How a person defines their sense of self reflects their interpretation of the many aspects that define a person, including gender. Gender, or the social role and characteristics associated with a sex, is, at least in part, defined by society. Therefore, how people interpret gender changes across societies. It follows then that how each person defines who they are as a person, changes based how they are taught to define each gender. Daily, and life choices then reflect this self-definition because it helps individuals decide how to act and be.
Anthropologists continue to debate whether gender is taught or somehow directly linked to a person’s biological sex. Because of similarities in definitions of gender across the globe some people believe that gender is directly linked to biological sex. [1] However, because there are also distinct cultural differences in these definitions many people hold that gender is taught. [1] Deborah Tannen claims that young children learn what it means to be men and women from their parents, and then continue to learn how society believes they ought to act from family and friends in close relationships. [2] Regardless of where precisely the definition arises gender definitions do differ and they directly affect the choices that people make.
Most noticeably gender definition differences arise in the cultural definitions of beauty. In
some Nigerian cultures beautiful women have copious amounts of fat. [3] Contrast this with
the definition of beauty from the United States: skinny. Therefore, because
women from both cultures claim the female gender as their own, they make daily
choices to fit those ideals. Many Nigerian girls spend their lives with the
sole goal of gaining fat so that they can be beautiful. [3]
While on the other side of the world many American girls spend their lives with
the sole goal of losing fat so that they can be beautiful. In both cases the
women and girls define, at least in part, their sense of person with how well
they fit into their culture’s ideal mold of their gender. The females then make
a series of choices in order to better fit this ideal. Gender roles and ideals
also have an effect when it comes to relationships.
In
heterosexual marriages assumed gender roles often play a significant part in
how couples interact. In Japan the role of the female is clearly defined to be
the person who cares for the house and children, while the role of the male is
clearly defined to be the person who earns the money for the household to
continue. [4] On the other hand in
America these clear definitions fade into a greyer area where the husband works
and the wife stays home, the wife works while the husband stays home or both
might work outside the home. Japanese girls grow up knowing that their role will
be raising the children at home, therefore they does not focus on developing
careers. [4] Comparatively,
American girls grow up with the expectation of developing their own career
because they do not know what role they will take on. [1]
Here again these females define another aspect of their person, their role in
the home, largely on the cultural expectations (or lack thereof) for their
gender. These females must then make daily and life choices, such as school
attendance and career aspirations, that reflect what they perceive to be their
gender role and even their definition of a person.
When
defining people, the category of gender is always considered. A person must decide
which gender they are, and then interpret what that means. Much of these decisions
are influenced by the definitions taught by family and reinforced by society. Once
a person has chosen a gender, and accepted the associated characteristics and responsibilities,
their life is then a series of choices designed to maintain the image of belong
to that gender. Whether those choices involve beauty or roles in a marriage,
all of them are influenced by how we interpret what it means to be part of a certain
gender. What gender we see ourselves as a part of, regardless of what that
means, in turn influences how we see ourselves as people.
Works Cited
[1]
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D. Crandall, A Short Introduction to Anthropology, Provo,
Utah: Brigham Young University, 2011.
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[2]
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D. Tannen, "I Can't Even Open My Mouth," in I
Only Say This Because I Love you, Random House, Inc., 2001, pp. 3-28.
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[3]
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A. M. Simmons, "Where Fat Is a Mark of Beauty," Los
Angeles Times, 1998.
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[4]
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N. D. Kristof, "Who Needs Love! In Japan, Many
Couples Don't," New York Times, pp. 1,12, 1996.
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