are truly and actually misinformed? Yes. Does that mean they are purposefully being mean? Not necessarily. Are we making things worse by acting as if only the extreme poles of this argument exist? Very much so yes. In my opinion it always goes back to how it all began, and without getting into creation versus evolution we can still look at animals. Male and Female roles are clearly defined in animals, but animals will cross those lines form time to time. This is almost proof some would say that even animals are not strictly adhering to gender, but the problem I have with that is the idea that society makes you what you are. This is true in many cases but something as intimate as your gender preference is not society. Maybe your sexual behavior and other factors are affected by society but gender is something you had the day you were born. Gay people use this as a common argument. They were born that way they did not grow into it. So if you were born with a preference such as that you were born with the intention to fill a certain role. The story about the man David who lived as a girl until 14 and then killed himself at 38 speaks strongly to this. His parents raised him as a girl and he even had the sexual orientation of a girl, but he never felt truly like a girl, because he wasn't one. People can live however they want and don't have to be "normal" but they have to admit whatever they are they always were in this case. -twentyfourframes012
After observing this very thought-provoking video I tried putting myself into the opposite opinions shoes and looking at the video the way they would. Even after doing that there is just too much that seems to connect that men are men because of nature and nurture. Yes our experiences and life can help point us to acting a certain way but that's just it, they help. It seems as if from the video most cases of humans act as the gender they were born in. Yes some males or females can be born with an excess of testosterone or estrogen but that doesn't mean they should decide to change their sex. The term tomboy for females has been around forever maybe the "tomboy" of a female is just a female with a little more than normal levels of testosterone or maybe they grew up around sports and acting as a "tomboy." Regardless there is no reason to change sex's just because one acts more like a gender than another. We are made the way we are for a reason I don't believe people should fight that. People need to learn to not fall into the social construct of having to do this or that if you're a specific sex. We are made this way for a reason so just embrace it whether you're a male that acts a little more feminine or a female that acts more manly embrace it and live life. People need to learn to break free of society's views and to not conform to how they should be. Accept the life we have been given and take it and run with it. Life is just too short to be worrying and thinking about we are "born in the wrong body." Just because you act more towards the opposite sex doesn't mean you should change into that sex. There is no problem with whoever you're attracted to but when it comes to messing and reversing mother nature just seems that we do not have the right to do that. I believe we are put here for a better person and everything happens for a reason and to take the body you're given and to change it not only seems to go against mother nature but seems people are taking advantage of their bodies. They should be happy there are some people in the world with defficiances or mutations that would do anything for a fully functional body and people that have those are mutilating them because they "feel" differently. Just because you don't fit into the social construct of "being a man" or "being a woman" does not mean you should change sex. Live the life we are so grately given. - mommaj'skid012
Interesting little film I thought! First of all, I never knew there were about nine genders. In fact, that never really came across to me because I would never thought that “transgender” would be part of the category gender, even though it has the word gender in it. Also, in other countries “gender” is used differently such as in Chile and India. So, its been thought that men and women are views by society to do different things such as men being tough and women being more passive, from what I got from the video. Nature vs. Nature was interesting for me because I never though. Sounds exactly the same, but different meanings on both sides. This is to why we do things differently and act differently. People have the choice what they want to be and especially for those who are having a harder time choosing to be what they are, others just accept the type of gender. As a male, I will never know how it’s like to be in a female body. At least not in this world, right? But, That’s just what I think. I feel like there is still so much to be studied and figure out more, but the day a person is born is what you come out to be and identified, either boy or girl. As they grow up, some are genetically different, so they start going to a phase where they do and act different and is where nature vs. nature comes in. See, society is the one who pushes individuals the way they are and is very uncomfortable for some. I thought the video was interesting and defiantly encourage others to look more into it, I try to do some side research but of course that’s just what I believe. - LILPUMP012
I thought like most people did for a long time that gender is coherent with sex, I for the longest time thought they went hand in hand until recently when I actually thought about it and this class helps me realize that too. I like how this video address that right away that sex and gender are not the same thing like most people think. He then goes on to talk about gender fixation and how it is possible there are more than two genders. Then he discusses the nature vs. nurture point on this argument which the nurture the way he described it does not seem to have a great backing to it. But it does have some good points like the language example where because of what people around us say we feel pressured to act a certain way because it is either “manly” or “woman-like”. Then he gets to the nature argument, which again is very interesting discussion, because even as children there are differences in how humans act towards different stimuli. Then we talk about how sometimes nature can mess things up, some times in the womb babies receive too much of the opposite hormones their sex requires and that can cause some biological issues. Where even from birth a child may be born male but feel female. Or vice versa, he uses the story of David Reimar as a good example one, I story I have never heard of but is very interesting, and sad. The poor person when back and forth between and eventually took his life. He states in that video that the pressure of those around him to act like a woman is the cause for the depression and feelings of doubt. A very good point going back to the pressures of society having on the individual. I love the note he ended on. Just see each other as other humans, we have our differences in many ways but in more we are similar. BossMan012
Sex has a pretty clear cut answer to what a person is. If you are born with two x chromosomes you are a girl and if you are born with a y chromosome you are a boy. There is not a debate to be had about this, this is just how sex is defined. Gender on the other hand is an absolute mess to talk about. I don't think that the terms that people seem to want to use now are very good because we use boy and girl for both sex and gender. I really think that we should just start using feminine and masculine to describe gender. If a person is born with a y chromosome but does girly things I do not think that we should start calling that person a girl. I think that we should call them a feminine boy. I have heard the concern with this approach is that it would be difficult to determine what is feminine and what is masculine, but I do not see it as an issue. I would just use statistical averages to see what women do more and what men do more. Some might say that the problem with this is that not everything that is women do is a natural state, but again that does not seem like a problem to me. As the statics change so to would the definition of masculinity and femininity. I think that some things would stay universality consistent, but even if someone disagrees with me on that, whether the statistics change in every way will eventually show one side to be correct. Switching over to my personal opinion I don't think that everything that men and women do is biologically determined by any means, but I do think that a lot of things are. For example, birthing will always stay feminine because in nature women are the only ones that are able to have birth, but hair length's position may change sometime in the future. -DMPeschy
