Sex vs. Gender Essay Example

Sex vs. gender

Sex refers to the physiological differences between people of different genders that is male and female. Reproductive systems mark the primary sex characteristics or the other secondary characteristics such as muscularity of the body. Gender is a term that used to distinguish the roles and social duties and beliefs that are associated with being male or female in a society (Rose et al., 2012).

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Gender as A Social Construct Vs "Natural" Sexuality

People are attracted to the opposite sex. The things men look for in women is mostly beauty and childbearing capabilities. Women differ in their aspirations, the look for men who are capable of providing for them both physically and emotionally.

Male-Masculine Vs Female-Feminine Media Portrayals

Here the media portray the masculinity and feminity. Analysis of different photograph advertisement has the use of different possess and positioning of the human body, clothing and other aspects to show the comparison of how males and females are portrayed in the advertisements. The various poses are defined by how our culture takes on being feminine and masculine (Rose et al., 2012). While the positioning of the body is used to portray the character and behaviors of each of the two sides basing on the usually happens in real life. Masculine traits are represented to be strong, fearless and confident while the feminist is seen to be weak, childlike, powerless and fragile.

The Impact of Media Images on Social Behavior

It can either be positive or negative depending on the content of the photos. Most of the responses especially for the young generation are affected by the media content. In most cases, they tend to copy what they see on the media to prove that they are updated and understand the current fashion (Dahamshe, 2018). Most of the media content tends to bring about new behaviors and methods of living. People end up copying what they see on media.

Address Commercial Realism, Perfection, and Social/Sexual Identity, Normative Gender Codes

Some people are identified by roles that are opposite to their sex are usually said to be transgendered. For example, a female who is so masculine or a male who is so emotional both are supposed to be transgendered due to their behaviors. Trans-sexual is the transgendered people who have decided to alter their bodies to ensure that their physical body I well aligned with their behavior and gender character sexual identity (Dahamshe, 2018).

Need For Female Athletes to Confirm Their "Femininity"

This is one of the areas with a few complications when it comes feminity and masculinity. The female athletes' face a rough time especially when their feminity is questioned due to their abilities. Some of the women can perform better than men thus this raises the question of whether they are feminine. Instead of celebrating their win, people then to criticize them some saying that they are not of defined gender. By confirming their femininity, women are opening up to the world where people will judge them as females (Rose et al., 2012).

Compiled Data Analysis and Observation

The first example experienced is in the movie series called "game of thrones." At the beginning of the movie, women are portrayed as home keepers who take care of their husbands and their children. They are also described as the weak gender who cannot lead. The kings rule most of the kingdoms in the movie (Rose et al., 2012). Women are there to support their husbands as they lead. As the film progresses towards the last seasons, we witness some females making moves towards the throne.

Lady Sansa takes the throne when the mad king, her husband died. Daenerys also was known as the mother of dragons is crowned the queen of her people when her husband died. She is feared by most because she controls her three fierce dragons. In the latest season, she is planning to take the throne as the leader of the seven kingdoms. She cannot be burned by fire. Her counterpart lady Sansa is now the queen, and she is planning to continue ruling despite the pressure from the kingdoms opposed to her (Dahamshe, 2018).

In the movie the "wonder woman," the main character Gal Gadot, a warrior, trained in the Amazon is a lethal and robust woman. She has supernatural powers and special fighting skills. She does not recognize the difference between men and women. Her tribe is majorly composed of women who are guarding their territory. The women in her kingdom are warriors; they are strong does what men are supposed to be doing in the standard setting (Dahamshe, 2018). This movie overturns the normal context of the society with a superhero being the lady.

"Suits" is another series where Gender is an issue. Jessica is a bold woman who leads the law firm. She is smart and arrogant and acts as the last line of defense when her firm is in trouble. Her male colleague's fears and respect her. Females have been granted equal opportunities to fight for positions which are usually dominated by men. When you pass by doors of many clubs, you find that most posters have pictures of women who are half naked while others are naked. Women have been used a way to attract customers to clubs. Men still enjoy their superiority in this matter, the pictures of men are not displayed anywhere (Rose et al., 2012).

The other source is the movie "black panther" this is one of the movies where you find the females being at the center of the defense of the kingdom. The protagonist, Black Panther himself, has a female bodyguard who is a warrior and a good fighter. She fights all the wars in the name of protecting the "Wakanda" kingdom and their king from the oppressors. Women are not seen as weak people in this movie; they are portrayed as people who are equal to men regarding power and brains. The sister to the Black Panther himself is a scientist and an engineer who knows more about science and design than any other person in the kingdom (Dahamshe, 2018). She designs weapons and other equipment for all the warriors in society.

