essay #2
Valerie Acosta
Professor Desai
English 101-01
February 17, 2014
Essay #2 Throughout the decades, human beings from a small age start learning the characteristics of a male and female. Whether it is from media, clothing and to the way one is brought up, society has similar views of what it means to be a man or a women. Men are envisioned to be strong, aggressive, successful, and someone who avoids feminine characteristics. Women are perceived to be submissive, delicate, passive, dependent, vulnerable, having the ability to care for children and at times worthless. These views of gender identity have been engraved in humanities minds due to the amount of exposure to television, advertisements and the way one is raised in their households. Media, like television has conveyed what role a male and female should play in society. For example, television show like “I Love Lucy” demonstrated that a male should be the breadwinner of the house by going to work while the female should stay home so that she can take care of their home and to wait on the husband for authority. That idea has been established way back when and has not changed too much over the years. The author of the essay “Becoming Members of Society: Learning The Social Meanings Of Gender”, By Aaron H. Devor agrees by stating, “These two clusters of attributes are commonly seen as mirror images of one another with masculinity usually characterized by dominance and aggression, and femininity by passivity and submission”(390). Even modern day television shows like “Malcom in the Middle” and “The Simpsons” portray these qualities in a man and women. Not only does television secretly manipulate our thoughts of gender identity, but so does music. Music now a day has sets a new bar for the way men act and how they treat women. Rappers have a reputation to writing music about how dominant a male should be and how women are to be verbally and at times physically abused by them, which may cause
Professor Desai
English 101-01
February 17, 2014
Essay #2 Throughout the decades, human beings from a small age start learning the characteristics of a male and female. Whether it is from media, clothing and to the way one is brought up, society has similar views of what it means to be a man or a women. Men are envisioned to be strong, aggressive, successful, and someone who avoids feminine characteristics. Women are perceived to be submissive, delicate, passive, dependent, vulnerable, having the ability to care for children and at times worthless. These views of gender identity have been engraved in humanities minds due to the amount of exposure to television, advertisements and the way one is raised in their households. Media, like television has conveyed what role a male and female should play in society. For example, television show like “I Love Lucy” demonstrated that a male should be the breadwinner of the house by going to work while the female should stay home so that she can take care of their home and to wait on the husband for authority. That idea has been established way back when and has not changed too much over the years. The author of the essay “Becoming Members of Society: Learning The Social Meanings Of Gender”, By Aaron H. Devor agrees by stating, “These two clusters of attributes are commonly seen as mirror images of one another with masculinity usually characterized by dominance and aggression, and femininity by passivity and submission”(390). Even modern day television shows like “Malcom in the Middle” and “The Simpsons” portray these qualities in a man and women. Not only does television secretly manipulate our thoughts of gender identity, but so does music. Music now a day has sets a new bar for the way men act and how they treat women. Rappers have a reputation to writing music about how dominant a male should be and how women are to be verbally and at times physically abused by them, which may cause