This was a cool video to watch. I think it was very accurate. I find it very interesting how it is believed that these gender roles start out as we are babies. Even something as simple as how the babies are sitting plays into this as well. That really stood out to me and shocked me. I never thought about it that way. I always look at babies as being just babies. But it is true, you see the boys sitting and the little girls on their stomachs. Also, the toys that parents buy the babies makes a huge difference. Boys are intrigued by the mechanical things and girl’s attention is caught by more faces as the video said. It really opened my eyes that—that has something to do with how males and females pick their careers. Men are normally the firefighters, police officers, architects, and engineers while you see more women as teachers, nurses, stylist, etc. The dirty work tends to be more men and the cleaner obviously women. I’ve seen this change though. I have recently heard men wanting to be nurses and we have more male teachers now. I feel as it is time though for the change. I know it’ll feel weird at first but who says that you can’t be a nurse because you are a male. I feel our society has made so many cultural norms that honestly should not be. You should be able to be what you want to be without society judging but unfortunately that is how things are in today’s society. prettygirlhd012
This whole topic is really hard to talk about because we don’t truly know what is right and what is wrong and who are we to judge. As for me being an Christian I feel that you are born the person God wants you to be and that you have the free will to do whatever you want but in doing so you are going against God’s plan (shout out to Drake). In life we have social norms and when people go against them we view them as weirdo’s or people that are going against what’s right and we can’t judge them because we aren’t them and we don’t experience what they experience or feel what they feel. I never knew how a child could be born and male but as they grow up they feel as though they are in the wrong body and tend to play with girl toys and like to wear girl clothes like I just don’t get it and just don’t understand how they think and how that even came across their mind. But as human beings we need to understand that feelings are unique because the feelings we feel are our own and no one else’s. We may share the same feelings but its just not quite the same overall. Before this class I honestly felt disgust when I would hear about transsexual people or gay people but now I’m more understanding and accepting because like I said before who are we to judge and its just the social norms that make these things wrong in societies eyes. The surgeries now that are being offered are in my eyes too much though like I don’t think people should change their whole reproductive structure. Like it’s okay for you to dress up a certain way and to act a certain way but the whole changing reproductive organs could be a little too much. Mrbubby012
This video was interesting. It closely identifies different genders and their sexuality and how it affects many different people. It also goes into depth regarding the reasoning between nature vs. nurture. I really found it very interesting, I never really understood the difference between the two. Gender and sex is different, which I actually used to think was practically the same. After watching the video, it was easier to identify the two! I still find it interesting, the people who feel they identify with other genders when they’re the opposite. I’ve always wanted to have a conversation with them. What does that feel like? How do they know they feel like another gender if they haven’t necessarily felt what it’s like to be that gender? If they simply don’t feel themselves, or something just feels “off”, does that automatically just mean they need to be the other gender instead of trying to feel more like the one they are now?
Back in gradeschool a boy in my class would always tell some female classmates and I that boys were stronger and better than us. At that age we all were hurt and mad at the comment but getting older I realized that us women can not only be as strong as men but just as good if not better than men. I get that our bodies are different in many ways but we are more than capable of doing what men do. With the nature vs. nurture argument I do not agree with one or the other. In my opinion I feel like it is a mixture of both. When the guy talked about how men go towards engineering and science, than women go towards healthcare and education I agree with him. However, there are women who went into the engineering and science just the same as males going into the healthcare and education fields. I feel like gender can be biological just the same as you can choose what gender you want to be. In my opinion I have my concerns with people changing their gender. For example I do not like how people can choose what gender they want to be everyday. I say that because let's say this person is a pedifile and they waned to be a boy for the day. With being a boy you would have to use the male bathroom if needed to use the restroom. That pedifile that wanted to be a boy for the day can have the choice to decide if they wanted to use the gender they were born with to use that bathroom or the bathroom of the gender are were for that day. Thanks to many business now a days people can do that. I do not like how they can use bathrooms of whatever gender they want to be. A lot of things could happen to a person in the bathroom. Overall I found this video be be very interesting. -jw012
A major question this video addresses is whether or not gender is a socially constructed concept. While the video offers both a nature and a nurture perspective, I do not think that a person could argue for a single side because we need to look at both biology and society to understand gender. Based on the definitions of sex and gender that we have defined in class, sex refers to the identity of a male or female based on human anatomy and sexual reproductive organs. While many people tend to confuse the two terms, gender is not synonymous with sex. Gender refers to the personal traits, behaviors, and positions that are attached with being either male or female. Before watching this video, I used to think there was a clear cut answer to the question posed previously. I simply thought that sex was determined by biology alone and gender was determined by society’s influence on people. However, when the idea of transgender people was discussed, the video mentioned how some people say that they “feel” male or ‘“feel” female. At this point in the video, I was no longer able to agree with my original idea that gender was simply determined by society’s influence on people alone. I now think that gender in a mix of both nature and nurture. While I completely understand the idea of feeling a certain way, whether that be male or female, and being comfortable or uncomfortable with who you are, I do not think that we inherently “feel” male or female. For example, if a baby could be taken out of society and could raise itself in complete isolation (even though this would not be good for the child socially), I do not think that the baby would grow up and know that a sex opposite of himself or herself existed. In addition, the idea of gender would be foreign as well because we as humans cannot categorize people, or anything for that matter, unless we know two or more types exist. So, unless we are living in society surrounded by both sexes and we can actually see the gender roles carried out by those around us, we cannot inherently feel one way. Our feelings are deeply attached to our experiences and our environment, so in order to distinguish gender and gender roles we need society to show us the differences that exist and then, and only then, are we able to feel and say if our gender aligns with our sex or not. Finally, the gender and the gender roles we have in place do not mean anything unless we as a society give them meaning and start attaching them to certain favorable or unfavorable feelings. MySliceofthePi012
ReplyDeleteI do think that quite often -- especially among older, middle-aged citizens-- people confuse the terms sex and gender. They believe that there are two sexes and two genders: male and female. In reality, there are two sexes, if a baby is born with male genitalia, its a male; if not, it’s a female. With that said, that does not necessarily determine their gender. While a majority of the time, nearly all of the time, a person’s sex and gender align, there are situations where they do not. This is where many people experience culture shock and disbelief. Because they choose not to accept or learn, stereotypes and fear are created, unfortunately leading to hate and discrimination.