In the game of chess, the queen is the most powerful piece on the board. She can move any number of squares in any direction. For once a lady is more potent than the males. This is an example of a situation where gender is sound but the on the side on the side of the females. The king does not have equal powers as the queen to maneuver the board. Girls are mistreated in school as portrayed in the movie series "13 reasons why". Some girls have been taken through hell by boy students especially by one character called Price he rapes his friend's girlfriend and later another aspect. In this movie, there is a room in the school where girls are invited, and while they are there, they are sexually harassed. One of the female characters committed suicide as a result of harassment and rape (Rose et al., 2012).

In the movie "Hidden figures," the three characters Katherine Jonson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson are brilliant African-American women working at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). They serve as the brains behind the launch into orbit of astronaut John Glenn, a stunning achievement that turned around the Space Race the three women changed the way people perceived women from that point onwards. In that movie, nobody thought that they could change history. They were just seen as mere employees where at some point their suggestions did not matter (Dahamshe, 2018).

The last ship is another movie series with extraordinary women. One of the female characters ends up being the captain of the ship called Nathan James. On one of the occasions, in the movies, she disregards her former boss who is respected and feared among the crew. She stands out when her former boss wanted to continue a fight which they had lost already. Supergirl is a series with a lady character with superpowers her name is Kara from the planet Krypton when she finds herself on earth; she starts to help in fighting criminals. She is a city protector. She takes the roles which are usually played by male characters. She fights both male and female criminals though without mercy when it comes to men (Dahamshe, 2018).

Individual Reflections

Game of Thrones is an exciting movie series. While watching it, one will quickly notice the power of women from the beginning. How they make plans and how they use men to support their strategy to win the kingdoms. Being a long movie and noticing how gender issues come out in the film brings a new feeling of modern society where women are taking over leadership (Dahamshe, 2018). The wonder woman is another thriller which brings out the issue of gender immediately you start to watch.

One feels the power and the will of women to protect themselves without asking for help from men. They fight with the same spirit as men without giving up. The competition between men and women in both courtrooms and outside the court brings the issue of gender to the surface. Their fearlessness makes men watching to doubt their gender. Jessica is explicitly one character who has characteristics of the male figure. Her boldness and it is enough to bully any man who stands on her way (Rose et al., 2012).

The sight of half-naked female pictures in the club brings about the issue of gender to the surface. One will start to ask themselves why the management of the club does not put the pictures of naked males. It is easy to conclude that men are still respected in society. The female bodyguards and the female engineer who is the sister to the Black Panther brings the idea of gender into play. They defy the stereotype that men can only be the best in science and physical activities. They are smart and robust hence they can stand against any man (Dahamshe, 2018).

While playing chess, the first piece you will encounter is the queen because of her powers. Your opponent is always cautious when your queen is active. They know about its ability to move around the chess board destroying the opponent. Gender issues may not be too obvious when playing the queen but you when you encounter the king; you start to feel how powerless that male piece is as compared to the queen. Watching the series "13 reasons why" brings a lot of emotions. You see how helpless girls when they are in the hands of characters like Price and other bullies. The issue of gender is an issue on its own as students of that school (Rose et al., 2012). The problem of gender is detected immediately when the movie hidden figures start. You get to see how humble and smart the three female characters are and how men disregard them only to find out that they were the best people who could help.

In the movie "the last ship" women play different but significant roles. They are part of the army, and they fight in the same battlefields as men. They are fearless and very dangerous to other in the opposing side. Gender is detected at the point where female officers confront male officers without fear. Supergirl does make men feel inferior when watching the movie. Her powers make a man shiver in her presence. You can easily see how gender manifest itself when Kara meets men for a fight. She fights men with a lot of conforming and pleasure. This movie defines the Goffman's Ideas since the females have been depicted to be stronger than men (Rose et al., 2012).

Conclusion

Goffman's research stills an accurate representation of gender-related images and media behavior. Most advertisements and family programs support Goffman's ideas. The press always portrays men as masculine, staunchly independent and visionary. Women on the other side are shy, weak independent and not heavily built like men. The media is still portraying these characteristics but not for long since there have been some changes in the society (Rose et al., 2012). Women now believe that they can be independent of men. They have been educated and are working as...