Gender Stereotyping is Unfairness Essay

The roles the society allocates to its members according to sex are the root course of how people relate to each other in the society. Those who don’t fit into predetermined gender roles face social sanctions. This paper reveals that the gender stereotyping in the society are unfair and amount to the abuse of the rights of those who don’t conform to the norms. The essay takes into consideration the origins of the social standards and experiences of life which are used on women. Devor’s essay reveals how gender stereotypes give rise to female to male transsexuals. This paper shall also analyze Alice Munro’s book, Boys and Girls that provides a literary example that complements Denvor’s scientific explanation. The paper will also be complemented by various views by feminists. Devor states that since time immemorial women were taken as less important than men. Women were not much recorded in writings on the society as men were. A close look at the writings of ancient religions e.g. Greek, Judaism, and the dark ages reveals this.   Cultures in the past have had individuals with mixed gender, who are based on polytheistic beliefs. In America this was identified in the 16th century. This was not written about as most of the writings focused on men thought to have female traits for social ridicule. In the twentieth century women became empowered and became workers due to the industrial age. In this time women who dressed like men were branded the title lesbians. This name later was used to refer to transgender women in the culture. Efforts to discover the trait of transgender individuals have been undertaken in the recent past however this phenomenon has been present in societies always. This phenomenon for long has been suppressed. Modern science has discovered the biological differences as well as psychological and social influences between men and women, and now the study of transsexuals can be studied and medication given. Devor argues that the context of culture is very important in understanding sex and gender. He states that the structure of the society determines the lives of individuals. Gender is a result of cultural influence on the members of the society. The relations in the society that enhance gender are rules of relations in the society. He observes that the society is responsible for its transgender individuals. They represent the mean of what the society has forced in the diverse human life (Dover 37). His argument is that the home is the place where the female to male transsexuals are bred. Most of the theories on transgender individuals put the responsibility of the situation on parents. For instance fathers are seen to impart the message that women are lesser to their daughters. Also mothers who appear victimized and dependent on the husband make their daughters attracted to be like men. This leads to a personality split, which is not illness, as some people believe. In the developmental years at the stage of early development those children with male to female traits do not identify with female relations in their childhood years.   The children in this stage identify themselves with masculine figures and preferred male company. In the final analysis there seems, on the part of these girls a desire to escape the problems of their gender. Transsexuals, therefore, are the result of intense socialization.   The process starts at early childhood and continues to build up in adolescence and even in adult life. She argues that people should be left to live and fully express the gender roles they choose. Most transsexuals don’t undergo the surgery to change their genitalia so they face continuing limitations in society. In spite of this they are able to achieve their goals in life.   As stated in the introduction, Alice Munro’s book, Boys and Girls supports Devor’s idea of sex and gender. The story of the girl narrator sheds light on Devor’s argument about gender stereotyping in the society. In the book Munro depicts challenges and successes in the process of passage from childhood to adulthood. Her narrators are a girl and a boy, who are siblings. She tackles the theme of sex role stereotype which is full of unfairness. The protagonist undergoes exacting and extreme initialization into adulthood like her younger brother. The author suggests that stereotyping of gender and loss of innocence are initiation into adulthood, and are extremely influential to individual children. Munro through the choice of a female protagonist who is without a name and therefore undignified lays he ground for showcasing the stereotype. The younger brother of the protagonist is named laid – for lord, and by virtue of the name he is to become a dignified master of others. The grandmother of the children comes calling and gives the narrator advice on the rules of conduct for a girl. For instance girls keep their legs together when they are seated. The narrator faces a disliking of the roles that she is being couched to take; those of her mother. She rather likes her father’s roles.