Delete-CSP012
This video gives people the answer on rather or not gender is a socially constructed concept. I love how the video broke down what gender is just in case people didn't know what gender was instead of jumping into discussion. Gender is basically just the state of being male or female then it also determine how one should act in some cases. Some people categorize females as being feminine and males being strong and dominant. I know this is off topic but I never knew it was that many different kind of genders I think he named like 9, I was def mind blown while he was naming the different genders I only knew about 4 so that was def some new and useful information that I learned. Before even watching this video since high school I had psychology an we learned about nature vs nurture. I believe gender norms is a nature thing. I believe your environment influence why you act a certain way or think a certain way. Then again I know a lot of people who are gay and they never grew up in those environments and they say they were born like that so I guess that would go against my claim in way. I think that story about David reimar is crazy. I watch a lot of shows about kids wanting to be the opposite gender but I never heard of anything like that, I think that is just out right crazy. I love how they mentioned even though his parents and doctors wanted him to be a girl he didn't fall into the pressure of being a girl he did what he wanted and decided to go back to who he really was. I think his parents should feel a little responsible for the fact their son killed himself, he probably suffered depression due to the fact of his gender problem. Then on top of that, I don't think the parents should of turned there son into a girl that young but too each its own I guess. I think this video made a good point that would lead me to believe that there are some differences that are biological and some that are socially constructed. - jolly rancher
ReplyDeleteNature versus Nurture -- the question that has confounded scientists since the dawn of the modern scientific era. This video separates this debate into its two hemispheres, and then tries to determine a solution. Specifically, is gender determined by nature or environment? The video uses five theories to discuss the question at hand. Personally, ever since taking an Anatomy & Physiology course, I leaned on the nature/genetics side of things. However, after taking an intro Psychology and now Sociology course, I am definitely back on the fence -- more appropriately appreciating the environmental side of things. Honestly, I do not believe this debate will ever be resolved. I firmly believe that our genetic AND environmental factors and experiences shape us into the people we are. Something so complex as human personality and behavior cannot be determined simply from either nature or nurture.
ReplyDeleteSpecifically about gender, I used to believe that we were born a gender and that is how and who we should accept and behave as. Now, after being in college for nearly a year, I definitely am much more accepting of differential opinions. While I will never make the effort to learn the countless amount of (fill in the black)-gender labels, I can learn to appreciate and accept them. After all, we are all humans and as long as everyone is happy and enjoys their lives, who am I to judge?
Don’t get me wrong, I will admit that I still feel uncomfortable when I encounter someone of a “different” gender (not talking about a female). I have no shame about this, though. I was born into a binary gender generation, and now have grown up in a poly-gender society. This movement causes quite the societal shakeup -- and definitely a culture shock. All I can do is accept others’ opinions and judge them as the person they are.
-CSP012
This video was slightly confusing for me. I didn't understand what exactly I was following as far as are men said to be physically stronger than women or was I supposed to be following the biological history of gender. That kind of through me off so my response to this video will be very brief. In the beginning of this video he said he would tell his sister men are stronger than women and she'd respond men are socially conditioned to be stronger. Well, I guess it all depends. Yes, in society we view men as muscular and powerful. In some cases this is true. If you think about it there are women boxers out there that can take down a man with no boxing IQ. On the other hand there are bodybuilding men out there that can lift a skinny petite woman over his head. Personally, I don't believe the saying "men are stronger" because that's not always the case. I didn't know there were so many meanings behind the word gender. I thought it meant one thing and nothing more. I believe the sayings we use such as "be a man" play a huge role in this theory that men are stronger than women. The whole issue with David Reimar was very interesting and sad. Going between genders must have been so hard and I feel it was wrong to inject a 22 month old baby messing with the mans hormones before he could even live life, that's sad. The worst part is he had no control over it. Although this video confused me I did learn from it.
ReplyDelete-JEWELS012
Well wait just a minute!! This video was actually very amusing to me and left me wanting an ‘ale’ (again- no I am not an alcoholic ) All this discussion of is it Nature vs. Nuture, more than 2 genders (genderless, transgender, thirdgender, genderqueer, genderfluid, cisgender, binary gender, bigender, etc… whaaaaat???), Biology vs. Environment, Feminists vs. Naturists and Man or Woman vs. Male or Female. This is just all a bit too complicated and a little silly. Instead of asking questions such as if biology or our environment and which makes us who we are, why not just say both? You were biologically born one way and your environment influences you very little or a lot. Conformity of social expectations, let’s just not have gender expectations so everyone can just be who they want without it being shouted from the rooftops. Just be YOU no matter what you were conditioned to be! I do believe that is the solution to such divergent ways of thinking and it really is that easy. We are all guilty of overlooking arguments from the opposing sides of the spectrum- there are biological factors such as testosterone and estrogen as well sociocultural factors that all tie into the ‘given’ effectors. We are now living in a world where almost anything can be altered whether this group agrees or that group doesn’t- it’s just awesome to be alive and if you want to do/be whatever you want- it’s a decision, your decision. I am going to be honest, I don’t agree with altering who and how you were born, but that’s my opinion. Just as everyone should be allowed to be who and how they want, I agree everyone should be allowed their opinion- ALL WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES!! And then maybe we could get rid of the many sub-genders because let’s be honest, that’s just silly. TRM-012
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about being allowed to have your own opinion. That we all have both biology and environment to shape who we are as individuals. Everyone should be able to express and state their opinion and how they perceived the main point to this video because as Americans we have the right to speak up and even teach others what we know.
