The Division Between Gender

When norms are created in society, we create a mental image of what we should look like and how we should act. Standards have evolved around a gender issue. Whether pink stands for girls or blue represents boys, not everyone follows the unwritten rules. Rules that decide how each gender should act and essentially think. And those rule-breakers are often frowned upon by others. This is because our minds have set images for specific genders. Such as, women are portrayed as delicate as have special abilities to cook AND clean; while men have the ability to fix what's ever in sight and are most likely found glued to the TV watching Monday night football. Consequently, younger children are mistaken for being the opposite gender of what they truly are. this is because they wear specific items (clothes, color, etc.) that represent a certain gender.

Looking towards my personal life, I notice I have some undefinable "masculine" traits. For example, I am athletic, like the color blue, want to take charge, and ultimately I get along with everyone no matter who they are. In conclusion, I don't believe unwritten rules should minimize our behavior, personality, or beliefs and shouldn't define who we are; there are more important things in life.

all of a sudden i saw sociology when....

Last Thanksgiving, my cousin took part in the French exchange program. She housed a guy from France that has never been to the United States before. He was faced with both a culture shock and clash. While at dinner, we all said grace before eating, and this was part of our culture that he normally doesn't take part in. My Uncle attended to our dinner and he was a huge factor towards the Frenchman's shock. Adam was his name and you could tell by his facial expressions towards my Uncle that he was not in his comfort zone anymore. He became very shy while my Uncle recited song lyrics and told many gruesome stories, WHILE AT THE DINNER TABLE. Thereafter, the whole family headed downstairs to watch the BIG game (football). This was a factor of our culture that many Americans take part in; watching football on Thanksgiving day followed by a huge selection of pies and deserts. Our food, football games, and the way we sit down to have a family meal together, are all examples of the culture clash Adam encountered while visiting America. followed by many culture shocks he witnessed from both our citizens and my family, particularly my Uncle Chris.