Sex and Gender Case
Essay by Nicolas • May 18, 2011 • Essay • 566 Words (3 Pages) • 1,820 Views
While reading chapter one, I found it hard to pick just one topic because there is so much to argue about. But one topic in particular stood out; the topic on how men are more aggressive and women are more passive. Kimmel states that the reason for this active aggression in men is their level of testosterone flowing through their bodies. Which I would agree with, it does make sense. When youths go through puberty, they face a bunch of different feelings do to the change in the level of hormones. So it would only make sense that straight men tend to be more aggressive because of their constant flow of testosterone through their bodies. Generally, you can probably infer that women are a bit more sensitive and men are a bit more forceful; with of course your occasional outliers. Then obviously, there is society that pressures young men to be so aggressive and have fights on the playground, or on a positive note, trying out for football. Young women are also forced by society and their environment to be feminine and act more "lady like." From the day you are born, you, as an individual, are placed in a category; you are given either pink or blue booties, and a hat to match. So right from the day you enter this world, you are pointed to a direction on how to carry yourself in the future. Society and environment places such a heavy burden on young men and women to act, dress, and eventually even feel a certain way. Even after birth parents give their children certain toys to play with, boys usually play with action figures that hold guns; they are given a generally aggressive toy. For the most part no straight American father would give his son a kitchen set to play with for his birthday. Girls are usually given a doll and have their ears pierced before they can even talk. Which says something itself, it says that parents are afraid of someone mistaking their child for the opposite sex. It says that parents are just as concerned about making their child like certain toys, as society is concerned about seeing these children follow politically correct etiquette.
In an early childhood education class that I took in Westchester Community College, I read a study that being gay or lesbian originates from before birth. The study said that researchers were trying to prove that during a mother's pregnancy she experiences different flows of estrogen to her fetus. This would make sense in explaining how some men are a bit more in touch with their feminine sides and some women are in touch with their masculine sides. It stated that if the fetus is laying a certain way in the womb, the baby will receive higher levels of estrogen; making the child more in tune with their feminine side.
As technology advances, so too do people, as both of these factors advance people and their sexual curiosity will advance as well. I feel like researchers are making all of these conclusions to find out why people are gay or lesbian just to give
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