Blog Entry 10- Gender and Sex

There are many roles that come with being a man or woman. Men are seemed to be given the responsibility of providing for his family, taking care of wife, kids, and parents. Women are often prepared from childhood to be house wives through the toys they play with and the teachings of their mother and other female relatives. An important educator to the sexuality of men and women is society and its expectations of behavior and what is acceptable. Chapter 11: “Gender and Sexuality” spoke of gender and sexuality and the inequalities tied to each. Sex is the biological distinction between females and males. Gender is the socially constructed cultural expectations associated with men and women. Much like race, gender is too socially constructed. The belief of gender has deviate amongst culture and over time. Gender roles influence characteristics like appearance, behaviors, emotions, activities and aspiration that come with identify with a gender. Inequalities and stratification of gender has been a part of society’s structure. Sexism is one of these inequalities, which is the ideology that one sex is superior to the other. Men have always been described as the superior sex from the home, workplace, social institutions media, politics and religion amongst many. For these and many other reasons women have been subject to domestic violence, a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another partner. While women are often subject to inequalities so are member of the LGBT communities whom are often subject being victims of hate crimes. Whether its race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or education, someone always has to find a reason to oppress others.

 This article was about the first modern study of sexuality in the United States which opened the doors for people to speak freely about sex and the stereotypes attached to it. The article states that there are only two types of groups that represent the human race in the sexual world, heterosexual and homosexual and one can ONLY be one of them and that the bisexual group is insignificant. It is stated that human sexuality is predetermined from birth and throughout one's lifetime leaves little room for change. The sexual preference of one is linked to their physical and mental qualities and that the personalities of heterosexual and homosexual are different in totally. "It is generally thought that these qualities make homosexual person obvious and recognizable to anyone who has sufficient understanding of such matters." This quote directly from the article was one thing that I found to be very stereotypical. It went on to say that psychiatrists discuss this personality and the qualities of a homosexual such as fine skins, high-pitched voice and obvious had movements. These are just a few amongst what is considered as the homosexual personality. Present day study shows that heterosexuals or homosexual is not just one or the other but can sometimes be both.

This last chapter touched a lot of home bases for me. My older brother is gay and I remember him leaving home to move to Florida mainly because he was tired of pretending to be someone he was not. I remember the day he told my parents over the phone and my dad asking my sisters and I if we knew and us saying in unison "Nooo duhhh." It took a lot for him to "come out the closet", but it also took my dad a lot to accept it because of how he was brought up and his religion. Now little by little we are exposing my baby brother who is eleven to the difference of the world. He, too, was taught by religion that homosexuality is wrong but we are teaching that regardless we are all human and that's that all that really matters. The pictures on the left represent two bible quotes, one of homosexuality being an abomination and the other of a gay man quoting the bible as well. As a women and a Hispanic I am often fighting against both of these intertwining issues of inequality. There are always stereotype attached to someone, like Hispanics having babies at young age. Not I. I am 23 years old and have NOT ever been pregnant and although I am engaged, I don’t plan on having kids until maybe after completing my B.A. After taking this course and seeing that we do not all start at the same line I want to offer my future children a chance at a better future where maybe race and sexuality would not be such a big deal.