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Josue Ibarra
Professor Corri Ditch
English 113A
8 December 2015
Social Construction and Parent Gendering
Gender is one of the most controversial topics in American Society. American society has
a set of instructions that must be applied to each individual. The name of these instructions are
called gender roles. Gender roles are sets of norms that help determine types of behaviors that
are acceptable or appropriate for a person based on their perceived biological sex. Sex is referred
to genitalia. Gender is the state of being masculine or feminine when referring gender socially.
Gender roles help determine the characteristics of masculinity and femininity. In my personal
experience, my mother parented me to become a young boy based on my sex. I had to learn and
behave according to gender expectations. In other words, becoming a real man and being the
leader in my family or role model. Judith Lorber states in her article Night to His Day: The
Social Construction of Gender, that gender construction is based on childrens genitalia. The
baby is then dressed according to their sex category. Gender construction is a process because
gender was not assign at first. Aaron Devor states in his article Becoming Members of Society:
The Social Meaning of Gender, that an individual must attain gender codes so they could guide
themselves through society. Those gender codes are started through parenting. Individuals
organize their lives based on societys demands. In American society, gender construction is a
process started by parents in order to establish their gender identity and become members of
society. If individuals do not conform to their appropriate gender roles, they will be marginalized
by society.

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Gender construction starts at birth according to Judith Lorber. In Lorbers article, Night
to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender, she states that For the individual, gender
construction starts with assignment to a sex category on the basis of what the genitalia look like
at birth (20). She argues that parents adorn or dress their babies based on the sex category
because they do not want people to confuse the babies identity. If a baby girl is wearing a blue
color shirt and a baseball cap, people might think that the babies identity is male. The real
question is, why is it important to separate a boy and a girl? Society is building on this idea. It is
a reason why parents dress their babies based on their sex. Sex category is the start of gender
statuses because parents name, dress, and use other gender makers. This is a process called
parent gendering. Parents do this because they follow societys old traditional values. Parents do
not want to be excluded from society because they couldnt socialize their children into the
appropriate roles. Once children establish their gender identity, they start to believe themselves
as members of their gender when children start to talk. Children sometimes respond by behaving
and feeling differently. In Aaron Devors article, Becoming Members of Society: The Social
Meaning of Gender, he states that Children start to understand themselves as individuals
separate from others during the years that they first acquire gender identities and gender roles
(37). Devor explains that children start to understand the way society sees them and respond to
them as particular people. Both articles are similar because once a child identifies their gender,
they start to separate themselves when acquiring gender roles.
Children acquire values from society around them almost discriminately because children
understand how they must behave in society. In other words, children do not have the freedom to
be who they want to be. This type of problem happens when children first acquire gender
identities and gender roles. This problem also occurs in the process of parenting. Lorber referred

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back to an experience she had when doing gender. Lorber saw a father holding a baby. She
noticed that the baby was a boy because he was wearing a dark colored shirt and dark pants. The
father made it seem more obvious when he put on a Yankee hat on the babys head. Many
individuals see sports as a manly thing. Lorber noticed tiny earrings and flowered sneakers, so it
was a girl after all. Gendered roles are changing because we have fathers taking care of children.
Society sees child care as a womens job. There are children who wear unisex clothing like a boy
wearing girl shirts or girls wearing men sneakers. Individuals live in American society. The first
step is parenting gendering because there are parents that want to avoid confusion when
identifying the babys sex. It is a reason why children acquire values from society discriminately
because they must behave the way society expects them to. When a girls play with boy toys, girls
are often referred to tomboys. When boys play with girl toys or wear feminine clothes, they are
often discriminated. Parents want to avoid this type of problems and their children. This process
continues as children become adults. It is possible for men to become sectaries, but most men
avoid it due to all the discrimination. Sectaries are viewed as a feminism job, so men do not fit in
according to society. Societys idea of becoming members of society.
Gender construction is an important process in finding gender identity. Parenting
gendering is the first process, but interacting with society can also be a step in gender
construction. Lorber states that, Childrens relationships with the same-gendered and differentgendered caretakers structure their self-identifications and personalities, (25). Lorber implies
that social interaction is really important in shaping ones identity because someone learns from
the values of others. They think is the correct way to behave in society. For example, a young
man tends to have femininity attributes, he will be striving for cooperation and the well-being of
people. Another way of looking at this is, caring for people rights is considered being feminist,

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but American society avoids individuals to possess both masculine and feminine performance.
Masculinity must show a form of power and aggression. Experts say, Gender role
characteristics reflect the ideological contentious underlying the dominant gender schema in
North American Society, (Devor 43). Devor implies that schema in North America have males
as aggressive and dominant over females. Both articles have a common idea on how gender
roles are the result of systematic power imbalances based on gender discrimination, (Devor 43).
Societys idea of men having power over women.
After reading Lorber and Devor essays, I started to wonder about my process of gender
identity. If I had grown up in a different society, my gender would have been different or the
same. I also think about my parenting gendering process because it is the start of gender
construction. Parents start to dress their babies based on their sex category. If my mother didnt
follow this, I probably be dressed with feminine colors as a kid. Of course, wearing feminine
clothes doesnt mean anything, but American society doesnt agree. My mother dressed me based
on my sex category and I found my gender identity at an early age. I started to learn my gender
roles and what was expected from me in my society. I have many of the characteristics that
describe masculinity, but there is a little bit of feminine. I didnt noticed until my early years in
high school because I do believe in equal rights. Everyone has the right to do or say something. I
am not the only one who thinks like me because there are men who have feminine
characteristics. There are women that preform in a masculine way and feminine. It is societys
traditional beliefs that is constructed on gender roles and gender identities.
Parent gendering is the first process of gender construction. Parents early decisions affect
children in finding their gender identity. Also, the way children interact with other people. Our
solution to avoid discrimination based on gender roles is to not categorize children. Parents

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should have a variety of options for their kids. Gender construction is a process that children go
through in order to find their gender identity. The only outcome that could happen in the future is
being confused. Devor and Lorber states that gender roles are the result of gender discrimination.
Parents need let their children choose their gender identity.

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Works Cited
Lorber Judith. Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender. Groner Rachael, and John
F. O Hara. Composing Gender; A Bradford Spotlight Reader. Boston: Ed. Bedford/ St.
Martins, 2014. Print.
Devor Aaron. Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender. Groner
Rachael, and John F. O Hara. Composing Gender; A Bradford Spotlight Reader. Boston:
Ed. Bedford/ St. Martins, 2014. Print.