How is our gender infulenced by society?

Question

An old custom in India (I believe) not practiced anymore, was if a family had only daughters then the tenth girl of the family would be raised as a boy.

She/He would do all the things that a boy would be expected to do in the society including ploughing land, building structures, marrying a woman, inherit land, etc. This practise was ended only a few years ago in the very remotest communities. The reason for this is people (western world) thought it was a barbaric practise.

These women were however in no reasonable way miss-treated, except for the fact that they were expected to live as a man. These women even though of themselves as male, no matter what their gender was.


So my question is, How does the society that we live in influence our perception of our gender? Men do not cry, women can't read maps, how much of this is B.S. and how much does our society influence us to be a certain way?

SERIOUS ANSWERS ONLY!

Please explain your answer without stereotypes.
Thanks

Answer 1

For a serious answer, I've done research on the "sworn virgin" practise, done primarily in egalitarian, farming ultra orthodox christian and muslim communities in the Baltics and in various rural communities in the middle East. These women who've been assigned the male role tend to take to it quite passively. Usually they'll cite the trade offs, such as being able to go to bars without being persecuted, and the legal abilty to tend to the land and estate without male representation. Usually they are the ones who've been assigned to take care of family business, while the other females have been married off and have created new families of thier own. Rarely have I seen cases of complaints in this practise, probably becuase most who've taken these roles have been trained for it since childhood, or they chose it for themselves sometime early in life.

The role of gender is, in general, a societal assessment based upon inherent trends in the preferences of members of each gender, and each culture responds to these proclivities in their own way.

In Europe, for instance, the highest level of a woman is the role of a non-working socialite. Much of that transferred to the American settlements, whereas in the native American cultures, the women were responsible for the arts, society, culture and practices the native tribes, and the men were mostly hunters, warriors, and builders. Native American women took many priestlike roles, but the men took the iconical roles. Women were the ones who did the labours, and the men simply 'represented'.

While many like to say that Muslims reduce the role of the female, one thing remains constant throughout all of history, and every society that exists. The hand that rocks the cradle does indeed rule the world. Women influence vicariously, and thrive on the anonymity of it. Any culture, such as post renassance Europe, that has made the role of women visible has also reduced the influence of the feminine in culture to one of an ornamnental role. From that, I assess that feminism rose from the post European assessment that the female role is ornamental, and that feminists are trying despirately to re-assert the value of the feminine character back into Western civilisation, that treats them as a novelty. Feminism as a movement doesn't exist much elsewhere becuase women have more influence in thier culture, even if it's a hidden influence.

Answer 2

There are cultures ("primitive") where the women are the strong silent ones and men are the talkers. Some societies have no concept of PMS. I'd say the outlook on gender is strongly affected by culture.

Spartan women fight right along with the men. The US won't allow women to do certain things in the military. The view of the role of the woman obviously is different.

Answer 3

i imagine 1 among those gender branch you spot relies upon on the position you liveSee - the position I stay, ( I moved the following in September ) women human beings imagine they ought to save dressing like they're 16 in order that adult men will proceed to locate them pleasing - they cheat on their husbands and really everyone looks commonplace with each thing about actually everyone else ( or a minimum of imagine they do ) it really is a small city =] and so a recommendations as i'm in touch adult men and females actually everyone looks EQUALS. sure adult men are frequently better, sure women human beings provide start yet we are all equivalent and could be dealt with that way. There has continually been a double-commonly used...sure it became once worse, women human beings couldn't do some thing we wiped clean and had toddlers. i wager now women human beings sense like there should be a function-reversal...nicely how about a function equalizer??? As for a reason i do not comprehend i'm a lady (obviously =P) and that i love my boyfriend, he feels an similar way I do about this. i imagine mainstream themes jointly with gender, race, faith, will not at all pass away until eventually we, as a HUMAN race, can in simple terms get over ourselves and embody life, our own life and not at all subject ourselves with what we imagine of others yet absolutely go by life attempting to be reliable human beings. i do not imagine i am going to stay to make sure the day... reliable question.

Answer 4

Based on the fact that people raised as one gender often decide they do not identify with that gender and get sex changes... there's definitely ALOT going on that has nothing to do with society. Not saying society isn't involved at all, but it's hardly likely that it's everything.