Reading Reflection Four

“Gender structures every organization and shapes every interaction in society, often in ways we are not consciously aware of.” (Newman, 115)

I really enjoyed this chapter from Newman’s book. I thought learning about learning was really interesting, especially when discussing social identities. I am taking an adolescent psychology class, and a lot of the things discussed about child rearing, and how kids learn have been discussed in that class as well. I especially liked the section about “learning genders”. This section discussed where children learn about their gender, how it affects their behavior, and briefly looked at biological and environmental factors that determine how children learn their gender.

Newman opens this chapter with an anecdote about a couple he was friends with and their attempt at raising their children without gender roles, and how even without this pressure their son would play games considered masculine and their daughter would play with little girls and play games considered feminine. This would suggest that a lot of behavior that children express is not completely determined by parents. I completely agree with this view, and I always have. I think that how parents raise their children affects how children will act and the choices they make, but most of the time children act based on their own beliefs and wishes, rather than on their parents. For example, my friend was raised as a conservative Christian by her parents, who always stressed the importance of abstinence until marriage, but my friend did not hold that same personal belief. She felt sex before marriage was alright if she felt ready, and acted upon her own beliefs, which differed from those of her parents, even though her parents had raised her on their own beliefs her entire life. I think the same goes for gender roles, where children will act more on their own thoughts and societies’ thoughts, rather than just their parent’s beliefs.

This reading did challenge some of my views as well. I always thought that because gender roles have changed so little over such a long period of time that they must be biological traits engrained in our genes. However, Margaret Mead’s studies on other cultures prove that this is not necessarily true. In some places men will portray traits traditionally considered feminine, and women will express traditionally masculine behavior. These studies seemed fascinating to me, and I would definitely like to learn more about them. They show that although genetics may play a role in determining gender roles, society may have an even larger part in deciding our behaviors.