Gender issues in the USA - Дипломная работа

There are two main genders: masculine (male), or feminine (female), although some cultures acknowledge more genders. Some socities have more than five genders, and some non-Western societies have three genders - man, woman and third gender. Gender expression refers to the external manifestation of ones gender identity, through «masculine,» «feminine,» or gender-variant or gender neutral behavior, clothing, hairstyles, or body characteristics. Gender role theory posits that boys and girls learn the appropriate behavior and attitudes from the family and overall culture they grow up with, and so non-physical gender differences are a product of socialization. Social role theory proposes that the social structure is the underlying force for the gender differences. Social role theory proposes that the sex-differentiated behavior is driven by the division of labor between two sexes within a society. Division of labor creates gender roles, which in turn, lead to gendered social behavior. The term «gender identity» was originally a medical term used to explain sex reassignment surgery to the public, but is also found in psychology, often as core gender identity. Although the formation of gender identity is not completely understood, many factors have been suggested as influencing its development. Biological factors that may influence gender identity include pre - and post-natal hormone levels and gene regulation. Social factors which may influence gender identity include gender messages conveyed by family, mass media, and other institutions. Ones gender identity is also influenced by the social learning theory, which assumes that children develop their gender identity through observing and imitating gender-linked behaviors, and then being rewarded or punished for behaving that way. In some cases, a persons gender identity may be inconsistent with their biological sex characteristics, resulting in individuals dressing and/or behaving in a way which is perceived by others as being outside cultural gender norms; these gender expressions may be described as gender variant or transgender. The topicality of the diploma paper is in the fact that the theme is very interesting and actual for today youth, who deals with sociology of USA and is interested in gender issues. According to the American Census Bureau, by 2050 there would be 383 million people in the USA and about 195 million of them would be women. How many of them would be known as famous scientists, writers, doctors etc? How many of them will affect the national policy? Will the number of the women representatives in the government increase? At present there are 5 women in the US Government: Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Labor, Director of EPA and the last but not the least - National Security Advisor - Condoleeza Rice. Females are allowed to enter the Navy, the Air Force and Marine Corps. In 1990 75% of women received a high school diploma compared to 76% men high school graduates. But there were times when a woman wasn’t allowed to vote and the only priority she had in life was house and children. Women wanted more than that and understood they need to fight for their rights and they still continue doing it. One of the donators to www.feminist.com described a feminist as «each and every politically and socially conscious woman or man who works for equality within or outside the movement, writes about feminism, or calls her - or himself a feminist». Feminism stands for «reproductive freedom» (including access to safe, legal and accessible abortion), equality of rights with men, and is against sexism, representing woman as a sexual and maternity object only (an image created by media), domestic violence etc. So feminism is the movement for social, political, and economic equality of men and women. Organized feminism did not really form until the first Womens Conference held in Seneca Falls (USA) in 1848. One such gender role is that adopted by the hijras of India and Pakistan. Another example may be the Muxe, found in the state of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, «beyond gay and straight.» The Bugis people of Sulawesi, Indonesia have a tradition incorporating all of the features above. Joan Roughgarden argues that in some non-human animal species, there can also be said to be more than two genders, in that there might be multiple templates for behavior available to individual organisms with a given biological sex. Measurement of gender identity Early gender identity research hypothesized a single bipolar dimension of masculinity/femininity; that is masculinity and femininity were opposites on one continuum. As societal stereotypes changed, however, the assumptions of the unidimensional model were challenged. This led to the development of a two-dimensional gender identity model, in which masculinity and femininity were conceptualized as two separate, orthogonal dimensions, coexisting in varying degrees within an individual. This con