Delete-IDK123012
The way the guy started with the video is like the topic he takes as a joke. Stating he always would argue with his sister about how men are stronger than woman. States how she had a good answer saying only because socially that is what we are taught, or you would not feel this way. He goes about hormones and the body structure, seriously said I mean I wish I had two jugs hanging I just cannot believe the way he has started this video and stated her boobs in this way. Brings up feminism/ feminists and how they do not look at all the picture and facts but when I think of a feminist I think of equal rights between genders. When many believe that gender is not defined and there are more than two genders mentally and physically. He goes into transgenders and really all the genders that are considered throughout the world and goes into details about how socially it does not change how a male or female feels even when they feel like they are in the wrong skin. It was crazy to hear davids story because I have not really heard of anything like it a male born but they changed him physically into a girl which is kind of crazy because who are his parents to make this choice. Growing up feeling male but looking a female when he was genetically a male and wanting to be a male I could not even imagine the depression and going through surgery to become a male once again. He chooses a positive conclusion stating that there is no good answer for this question and we should all just be defined as humans or as he says ALE. The way he wraps up the video you really need to fully watch it to not feel like it is so negative it comes together to make sense and not be one way or the other.
ReplyDelete-campbell012
This video was talking about how the biology between men and women are different and if gender is a social contract. In the clip I heard two word that I already knew nature and nature meaning is it our environment that makes us who we are or our biology. Whether people realize it or not both are apart of who are as individuals. Everyone has a physical appearance and a certain or several behaviors of how act when we are around certain people. An example would be how you act with your friends verses how you act with your parents. Gender and sex are not the same thing gender focuses on the behaviors or personal traits or an individual while sex is the physical traits like the body parts. I learned that just because in our culture we have two or more classified genders does not mean that’s how the rest of the world is, in India they have three genders. As a culture and society, we have certain phrases that pressures genders to be a certain way in the video he used boys do not cry as an example which is a result that men are supposed to be strong and endure in something like that often because then they are considered to be weak. I was really blown with the story about David Reimer I think that the situation was crazy because then parents made such a huge life changing decision for their 22-month-old child. It was their choice, but I think if it was handled differently the results in the end would have different. I think that the sub genders are too much like just be who you are and do your thing because you have a right. Will everyone agree with all of your actions..no but who cares do what makes you happy.
ReplyDelete-IDK123012
I do believe a part of the difference of genders is biological. Parts of a girl brain and parts of a boy brain develop at different rates and times. Boys testosterone levels are different and can make them more aggressive and rowdy when younger. I believe the base of gender differences starts off biologically then grows off that. Women and men have more similarities then we all like to admit but there are obvious differences. I believe since we start off maturing and developing at different rates that instead of both genders being more similar at a young age we are taught how different we are. It is always said boys get in more trouble than girls etc.. Since saying like those are put in our heads we role with it. Biological and sociological differences then both play a role in each gender. Instead of keeping it to just our biological differences then society exemplifies those into a huge construct we all follow. Sometimes even girls feel odd when they are not super "girly". Most often I wear no makeup and like to wear my ripped jeans and funny t-shirts. Some days I feel like I should try harder on my appearance and wear more of my classier clothing. Do boys wake up feeling that way? NO. They wake up, roll out of bed and put on their sweats and t-shirt knowing they feel good and who ever they like will still think they are just as attractive even when they do not put effort into their appearance. This is all because society puts a gender role on us all. Girls see the girls in the media then look at themselves and feel no where near attractive or worth it. It is a shame the media only shows off girls with certain features, because then the rest usually do not feel as feminine or pretty. Society has done us all wrong with the gender construct they have created.
ReplyDeletegea012
The content of this video was really good and explained a lot about how gender is a social construct. We may be born male or female but that doesn’t just classify biology. Rather, being born male or female gives the person social constructs for their society. All societies are different but in America girls are raised to be dainty and sweet and boys are raised to be rough and tough. Of course, there are exceptions to these constructs, but this is how America generally sees boys and girls. I think what they said about gender not being a solid one deal thing is very interesting and opens up my mind. They have made all these different genders besides male and female based on people’s feelings but that only causes more diversity in a sense. If we add more and more genders to our society then that will create more differences between us. Whether we like it or not it is hard for us to accept differences of other people. So essentially, I think we will always have a hard time accepting each other because of our differences but we can get better in accepting differences. Differences will usually stick out and be so noticeable because they don’t follow the norm. This happens the same way for males and females. If a boy is told he throws like a girl then that is meant to be an insult because of the social constructs it involves to “be female”. In the video, I like how they talk about muscle mass for boys and girls. Boys tend to have more muscle mass but there is nothing stopping a female from working out, taking testosterone, and gaining as much muscle mass as a guy. This idea even takes it into the biology side of it along with hormones, which makes me think that there really shouldn’t be a fine line between men and women. If they have help or not, a man can do anything a woman does and vice versa.
