...our generation. The word gender is a society concept of how men and women are expected to act and behave. In American culture males are most likely to be observed as masculine role with strength and females to a way where they are associated with passivity, subordination and nurturing. In today’s modern society is easy to outfit an infant boy with blue and a girl with pink. It is amazing to realize that is not always been this way, but until the beginnings of the 20th century, “boys were more associates with pink and girls with blue illustrating how socially constructed these associations rally are”. Some major agents of gender socialization...
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...undeniable that societies and cultures have structures and roles that are intended to apply to men and women. These gender roles and structures also seem to transcend into the literature of that society and time period respectively. There is a particularly stark contrast in the roles of women between cultures in specific stories. European-centric stories tend to have inverted roles of women in comparison to Native American stories. For example, Theseus, a tale of greek mythology, has strikingly contrastive roles of women when juxtaposed to a book such as Land of the Spotted Eagle that emphasizes women’s roles in Native American stories and culture. These examples, among others highlight differences and make note of similarities. The...
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...Alternate Gender Roles in Native American and Hindu Societies Sara Boater Anthropology 101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Cal Overton January 09, 2014 While many cultures have defined societal gender roles that are specifically male or female, there are some cultures that also recognize that some individuals belong to an alternate gender role. Individuals that may participate in alternate gender roles are those that are born as male of female, but identify themselves as being the opposite of their biological sex. These individuals may also be only sexually attracted to members of the same sex as well. Some cultures recognize this alternate gender role, and even consider them to be holy, others may be more judgmental and may even harbor prejudice and hatred. While the reasons that people might identify themselves as a gender that is opposite of their own may be mostly the same from culture to culture, they way that they are viewed is usually quite different. It can also be said that many cultures choose not to even recognize alternate gender roles within their societies,which is usually because these individuals are highly misunderstood. Though many cultures end up fearing what they don't understand, there are two that have at one time embraced and celebrated the people that identified with the alternate gender roles. The Native Americans have their Two Spirits, and Indians have their Hijra. These two cultures may share many similar traits...
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...Gender roles are the stereotypical attributes, that made men believe- as well as portray that they are and will be, the stronger sex. Women have been deemed “hysterical” and “weak”, but they are far from those words. Women have undergone different gender stereotypes, while men take them for granted and see them as theirs. Judeth Butler made it known that gender roles were fictional. Spanish, African American, post-colonial women and Native American women faced horrendous obstacles throughout their life with gender roles and unjust events – and those obstacles are still being faced in today’s culture. Gender roles and gender stereotypes are what men have based their whole life existence around. “All gendered behavior in our society is an act.”...
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...which the cultural and social norms of American society are presented, affirmed, and archived. As a cultural product, film is produced through the intersections of race, art, culture, and economic advantage. In African American studies, the scholarship of black gender and sexuality is largely based in the intellectual tradition that grew out of the civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s, with one of its aims being the critically examination of key issues, assumptions, and debates in contemporary, post-civil rights African American feminist thought. Under academic inquiry of American film, African American studies situates a cultural discourse that works to examine the behaviors, conditions, and attitudes that foster stereotypes of sexual and gender roles based upon class, oppression, sex, and gender identity, as social constructs, and finds them to be historically and inextricably bound together. As a constructed cultural product, African American film studies finds its diverse cultural legacy rooted in the activist culture of the American civil rights movement....
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...Alternative Gender Roles Richard Taylor Introduction to Cultural Anthropology ANT 101 Debbie Cassetta July 14th, 2014 Although alternative gender is largely looked down upon in western culture, this is not a new trend in the world. Around the globe alternative gender has been held in high regards throughout history. Individuals of the third gender are typical known seen as males taking on more feminine roles within their society. It is true that more males adhere to the title of alternative gender, but females also transition to more masculine roles as well. These types of individuals are typically considered special among the people within society. They are usually healers, medicine men or women, or even individuals who have the power to curse others. Two spirits are among some of the more famous alternative gender individuals of the western world. Two spirits are engrained into many Native American cultures. The Zuni of central New Mexico are one of the tribes that hold two spirits in very high regard. Two spirits are even a part of their religious lore and are often used in their religious ceremonies to reenact the legends of the two spirit deity. In Evolution’s Rainbow Joan Roughgarden (2004) states: Among the Zuni, for example, legend tells of a battle between agricultural and hunting spirits in which a two-spirited deity brought peace to the warring parties. Zunis reenacted this event ceremonially every four years, with a two-spirited person playing the role of the...
