When we hear the word gender we automatically think male and female which is correct, but what does identity involve? Identity is “Who we are?” as individuals, it provides us with the link between individuals and society, its known that we form our own identities when we are young through relationships we encounter and how society involves us as a person. As we can form our own identities we can fix them or change them in later life, this can be done by either self preservation or psychological help.
As individuals how do we form our identity? Through past research conducted we have been told by sociology’s most famous social scientist George Herbert Mead (1935), Eving Goffman (1959) and Sigmund Freud (1923) three different views and opinions on how we form our own identities.
George Herbert Mead (1939) explained that “As humans we image how people and others see ourselves. This is how identities are formed, by individual thinking and how we should be in the social world” (Fulcher and Scott, Sociology 2nd Edition 2006, Ch 4, Pg 133- 135) Mead explains that as humans our identities are formed by the way we want other to see ourselves, for example most young girls nowadays see via the media how the male perception and society is formed by beauty, this in turn makes most young girls want to interoperate the media views and be more like what society wants them to look like.
Eving Goffman (1959) researched on identity issues and also came up with the conclusion that “As humans we play parts in little plays to fit into society” (Fulcher and Scott, Sociology 2nd Edition 2006, Ch 4, Pg 133- 135). He also explains that our identities are not given at birth but we create them ourselves by acting out different roles in our little plays. Finally he adds that we act theses little roles to convince others about the person we are trying to be. Goffmans social theory explains that lying is a key aspect in our identities and depending on our gender it plays an important role.
Finally Sociology most famous scientist Sigmund Freud (1923) says that “The identity positions which we take up may be the result of unconscious feeling which we may try to rationalize with but we don’t know for sure. Also many childhood experience help developed our identity as we grow up” (Betts S, Lecture Notes, Lecture 5 Understanding Society – Identity, Pg 1) Freud shows by his theory that as children we do develop our identities by the way we are brought with society and also our identity is created by unconscious feeling in the brain.
With sociologist findings and how we as individual behave it’s clearly shows that our identities are formed by society. The reason being is that as we grow in society we assume how other people and our self should act this may because of our upbringing or social experiences. This eventually results in us shaping our identities because of the way we are with others and the way we have been treated in the past.
We have been told off sociologist and psychologist how our identities are formed but where do they come from or where might they come from?
The process of acquiring our identities can come from two possible paths:
Sex role socialisation – This involves learning, modelling, rewarding, punishment and reinforcement. This is usually performed by parenting, socialism or other.
Gender Rational Theories - This is when children start to develop their own gender identities and gender perception of others through the opposite sex, this usually occurs in nursery and primary school.
The above helps us process our gender identities from a young age by acquiring the relevant information and guidance from experiences and knowledge.
When we are young we process our gender identity by acquiring particular experiences and thoughts, but also environmental influences help us acquire our identities to some point.
There are many environmental influences that can help understand a persons identity, it usually starts at a young age and then is changed as we get older. Family and friends perception of masculinity and femininity may affect the child at a young age and eventually have an effect on the child’s opinions and views in the future. For example the male figure in the family usually the father will speak differently to his mixed gender children for example a father with his son will be more aggressive and assertive then he is with his daughters because he sees his son as tough and in control and his daughter gentle and passive.
The clothing given to children also interoperates their gender roles in society, the clothes give off gender messages to the child to encourage them to be the stereotypical gender, by the clothes they are given.
Toys and books also help in the gender roles. Certain toys such as dolls are given to girls so they can be gentle and loving towards them like females are taught to be, whereas boys are given army toys and cars which are hard and manly, the toys help the child build their gender roles in society. The same goes for books, girls are usually read fairytale stores with princesses and knights which a happy ending. Where boys on the other hand are read scary and Boutros stories such as cowboy stories with guns and knifes. The toys and books are there to show the child what they should be playing with and what they should be reading, by playing with the toys and reading the books they become more like the stereotypes society has created for them.
The colour and furniture of a child’s bedroom will help in the gender role too, for example its know that girls are to have pink bedrooms and furniture and boys blue, but if theses were changed then the child would start to adapt to the new gender messages given to them.
As children our gender identities are not just shaped when we are younger but they can be shaped and consumed in later life by societies understanding of experiences of gender identities.
Since the 1960 there has been a dramatic change in people’s domestic living arrangements, this is due to the change in society and the way we as individuals have changed our self through knowledge and experiences.
Since 1960 there has been 6% increase in lone parenting and an 11% increase in one person families there has also been an increase in the number of divorces in families since the 1960 (Fulcher and Scott, Sociology 2nd Edition 2006, Ch 12, Pg 466- 467). Has the change of domestic living arrangements affected particular gender roles? I believe that it could be an issue, depending of the living arrangement a person as encountered in the past or present can slightly disrupted the gender identity they have obtained. For example children who live with one parent will following and obtain certain roles and habits that, that parents has, for example a mother who lives with her young son might pass on habits and feeling which could slightly change the male gender role the son has obtained in past experiences with a male role. This could lead to the son growing up with feminine attributes which could cause identity problems in the future, the same goes for daughter living with fathers.
Also certain living arrangements such as a male dominant family role where the father is in charge can have influence on gender role, if your young and you see a certain parent taking control you will use that perception in your gender identity which will create your own individual identity.
Depending on a person living arrangement can change or influence a person’s gender role because of the situation and experience undergoing, theses changes can be positive or negative.
In conclusion to gender identities there are many different ways on how we acquire and adapt to certain gender roles and identities. It’s most common that we learn from being young and experiencing and learning particular identities. Society also leaves it mark; society does play a big role in gender identity. Eving Goffman (1959), George Herbert Mead (1939) and Sigmund Freud (1923) show us how we create our own gender identities and how society plays a part but by this research and many more it does show that society and families are the key participants in acquiring as individuals are own gender identities. It’s also clear that we can change our gender identity if we feel the urge to, this shows that developing the wrong gender identity isn’t at a disadvantage because we have the power to change it but is it a risk a person should take, knowing the consequences of disrupting societies perfect person?
Word Count 1585
Bibliography
Betts S, Lecture Notes, Lecture 5 Understanding Society – Identity, Pg 1
Fulcher and Scott, Sociology 2nd Edition 2006, Ch 4, Pg 133- 135
Fulcher and Scott, Sociology 2nd Edition 2006, Ch 5, Pg 161
Fulcher and Scott, Sociology 2nd Edition 2006, Ch 12, Pg 466- 467