ReplyDelete-curlyhead012
In the video gender roles and expectations the guy comments to his sister that men are more stronger than women, her reply to his statement was that men are socially conditioned to be stronger then a woman. The truth is that a man will never have the body of a female without taking female hormones or plastic surgery. The way that we determine the sex of a person is what we call gender. This is the best way that men and women can be identified. Some people believe in the nature vs. nurture theory, this is that nature is what makes us who we are or our biology. West and Zimmerman say that gender is an emergent feature of social situations, both as an outcome of and a rational for various social arrangements, and as a means of legitimating one of the most fundamental divisions of society. They also mentioned how language forms ours reality man and woman describe certain phenomenon. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia which is a disease that may alter sex organs of people. But even when someone does have procedures done to alter their sex such as the case of David Reimar things still can bring a person back to their original gender. In David’s case he had something go wrong with a surgery which while still a baby was changed into a female, once he became older and mentioned suicide to his parents they then told him the truth about what happened. This helped him which led him to becoming married to a female, but after his marriage did not work out and they got a divorce he then committed suicide. Even though as a child and his change he still felt like a man, so even if a person changes their body without surgery or hormones they still will be either male or female like they were from birth. Just me 012
ReplyDeleteThe material presented in the video was interesting and did a good job of explaining how gender is a social construct. We may be born male or female, but that doesn't solely classify a person's biology. Rather, being born male or female gives the person social constructs for their society. All societies are different but in America girls are raised to be dainty and sweet and boys are raised to be rough and able to fight. Today there are all these different genders besides male and female based on people's own feelings. If we add more and more genders to our society then that will create more differences between us. I think at the end of the day that will muddy up the waters that much more. Whether we like it or not it is hard for us to accept the feelings of other people. I think there will always be conflict between the traditionalists and the wave of people that think differently from them. In the video, I like how they talk about muscle mass for boys and girls. Boys tend to have more muscle mass but there is nothing stopping a female from working out, taking testosterone, and gaining just as much muscle. Overall, I thought the video was entertaining and gave insight to what others think about the social construct.
ReplyDelete-CUBSFAN012
This video was alright but the speaker lost me a few times in the midst of his examples. Nature vs. nurture seems to always be the big question when we want to talk about why we act the way we do. Nothing annoys me more than the people that think its ONLY one or the other. I feel like picking just one of those tries to force us to think simple minded, which is pretty easy for the kind of society that we live in today. With that being said, I think that gender has a lot to do with BOTH nature and nurture. However, when I say nature influences gender I don’t base it off of the physical differences between female and male, I think more of what is going on in the mind. For example, when the speaker mentioned that hormones affect our brains. I think that hormones over ANYTHING would be more of a factor as opposed to having a penis or boobs. Female and male are nothing but categories that somebody back in the day said would work for EVERYONE. THAT’S WHY IT WE RUN INTO SO MANY ISSUES NOW! When we as a society try to come up with one “answer” for MILLIONS of people, we are asking for some confusion and conflict. In my opinion, we need to update our behaviors and thoughts just like we do our phones. What worked back when life was easier WON’T work now. I think that we as a society need to face the fact that the human life is too complex to create distinct categories for all people. In other words, everything would be easier if we people would just MIND THEIR BUSINESS!!! What does it matter to me if the girl i sit next to in class was born a boy? IT DOESN’T! We are ALL human and have the choice to be who we want to be.
ReplyDeleteLayBae012
I thought this was a very good response and I agree completely. Male and females are nothing but labels and just because you are assigned a gender doesn't mean you have to act as a girl or a boy. Like you said its all based on what's going on in the mind. We all need to start considering how we need to become more open minded to the thought of other people and their choices. Just because someone acts differently than the gender they were assigned doesn't mean they should be treated any differently. Either way we need to start working together to except one another then the world would be a much better place<3 -ILIKETURTLES012
DeleteThis is a very good presentation on the differences between nature vs. nurture, and this is seeming to be the reasons why we think and act the way we do. I do believe that we all either male or female, and that’s it nothing more, nothing less. God created us in a beautiful way in two types of gender male and female in a way that we complete each other. Other types of gender are all new things that people created it trying to get money starting from the psychologist and ending to the doctor who did the surgery. I understand if there is a hormonal problem that makes some people confused, but as far as it is clear for them biological who they are they need to work on solving the problem not to change the problem into more complex one. At the same time when we are born the society is telling us what to do and what not to do under the female-male categories. it tells us that girls can be emotion and wear pink, where boys should not cry and can wear blue. And I see this as being a natural thing because our hormones and our body makes us the way we are, and the society is supporting this. I don’t understand why people tend to make it difficult when it comes to equality. For me, as a woman, I encourage the equality between men and women as a human being but that doesn’t give us the right to play with what we are in the first place, the day when we were born as a boy or as a girl. I think we all have the choice to be what we want, BUT not to change our gender because we don’t feel it. I don’t judge people who chose to change their gender, but I wish if they could accept their nature the way they are instead of losing themselves in an unending process. POINTOFVIEW012
ReplyDeleteGender as a social construct is interesting. This video discussed the nature vs nurture concept. When a baby is born they are identified as male or female based up on their sexual organs. The organs that were developed during the conception and development phase in the womb. These organs are developed from the surge of hormones inside the wound that helped to develop them. The development of a person after birth continues and some men do not develop the same masculinity as pothers including muscle mass while some women may develop with more “manly” features than others. The way a person is “nurtured” may also influence how they act if they become more masculine or feminine. For example, there are young children that report they feel like the opposite sex and want to dress and behave in that manner. This is where it is hard to explain, why they have these feelings or emotions. Is it being influenced by their environment or their parents, have they read this someone, is it curiosity? I personally don’t understand this. My personal feeling is that God gave each of a gender with the associated sexual organs. I don’t feel that people should be discriminated in jobs such because of gender. For example, there is nothing wrong with a male being a nurse or a woman being a construction worker but at the end of the day their gender is really determined by their organs. Now how one decides to use their organs is another story. Some people are heterosexual, others are homosexual and some are bisexual. However, when a person needs to use the restroom, they should go into the genetically appropriate restroom. I have strong feelings about transgender restrooms that may make others feel uncomfortable. This is almost reverse discrimination. We all have to be respectful of our surroundings.
