By saying that "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.", Simone de Beauvoir means that becoming what society considers to be a woman is a socialization process and not something that is instilled in us naturally. It begins when we are born, being dressed in pink with flowers and lace, and told how beautiful we are. We are given dolls to play with, and markers to color with. We are cradled, and treated as though we are more delicate and fragile than a male. Boys at birth are dressed in blue with trucks and tools. They are allowed to play in the dirt, and instead of being babied when risks are taken, it is said that boys will be boys.
This brings me to the difference in sex and gender. I'll use the pants analogy to explain. Sex is what is in your pants. Gender is the pants you choose to wear. Sexuality is the pants you want to get into. Media influences these things greatly. There are so many shows on tv telling society what a woman is, how she should look, and what her roles are. People that are not on these shows are socialized to think this is what they should be to be accepted.
I agree with the fact that this quote is saying that gender is not instilled in us naturally. Rather that it is forced upon us by our parents and society's outlook on gender. The pants example is a great way to put sex and gender into perspective. I also agree that media influences these things because of television. The people on these shows are wanting acceptance and want us to understand what they're going through, so naturally by learning more about the concept, we begin to accept differences in other people.
ReplyDeleteI agree, gender is not instilled in us naturally it is a socialized process. Something we learned from the moment we were all brought in this world. We all learned what we shouldn't wear, what we shouldn't do as girls, and what we all should do. This all was learned and not instilled in us naturally.
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