When a new child is born into this world, the first thing that the parents learn is the sex of their new baby. From a very young age, you are either classified as a boy or a girl. However, defining one as a boy or a girl is not actually referring to the sex of a human being. Although they are often considered as the same thing, they are far from the same. Sex is defined as a biological status of a species according to internal and external reproductive organs and sex chromosomes. They are often characterized as male, female or intersex. Gender refers to the behaviour, attitude and feelings that a culture gives to a person’s biological sex. The topic of sex versus gender is an ongoing issue in today’s society because people are becoming more…
Parents dress the girls in pink and the boys in blue. Once children are cognitively capable, they themselves begin to contribute to the conformities of gender identity. Every parent hopes and prays that they will have a “normal” child, one that fits into today’s societal standards. This is why there are so many issues and complications that arise when an adolescent begins to push the boundaries of gender identity. There are invisible borders of what is and isn’t accepted by the general public. Gender determines how you dress, how you look, and how you act. However the most disturbing of gender determination is the fact that it controls how you feel, whether you are sensitive and emotional like a girl or tough and aggressive like a boy, you’re feelings are constantly being judged on a scale of appropriateness. Gender conformity is everyday behavior that conforms to norms and expectations that are related to a gender. Gender nonconformity is behaviour that is considered unusual and abnormal for a gender.
I found the article written by Emily W. Kane so insightful and it reminded me very much of the film Tough Guise 2 by Jackson Katz. We find gender nonconformity of girls much easier to accept than that of boys. Girls can dress like boys and play sports like boys and they will simply be considered just a “tomboy”. However if boys choose to behave more feminine, they are constantly bombarded with insults such as “fag, pussy, or bitch”. Although often brushed off the shoulder, these insults can cause a boy to feel…