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...Paul Meister University of Phoenix Masters of Human Service Culture and Psychology February 16, 2014 Final Project I have chosen a collectivistic culture which is the Amish culture. A few details regarding the background of the Amish culture is they are most concentrated in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana with 273,700 adults and children and nearly 350 settlements in thirty states of the USA and in Ontario (Kuhnova, 2012) The Amish culture tries to live in nonconformity to the world. This is demonstrated by their dialect, their plain clothing, transportation of horse and buggy, and their housing, functioning to the outside world as distinction and to the inside community as confirmation of a shared identity (Kuhnova, 2012). This clothing style is uniform and leaves little room for individualism, although small differences are perceptible in sewing and cloths. Where for non-Amish this might sound like a limitation of freedom. They fear that owning a car leads to individualism, distinction, social inequality, and too much personal freedom (Vonk, 2012). The above behavior choices of the Amish cultural emphasize togetherness and reinforce group cohesion. According to Vonk (2011), “The community and its welfare are ranked above personal freedom and individual rights, what contradicts modern values such as individualism and self-expression the Amish receive a durable and visible ethnic identity” (pg. 68). The traditional community is quite separate from the outside world,...
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...or try out a relationship by going out together to various places and doing different things together depending upon interests and preferences. The time spent together determines whether the pair will continue to see each other and further establish their relationship or end things and date someone else with whom they might feel a stronger connection. This research intends to question the differences in the practices of dating between gender, race and socioeconomic status and why these differences persist. Is it just the societal norms that further reinforce these practices or is it because of other factors, which tie in to gender roles, cultural values, or social class status. Throughout the research there were similar ideas of social norms that are accepted when one is dating. The most common ones appeared to be gift giving, meeting each other’s family, dressing up and going out, and labeling the relationship when asked. These are all considered important moments that signify to society that two people are in a relationship. As far as genders go the results when looking into dating habits seemed...
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...as a result of identities and worldviews differing from that of the collective. To study the social variables that mold identity and construct worldview is to study how our species has created our reality. Learning about the way identities and worldviews are shaped is the first step necessary in altering the formation of those identities and worldviews in order to change our thinking; to create a better and more equal reality. In some cases, such as my own, the formation of an individual’s identity is influenced by a collection of social variables typical of those within their society, as well as variables considered atypical. An absence of organized religion, Caucasian racial categorization, a culture comprised of scattered American ideals and values, an ascribed female gender role, and an upbringing within the middle class are the primary sociable variables that have laid the foundation of my identity and ultimately created my societal view. Depending on an individual’s level of devotedness, religion is often the primary social variable shaping identity and forming ones worldview....
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...Disney and the American Princess: The Americanization of European Fairy Tales [pic] Marina Alexandrova Student number 3021874 MA Thesis, American Studies Program Utrecht University Course code 200401064 23943 words 12 August 2009 Contents Title page………………………………………………………………1 Contents……………………………………………………………….2 Introduction……………………………………………………………3 Chapter 1: European Fairy Tales and Values about Gender and Class………………………………………10 Chapter 2: Disney Animation and American Culture…………………24 Chapter 3: Disney Animation and (Gender) Commodification…………………………………………..55 Conclusion…………………………………………………………...73 Bibliography…………………………………………………………78 Introduction Among the various aspects which define contemporary life, popular culture – and in particular, American popular culture – is undoubtedly one of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting. Throughout the twentieth century, people around the world have enjoyed film, music, animation, and written works by various authors and artists. One of the most famous and significant American entertainers of the lot has been Walt Disney, introducing millions of children and adults to his world of limitless (or so is widely believed) imagination and magic, from the earliest short cartoons produced in the 1920s, to full-length feature animations such as Snow White and the Seven...