ReplyDelete-SBC012
Regarding your last statement about making sure people use their designated restrooms is honestly a good subject matter for conversations. Personally, I feel like people should be whoever they want to be. If they feel like a woman but were born another way, it doesn't affect me at the end of the day and they should do their thing. At the same time though, I don't feel as though men who "feel" like a woman should come in to womens restrooms. I don't want to sound ignorant or transphobic or anything but I feel like that topic is up for debate. I think I would be very uncomfortable because biologically we are not the same. Internally sure you might be a woman but I don't know where I am at as far as how that would go. I don't mean to be offensive I just wonder how other people feel regarding that scenario.
DeleteHOOTIEGRL012
This video raises a lot of questions I think. It clearly emphasizes just how complex it is to be male or female in this society today. You wouldn’t think so but being “male or female” isn’t always black and white. There are people who you would be conditioned to see as one or the other in terms of sexes but behave entirely different. Biologically, we are different I think. Males are typically bigger naturally, and have more muscle, but there are definitely cases where women are bigger and stronger than men. So, you can’t really say one is one way and the other is another. I did find the part where the did the study on babies of different genders very interesting though. They said that baby boys and baby girls responded differently to toys placed in front of them. Boys naturally gravitated toward the more mechanical toys and girls swayed more to the comforting faces of people. They also went on to say that may be part of the reason why girls grow up to have more social jobs, such as healthcare jobs involving people and taking care of people. Where as boys pursue more engineering and mechanical careers. I found that really interesting because even in my own life it seems to be true. I know way more girls who are looking for health careers, and way more boys who are in school for science and engineering degrees. It’s honestly fascinating how much our gender really persuades us to behave. And how much it influences our decisions all throughout our lives. We believe that society conditions us, but the study shows that might not be entirely true. Biologically, women tend to be nurturers more so than men. Contrary to popular belief that women are TAUGHT to be more caring than men. It’s very interesting.
ReplyDeleteHOOTIEGRL012
This video I found to be primarily about gender and the many differences in gender that we now have. The narrator in the video argues that while growing up, he did in fact use the saying “like a girl” with his sister and shares with us the reaction that it would create from his sister. He shares that in fact it is very real that the main reason for the way in which each gender acts is incredibly dependent upon the way society supports them to act. Women could be much more masculine in our society as long as that was how they were raised and supported to act. This video began to dive even more in to genre scripts in terms of the changes that we have in our society regarding transgender, gender fluid and the many other genders that our society is beginning to recognize. This video also shares the opinion that gender is simply something that we have for social reasons and not a whole lot else. It argues that gender is something that we may not need outside of our social standing and society. This is a fascinating worldview that I had not experienced a whole lot so it was definitely interesting the hear and learn more about. I think gender as a whole will be a fascinating topic to continue looking at as the years go by, even in the near future. I agree with the narrator as he argues that no matter what gender you are, male, female or otherwise, this country as well as the world should treat you as equal and not as something different or unequal. We are all human beings no matter your gender and it is important that each person feel supported and respected within their workplace and the society. -THEARSONIST012
ReplyDeleteThis is a fascinating conversation. The different between sex and gender is very complicated. There is some truth to the fact that even though someone might be a certain sex biologically, they feel as though they are different on the inside. If gender is in fact a social construct, then I don’t think that there are hundreds of different genders that people can chose from. However, it takes sense that people feel differently about themselves than a perfect impression of what society’s ideal male and female roles look like. It makes sense that someone may lie on the spectrum of male and female personalities and activities. However, this just means that they don’t match society’s version of male of female. Not aligning perfectly with society does not make anyone less of a male or female, it just shows that vapid constructs that are a results of certain parts of society do not often hold weight in the real world, and do a poor job of representing all types of people as they really are. If our society did not push such heavily male and female roles, then there would no doubt be less people with “personal gender crisises” that result in confusion and anger - the truth is, some people are just different. Instead of creating a hundred little boxes to put people in and cause them to be upset and feel misunderstood, why not just understand that each and every person is different, and do away with the unhelpfully strict gender roles that an leave people feeling left out, misunderstood, and under-represented. Nature vs nurture is something that most people are not strictly one or another. A society full of people who only followed their natural instincts and desires and people who only based their interactions on feelings and emotions would be a sloppy one indeed. It is necessary that all personalities to be different, and for that to be the case, all males and females would look, act, and behave slightly differently from one another.
