Martinez 1

Reymundo Martinez

English 115

Professor Ditch

17 September 2017

Project Space Essay

Society is a funny thing: it constructs how humans behave, work, think, and adapt to the

natural habitat of social behavior. Yet, many hold on to a belief that human behavior is a part of

natural biology, rather a product of the behavior taught to the young that views those actions as

proper in their society. However, those ideals become more complex as one grows and interacts

with different people; and it is these interactions that broaden the question of what is the

normal behavior or personality that society attributes ones gender, separate from sex, the

biology and anatomy of the human body. This brings into light the understanding of gender

construction, showing masculine or feminine characteristics, and how culture attributes those

behaviors to a specific gender. For me, gender performance occurs in my social interactions and

attempts to effectively communicate with those around me, and it changes depending on the

people Im around based on their profession, age, and knowledge about me, meaning that my

gender behavior changes in order to adapt and fit in with ones surroundings, and that it affects

ones social interactions. This idea of gender varies across different cultures, experiences, and

social perception; and while some may see this as a boundary to social understanding and

advancement, there are many ways it can act as quite the contrary.
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In adapting to my natural society, I take on different forms of gender behavior depending

upon the age of the people I am around in order to effectively interact within their social circle.

In Aaron Devors Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender, he claims

that the mankinds ability to construct to certain gender behaviors is a lifelong process. More so,

the amount of time I spend with people of specific ages affects my interaction with them.

Growing up in a large Hispanic family, I have many little cousins that Id have to entertain at

parties, and I would have to switch roles of expressing a courageous male persona to a feminine

construct of weakness (Devor 35). Whether it be playing with dolls or yelling in pain while being

beaten by plastic swords, its always a feminine persona the kids expect me to take.

More so, in Judith Lorbers Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Genders

illustrates that social interactions of gender conformity is constantly recreated out of our daily

interactions as our need to adapt to the everyday responsibilities of human beings. Here, Lorber

gives the example of a man carrying his infant child on a public bus; a behavior more commonly

seen only by women (Lorber 19), which constitutes an ever-evolving understanding of gender

normality in the modern age. A few weeks ago, I had gone home to visit my family for the

weekend after my first week of college. After dinner, my eight year old sister dragged me by the

arm up to her room for the much-missed time from playing with stuffed animals and My Little

Pony dolls. As we played, she asked that I make a high-pitched sound with my voice as I

pretended to be the female ponies, and if I got it wrong, she would throw me an evil look in her

eye as a warning to get the voices right. Here, I would change the roles of a masculine college

student into a feminine behavior. Also, this fear of what would occur for making my sister mad

demonstrates male construction views as seeing high-pitched voices as being tainted by feminine
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interaction, yet it is necessary for my adaptation into the society of my sisters room (Devor

26-27).

However, such affects also gives me traits of social awkwardness and forces me to adapt

to a new behavior much different than the one I used around children, especially when it comes

to the hegemony of college students and life (Devor 28).

Throughout my teenage years, I have spent most of my time around kids or adults,

whether it be at home, school, or family gatherings, but very little with people my own age.

Going into college, I knew that it would be a huge change for me to be living in an environment

dominated by millennials; it is a society that I am still adapting to, causing me to express social

traits of fear and timidity; traits that some cultures would attribute as feminine.

In my social interactions, not only am I shy because of the age group I am constantly

around, but also because of traits inherited from parental influences as well. As a child, my father

worked long hours as an aero-mechanic and I grew up always being around my mother. This

made me form my views of what was considered masculine or feminine based on my interaction

with one parent more than the other (Lorber 28). This makes me associate certain traits of strong,

masculine characteristics with people who are similar to my father, and gentler, feminine

characteristics to those that I see like my mother, and I invoke those traits regularly to the same

people because it is a way for me to feel comfortable when interacting with them.

Similarly, there are different interpretations of in what the proper etiquette of ones

gender is defined as being across various cultures and beliefs and can have life altering effects on

how the young forms structured mentalities about the world around them. Historically, many

societies have measured the demeanor of males as an equivalency of testosterone, and suggested
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that weaker males were in some way tainted by social interactions with women, and that high-

pitched voices and speech that was passive in nature as a feminine characteristic (Devor 41, 42).

This perception can also affect the self-esteem of young children and their social

interaction. For me, I remember such traits were a sign of weakness for my gender and others

exploited it from me at a very young age. I was the polite kid on the playground, and this made

me an easy target of manipulation and I was dis-included from a lot of activities with other kids

who told me no and I wouldnt stand up for myself. These interactions as a child caused me to

become distant with people my own age and to become more comfortable with adults as I grew

into my teenage years. Yet, when high school finished, I knew that I would have to adapt to

being around people my own age more often than adults. I was nervous, yet confident because

the interactions that I shared with adults growing up helped me to gain both independence and

self-confidence; a trait that has proven useful thus far in my university experience.

This renewed confidence in myself to communicate effectively with my peers is an

important skill necessary for college life; but despite my success in communicating with people

my own age here in a masculine manor, I am now ironically showing more of a feminine

demeanor when communicating with faculty on campus. The new empowerment that I feel of

being able to feel more socially involved and portray masculine confidence with my peers have

now made me feel more timid and feminine in my interactions with the faculty on campus.

Here at California State University Northridge, I practice this behavior at the Disability

Resources and Educational Services (DRES) Office. When I go into this office, I notice my

behavior changes from a masculine demeanor to being less assertive and timid; a characteristic

thats the result of different roles placed into society from jobs to social events, and changes my

behavior towards adults within this new millennial dominant society (Lorber 20-21).
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My gender conformity is the result of adaptation to the unfamiliar, and trying to fit in

with other social groups Ive rarely interacted with, and is fostered by social interactions of the

past. These adaptations force me to construct new perspectives on my own gender behavior and

what is defined as the gender norm for my society and people everywhere. Rather than let it

demotivate me, it can guide me to better interacting with the diverse world around me and open

my eyed to the diverse understanding of gender normality all across the globe.

Work Cited

Lorber, Judith. Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender. (1994): n. pag. Print.

Devor, Aaron. Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender. (1989): n.

pag. Print