Bornstein :: essays research papers

Although Bornstein argues that gender is entirely socially constructed I find it hard to believe that he is completely correct. I do agree that gender is influenced by the world we are born into. I understand that from birth we are partially programmed by our society to become something, but I do not agree that this is the determining factor in what we become as people. I feel that it's only a small part of our modern society (known as traditions) that are fighting to fit us in a certain category. Furthermore, I'd like to believe that most of today's society is helping us express our own individuality. I am not a stranger to social construction. I was born to a very strict Roman Catholic Italian family. My grandfather worked construction 50 hours a week while my grandmother tended seven children. My own mother was not even allowed to attend college because they believed that "girls weren't supposed to go to college". Inequality and gender difference was very visible. Do to social construction, my mother grew up believing that there were certain jobs for men and certain jobs for women. Ironically it was the changing society of the late 60's and early 70's that gave my mother the motivation to question tradition. I feel that in this situation it's not society in general that constructs gender but simply ignorance through tradition. In my mothers case it wasn't society at all but merely her families strict traditional values that tried construct her into the "traditional women" figure. Even though many years have past since my mother has grown up and much has changed traditional values still play a part in how gender difference is created in society. In my own life my family has influenced my views on gender dramatically. When I was young I would listen to my grandfather ramble (in that myopic traditionally old fashioned tone so common of an older generation) about the inadequacy of women drivers and the annoyances of having women in the workplace. As a young person his views were very impressionable and if I hadn't been corrected by my mother I may of easily carried these beliefs into adulthood. In another situation, if there was ever any mention of eating a microwave meal in front of my grandmother she would immediately begin a rant about how she used to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for seven children, herself, and my grandfather everyday of the week with no exceptions.