ReplyDelete- MAXIMA012
I thought that the thought monkey brought up some really good point but at some points I didn't completely agree with what he said. I glad he brought up the biological reasoning for gender construct. I believe that when it comes to gender and how we feel all depends on how we were conceived. For example, If you were born a male but later on in life want to become a female I believe that there is something that happens genetically which is the congenital adrenal hyperplasia. However, a lot of people think that you aren't born gay but you become gay. Society also has such high standards for gender roles that its ridiculous. Children are born into a world where it is thought that women are stay at home mom when the father is working all day. That's not 100% true. I think that's a issue we need to start working on. That's the whole idea behind feminism because women just want to be able to do the things men do without it breaking the gender roles. Nature vs. nurture has a HUGE impact on all of it. When it all comes to nurture it depends on how you are raised. For example, a girl could grow up with having brothers and could act more like a boy because of what they grew up around. On the other had it also depends on nature. Like I said before, you could also be born wanting to be more like a boy because of the hormones they have received when being conceived. i thought the story about David was really interesting because it was something I had never heard of before. At the same time I felt really bad for him because how can you mess up a circumcision? No would should have to suffer from something like that because it was the doctors fault. Either way nature vs. nurture has a huge impact on how we classify gender and gender roles. -ILIKETURTLES012
ReplyDeleteThis video was informative. While I definitely don't agree with some of what he said, it was interesting to hear some of the arguments from the opposing side. I believe that there are only two genders. Either you're born a male or a female. There isn't anything in between. I can understand being gay and that is totally fine, I don't have a problem with that. What I don't agree with is that you think you belong to the other gender. You either have the male parts, or the female parts. I also believe that sex and gender go hand in hand with each other, and is not entirely a social construct. While society has an influence on gender( boys get blue, girls get pink as an example) I also believe it is part of you when you're born. Men and women are wired differently and have different interests. JE012
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful topic with many very passionate and opposing sides. Is gender simply a social construct? My simple answer to a complicated question? No. Does our personality, which includes are feminine and masculine traits, differ greatly from person to person? Yes. Are we very easily angered by people who oppose us without truly giving them the time they deserve to speak their thoughts? Yes. Are there people in this world who are truly and actually misinformed? Yes. Does that mean they are purposefully being mean? Not necessarily. Are we making things worse by acting as if only the extreme poles of this argument exist? Very much so yes. In my opinion it always goes back to how it all began, and without getting into creation versus evolution we can still look at animals. Male and Female roles are clearly defined in animals, but animals will cross those lines form time to time. This is almost proof some would say that even animals are not strictly adhering to gender, but the problem I have with that is the idea that society makes you what you are. This is true in many cases but something as intimate as your gender preference is not society. Maybe your sexual behavior and other factors are affected by society but gender is something you had the day you were born. Gay people use this as a common argument. They were born that way they did not grow into it. So if you were born with a preference such as that you were born with the intention to fill a certain role. The story about the man David who lived as a girl until 14 and then killed himself at 38 speaks strongly to this. His parents raised him as a girl and he even had the sexual orientation of a girl, but he never felt truly like a girl, because he wasn't one. People can live however they want and don't have to be "normal" but they have to admit whatever they are they always were in this case.
ReplyDelete-twentyfourframes012
After observing this very thought-provoking video I tried putting myself into the opposite opinions shoes and looking at the video the way they would. Even after doing that there is just too much that seems to connect that men are men because of nature and nurture. Yes our experiences and life can help point us to acting a certain way but that's just it, they help. It seems as if from the video most cases of humans act as the gender they were born in. Yes some males or females can be born with an excess of testosterone or estrogen but that doesn't mean they should decide to change their sex. The term tomboy for females has been around forever maybe the "tomboy" of a female is just a female with a little more than normal levels of testosterone or maybe they grew up around sports and acting as a "tomboy." Regardless there is no reason to change sex's just because one acts more like a gender than another. We are made the way we are for a reason I don't believe people should fight that. People need to learn to not fall into the social construct of having to do this or that if you're a specific sex. We are made this way for a reason so just embrace it whether you're a male that acts a little more feminine or a female that acts more manly embrace it and live life. People need to learn to break free of society's views and to not conform to how they should be. Accept the life we have been given and take it and run with it. Life is just too short to be worrying and thinking about we are "born in the wrong body." Just because you act more towards the opposite sex doesn't mean you should change into that sex. There is no problem with whoever you're attracted to but when it comes to messing and reversing mother nature just seems that we do not have the right to do that. I believe we are put here for a better person and everything happens for a reason and to take the body you're given and to change it not only seems to go against mother nature but seems people are taking advantage of their bodies. They should be happy there are some people in the world with defficiances or mutations that would do anything for a fully functional body and people that have those are mutilating them because they "feel" differently. Just because you don't fit into the social construct of "being a man" or "being a woman" does not mean you should change sex. Live the life we are so grately given.
ReplyDelete- mommaj'skid012
Interesting little film I thought! First of all, I never knew there were about nine genders. In fact, that never really came across to me because I would never thought that “transgender” would be part of the category gender, even though it has the word gender in it. Also, in other countries “gender” is used differently such as in Chile and India. So, its been thought that men and women are views by society to do different things such as men being tough and women being more passive, from what I got from the video. Nature vs. Nature was interesting for me because I never though. Sounds exactly the same, but different meanings on both sides. This is to why we do things differently and act differently. People have the choice what they want to be and especially for those who are having a harder time choosing to be what they are, others just accept the type of gender. As a male, I will never know how it’s like to be in a female body. At least not in this world, right? But, That’s just what I think. I feel like there is still so much to be studied and figure out more, but the day a person is born is what you come out to be and identified, either boy or girl. As they grow up, some are genetically different, so they start going to a phase where they do and act different and is where nature vs. nature comes in. See, society is the one who pushes individuals the way they are and is very uncomfortable for some. I thought the video was interesting and defiantly encourage others to look more into it, I try to do some side research but of course that’s just what I believe. - LILPUMP012
ReplyDeleteI thought like most people did for a long time that gender is coherent with sex, I for the longest time thought they went hand in hand until recently when I actually thought about it and this class helps me realize that too. I like how this video address that right away that sex and gender are not the same thing like most people think. He then goes on to talk about gender fixation and how it is possible there are more than two genders. Then he discusses the nature vs. nurture point on this argument which the nurture the way he described it does not seem to have a great backing to it. But it does have some good points like the language example where because of what people around us say we feel pressured to act a certain way because it is either “manly” or “woman-like”. Then he gets to the nature argument, which again is very interesting discussion, because even as children there are differences in how humans act towards different stimuli. Then we talk about how sometimes nature can mess things up, some times in the womb babies receive too much of the opposite hormones their sex requires and that can cause some biological issues. Where even from birth a child may be born male but feel female. Or vice versa, he uses the story of David Reimar as a good example one, I story I have never heard of but is very interesting, and sad. The poor person when back and forth between and eventually took his life. He states in that video that the pressure of those around him to act like a woman is the cause for the depression and feelings of doubt. A very good point going back to the pressures of society having on the individual. I love the note he ended on. Just see each other as other humans, we have our differences in many ways but in more we are similar.
