Gender Roles

Gender Roles: Gender Identity is Determined Socially
Gender roles are learned mainly through social interaction instead of biologically. When we are born we have very little concept of our gender and we learn “proper” behavior through society and our relationships with others. Our gender identity is constructed through interaction with the media, our parents, and our peers at school, at work and at home. How we are raised in society reflects how we act as we grow older. Our society changes our attitudes and views on life more than our biological make-up.
According to Ana Veciana-Suarez, author of “Thank Heaven for Little Boys,” many traits of boys and girls are instinctive and we are born with them. The genetics we are born with may affect our physical abilities, but children learn to act in certain ways by watching people in society. For example, when young boys watch cartoons or certain male-orientated TV programs, they are influenced to act like the charac...