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...Third Genders in Cultural Societies M’Tisha Garnett ANT 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Instructor: Larissa Begley February 3, 2014 In society today should the Hijra and Two Spirit be recognized as gay men in their culture rather than Third Gender? Studies have shown that these Third Gender groups choose not to label themselves as male or female, but prefer a female appearance and male companionship. This way of life has resulted in a high rate of HIV/AIDS in their communities. There are many Third Gender groups in different cultures such as the Fa’afafine in Polynesia, Sworn Virgins from the Balkins and the Hijra’s from South Asia. Hijra who of the Third Gender have since the late 90’s been recognized as a third gender by their county but they are still dealing with acceptance in their society. Although a lot of these Third Gender groups been around for centuries and some hold a spiritual meaning, that is not much of the case today. Third Genders such as Hijra and Two-Spirits are not seen in society as spiritual beings anymore, they are being labeled transsexual, transgender, or gay. Because of their status and lack of money and education they have been forced into prostitution with the same sex, exposing them to HIV and AIDS which is plaguing their community. The hijras are a religious community of men who dress and act like women and whose culture centers on the worship of Bahuchara Mata, one of the many versions of the Mother Goddess worshipped throughout...
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...In this initial draft I am trying to just get an idea of what I am going to write for my final submission. I wanted to compare different values of my culture and then compare it with the culture of the !Kung people. The main aspects of the cultures that I wanted to focus on were gender roles, marriage, and religion. Unfortunately, the only aspect of culture that I was able to focus on was Marriage. For the final draft I hope to completely re-d this essay, as it is quite horrible at the moment. I haven’t had the time to put as much work into this paper as I would like yet. Some things that I need to improve upon are: 1) Come up with a solid theses, 2) Lengthen the whole paper, 3) come up with more examples for the paper, 4) Expand on my ideas for the paper. I haven’t really had the time to expand on any single of my ideas for this paper, and I have a lot of work ahead of me. Mohammed Sayeem Anth 1000W April 21, 2015 Paper 3 One of the most important parts of any culture are its gender roles. Gender roles may be defined as a set of social norms that influence what is deemed to be acceptable behavior for a gender/sex. These acceptable behaviors are usually centered around behaviors that society believes are either “masculine” or “feminine”. These gender roles may vary greatly from region to region, based on the culture of that specific region. For example, growing up in Bangladesh, it was a cultural norm for men to hold each other’s hands while walking down the road,...
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...Role of Globalization on Socialization The role that globalization in the media has on socialization is that it’s another influential factor as to being a major agent of socialization. In today’s media, we receive information about international countries, whether it’s good or bad. Because the world is developed in globalization, there is still a status hierarchy within the society. Regardless of globalization, many cultures are similar to the American culture. On the views of gender roles, various countries are more focused on the male gender, as the male gender is seemed more dominant than the female gender. This is not any different from the American culture, since the media is often capturing the male gender to show masculinity and dominance, compared to the female gender that is often perceived as weak. As technology becomes more advanced, the media (whether it’s the Internet or television), people are capable of connecting with anyone in the world or accessing anything on the web. With that, people are capable of gaining knowledge on other cultures in the world, such as fashion trends. Individuals can choose to follow a certain trend that is popular in another country, making the individuals more open-minded about another culture rather than their own; however, if the trend is identified as “strange” or “weird” by another culture, this can cause a self-identity conflict. In a sense, globalization in the media does have some pros and cons, but it depends on how individuals...
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...Sociologist Erving Goffman, describes gender as a display role expected of us that is not assigned by birth. It concerns the psychological, social, and cultural differences between males and females, such as personality, goals, and social roles (Giddens 273). Social expectations about behavior regarded as appropriate for the members of each sex. Gender has to do with culture, and is something that is not natural. Gender is something that we both learn and do. As a result, there is gender role socialization, the process in which we learn about male and female typed roles. Some of which are social agents such as family and the media (Giddens 273). For example, boys may learn how to engage in rambunctious and aggressive play by watching their favorite male WWE fighter on TV. On the other hand, young girls may learn how to cook, clean and nurture their younger siblings by following the model...
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...advertising has been played an important role in the growth of American consumer culture. Marketing and advertising both have impact in the American culture. This is because producers use advertise and marketing technique to sell a particular product and service. Gender also played an important role in advertising and marketing. So the marketing and advertising role is the key in the growth of American consumer culture. According to the article “Airline advertising and the stewardess in America”, the American airline advertising mainly focuses on the female cabin staff in the 1950s and 1960s. The company was using a basic gender theory and marketing to increase their sales and to earn money. In the 1930s the...
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