ReplyDeleteBossMan012
Sex has a pretty clear cut answer to what a person is. If you are born with two x chromosomes you are a girl and if you are born with a y chromosome you are a boy. There is not a debate to be had about this, this is just how sex is defined. Gender on the other hand is an absolute mess to talk about. I don't think that the terms that people seem to want to use now are very good because we use boy and girl for both sex and gender. I really think that we should just start using feminine and masculine to describe gender. If a person is born with a y chromosome but does girly things I do not think that we should start calling that person a girl. I think that we should call them a feminine boy. I have heard the concern with this approach is that it would be difficult to determine what is feminine and what is masculine, but I do not see it as an issue. I would just use statistical averages to see what women do more and what men do more. Some might say that the problem with this is that not everything that is women do is a natural state, but again that does not seem like a problem to me. As the statics change so to would the definition of masculinity and femininity. I think that some things would stay universality consistent, but even if someone disagrees with me on that, whether the statistics change in every way will eventually show one side to be correct. Switching over to my personal opinion I don't think that everything that men and women do is biologically determined by any means, but I do think that a lot of things are. For example, birthing will always stay feminine because in nature women are the only ones that are able to have birth, but hair length's position may change sometime in the future.
ReplyDelete-DMPeschy
This was a cool video to watch. I think it was very accurate. I find it very interesting how it is believed that these gender roles start out as we are babies. Even something as simple as how the babies are sitting plays into this as well. That really stood out to me and shocked me. I never thought about it that way. I always look at babies as being just babies. But it is true, you see the boys sitting and the little girls on their stomachs. Also, the toys that parents buy the babies makes a huge difference. Boys are intrigued by the mechanical things and girl’s attention is caught by more faces as the video said. It really opened my eyes that—that has something to do with how males and females pick their careers. Men are normally the firefighters, police officers, architects, and engineers while you see more women as teachers, nurses, stylist, etc. The dirty work tends to be more men and the cleaner obviously women. I’ve seen this change though. I have recently heard men wanting to be nurses and we have more male teachers now. I feel as it is time though for the change. I know it’ll feel weird at first but who says that you can’t be a nurse because you are a male. I feel our society has made so many cultural norms that honestly should not be. You should be able to be what you want to be without society judging but unfortunately that is how things are in today’s society.
ReplyDeleteprettygirlhd012
This whole topic is really hard to talk about because we don’t truly know what is right and what is wrong and who are we to judge. As for me being an Christian I feel that you are born the person God wants you to be and that you have the free will to do whatever you want but in doing so you are going against God’s plan (shout out to Drake). In life we have social norms and when people go against them we view them as weirdo’s or people that are going against what’s right and we can’t judge them because we aren’t them and we don’t experience what they experience or feel what they feel. I never knew how a child could be born and male but as they grow up they feel as though they are in the wrong body and tend to play with girl toys and like to wear girl clothes like I just don’t get it and just don’t understand how they think and how that even came across their mind. But as human beings we need to understand that feelings are unique because the feelings we feel are our own and no one else’s. We may share the same feelings but its just not quite the same overall. Before this class I honestly felt disgust when I would hear about transsexual people or gay people but now I’m more understanding and accepting because like I said before who are we to judge and its just the social norms that make these things wrong in societies eyes. The surgeries now that are being offered are in my eyes too much though like I don’t think people should change their whole reproductive structure. Like it’s okay for you to dress up a certain way and to act a certain way but the whole changing reproductive organs could be a little too much. Mrbubby012
ReplyDeleteThis video was interesting. It closely identifies different genders and their sexuality and how it affects many different people. It also goes into depth regarding the reasoning between nature vs. nurture. I really found it very interesting, I never really understood the difference between the two. Gender and sex is different, which I actually used to think was practically the same. After watching the video, it was easier to identify the two! I still find it interesting, the people who feel they identify with other genders when they’re the opposite. I’ve always wanted to have a conversation with them. What does that feel like? How do they know they feel like another gender if they haven’t necessarily felt what it’s like to be that gender? If they simply don’t feel themselves, or something just feels “off”, does that automatically just mean they need to be the other gender instead of trying to feel more like the one they are now?
ReplyDeleteStarlight012
Back in gradeschool a boy in my class would always tell some female classmates and I that boys were stronger and better than us. At that age we all were hurt and mad at the comment but getting older I realized that us women can not only be as strong as men but just as good if not better than men. I get that our bodies are different in many ways but we are more than capable of doing what men do. With the nature vs. nurture argument I do not agree with one or the other. In my opinion I feel like it is a mixture of both. When the guy talked about how men go towards engineering and science, than women go towards healthcare and education I agree with him. However, there are women who went into the engineering and science just the same as males going into the healthcare and education fields. I feel like gender can be biological just the same as you can choose what gender you want to be. In my opinion I have my concerns with people changing their gender. For example I do not like how people can choose what gender they want to be everyday. I say that because let's say this person is a pedifile and they waned to be a boy for the day. With being a boy you would have to use the male bathroom if needed to use the restroom. That pedifile that wanted to be a boy for the day can have the choice to decide if they wanted to use the gender they were born with to use that bathroom or the bathroom of the gender are were for that day. Thanks to many business now a days people can do that. I do not like how they can use bathrooms of whatever gender they want to be. A lot of things could happen to a person in the bathroom. Overall I found this video be be very interesting.
ReplyDelete-jw012