Determine how our society decides gender and what elements you believe Research Paper

Determine how our society decides gender and what elements you believe are the most influential in this construction - Research Paper Example er couple from Jayme Poisson’s article â€Å"Parents Keep Child’s Gender Secret† consider a social gender as a stereotypic and tyrannical issue, scholars of social science, particularly Thomas D. Steensma in â€Å"Gender Identity Development in Adolescence† and Curt Hoffman and Nancy Hurst in â€Å"Gender Stereotypes: Perception and Rationalization?† are looking for a scientific explanation of a social gender prejudice. Gender firstly should be given a correct definition, and Steensma describes gender in â€Å"Gender Identity Development in Adolescence† as a very complex issue. It’s different from sex, because sex is an inborn biological characteristic which usually matches with genitals differentiation, while gender can be revealed during life (Steensma 289). Gender constitutes of biological inborn characteristic and gender identity, which is a personal revelation of gender, and of a gender role, which is determined by social expectations on males and females (different behavior, social roles and different personal characteristics are expected) (Steensma 291). Thus, gender depends on biological (hormones, chromosomes and genitals) and psycho-sociological (nurturing) factors. It doesn’t seem possible to reveal gender without social interference in a process. Society affects a gender identity by imposing different natures of male and female nurturing: parents and a social environment both tend to raise male and female children with a view of their future social roles (Hoffman & Hurst 197). A nurturing starts early, already from a new born period, and society behaves differently towards babies of different sex, starting from a lexicon used when talking about a baby to different toys and activities imposing. It seems important for society to define gender from the very first days of life. Witterink and Stocker who raise a transgender child admits, â€Å"When baby comes out even the people who love you and are close to you firstly ask if it’s a boy or a girl†