Gender Roles in American Society Essay -- Sociology American Culture

Gender Roles in American Society   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Femininity and masculinity are topics that have been debated over in our society extensively, through psychological research and day to day interaction with people. Children learn from their parents as well as society the concept of â€Å"feminine† and â€Å"masculine.† The majority of people tend to believe that these conceptions are biological but I believe it is more cultural. From birth, female children are shaped by society as being sweet, caring, loving, and delicate and usually associated with the color pink. While male children are shaped by being tough, aggressive, and competitive and associated with the color blue. As these children grow, the boy is given a football to play with and the girl a Barbie. All of these aspects illustrate how gender socialization takes place early in children’s lives and how society has made it a norm to accept these stereotypes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The majority of the stereotypes are usually influenced by the child’s parents. Children are not worried about their gender or identity until late childhood. It is then that the child will begin to develop a sense of self and begin to understand their own identity. Gender roles in Western culture have been changing constantly in recent years due to the fact that there are constant changes in our society (women entering the workforce, Betty the homemaker is not too ideal these days, and single parent homes). Gender roles are part of the socialization process. These ideals are...