Free Custom «Gender, Culture and Social Systems» Essay Paper

Introduction

Is it true to say that the different creation of cards in respect of gender is the social constructionism? In many stores across the nation, one will notice that certain cards belong to women or girls while other types of cards belong to men or boys. Generally, people believe that men and women are extremely different from one another. For this reason, the different types of cards for men and women prove this theory. However, according to the theory of social constructionism, this is not true. The difference in cards between the two genders could be socially created. Therefore, this is an argument of the social constructionism theory in respect of gender which can be proved by different examples.

Discussion

Social constructionism indicates that many of the social behaviors happening are based on choice and not on the natural occurrence. In this case, the artifacts are created due to choice and not due to the flow of activities in a certain society. For this reason, the artifacts created due to gender difference result from choices and not natural flow of the society (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 25). An excellent example of these artifacts is the birthday cards produced by companies. This is where certain birthday cards are created for men while certain birthday cards are created for women. It can be noted that these cards contain different shades of colors and messages that identify the genders.

 

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In order to understand these social artifacts, it is necessary to learn how social construction applies in gender. According to the society men are supposed to take up more physical role while women tend to present themselves as objects to be viewed. People identify with their genders when they are young. In this case, when a child is growing up, he or she observes people who are of the same gender as him or her learning behaviors of their gender (Johnson 51). Therefore, when people are growing up they are molded to form genders that are in line with their physical characteristics. For this reason, gender behaviors depend on social construction which consequently leads to social constructionism.

In this case, women need bright colors in order to attract other people. On the other hand, men associate with dull colors because they do not care whether the people view them or not. For this reason, this means that girls need bright colors to make them glow or become outstanding while the boys associate with dull colors because they do not care whether they glow or not since they have physical skills (Johnson 51). Therefore, when companies create birthday cards for boys or men and girls or women, they tend to use different shades of color to differentiate the genders. Therefore, this proves that social constructionism really exists.

In relation to the behaviors of the genders, artifacts will tend to have structures that portray each gender. For instance, the birthday cards have different pictures that portray behaviors of each gender. In the cards for women there are many pictures of flowers. These pictures show that women want people to view them. On the contrary, birthday cards for men have a different structure. For example, one card has a truck at the back. This shows the physical or masculinity of men. Therefore, card companies are creating these cards based on the behaviors of the genders. For this reason, these cards are the result of the social constructionism.

In addition, culture is another immense part that plays a significant role in creating gender behaviors (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 30). Since the time in memorial, people believe men are the heads of the family. In this case, men tend to take up the leadership roles while the women follow the decisions made by the men. This means that men are more assertive and defensive in comparison to the women. Therefore, the society always believes that men are born to be leaders while women follow the men (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 30). According to researchers, this behavior exists in a society where people agree to follow. For this reason, the women agree to follow the men as their leaders.

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In this case, it is true to say that behavior or artifacts created because of gender are the result of the social constructionism. This is because a society behaves like a game. In a game, certain rules are created so that the game could work efficiently (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 26). In this case, over a certain period, there has been the creation of patriarchy in the society where men are seen as leaders while the women follow. As a result, the artifacts resulting from this society would tend to identify the two genders. Therefore, these artifacts are the work of social constructionism and not the flow of nature.

In addition to the above argument, heteropatriachy is another form of socialization stating that the society is dominated by heterosexuals. In this case, there is a belief that certain boys or men tend to behave like women (Smith 71). This means that these men tend to like the similar artifacts with women. On the other hand, certain women behave like men hence their similarity in liking artifacts men want. In this case, certain authorities in the society like Christians disagree with this behavior (Smith 72). This proves that there is gender constructionism in relation to gender in the society.

Another reason why social constructionism exists among genders is  capitalism. Capitalism is taking advantage of an opportunity for purposes of gaining profits (Johnson 42). When businesspeople sell their products, they observe the behaviors of the environment to ensure they can produce products that attract their target customers. This means that certain products are likely to be produced to attract girls or women while other products are produced to attract boys or women (Johnson 49). Therefore, this proves that social constructionism occurs in gender due to capitalism.

An excellent example to prove this argument is the birthday cards. When capitalists produce the cards in order to make a profit, they ensure they create a distinction between the genders. In this case, they put bright colors and pictures of flowers on women cards. On the other hand, they put dull colors with pictures of structures like trucks to attract men. Therefore, this proves that the producers do not create these cards due to the flow but because they try to attract certain types of customers. For this reason, there is social constructionism in respect of gender.

In order to understand more about patriarchy, it is valuable to understand that it did not happen by itself. According to scholars, patriarchy started as an economic strategy or system dominated by men (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 29). In this system, people were viewing men as capitalists who try to take advantage of the opportunities. Therefore, this resulted into the creation of artifacts related to gender to represent this behavior. In addition, there were paths of least resistance on the part of customers to follow this system. For this reason, it is true to state that there is social constructionism in respect of gender.

Finally, in a society, men tend to associate to certain messages while women associate to others. According to studies, men need to feel needed by women. This shows their masculinity and physical abilities to protect women. On the other hand, women need to be shown that they glow and that people are viewing. Based on capitalism or patriarchy, it could be extremely humiliating if a man does not prove this to show that he is a real man (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 28). On the contrary, it could depress a woman if she did not feel appealing to the people. For this reason, there is a creation of words in artifacts proving that there is social constructionism related tp gender.

In this case, the words written in a birthday card for women are different from the words written in a birthday card for men. For example, one card states that it is all about you mum. This card shows all mothers that people are viewing them. For this reason, their birthday is about people viewing them. In another card, it states that nothing but the best for a grandpa like you. This means that the receiver of the card is a man who has always given the best for his family, and now they appreciate him through his birthday with the card. In this case, it shows that there is social constructionism in respect of gender.

Conclusion

According to the above argument, it is possible to answer the question whether the creation of birthday cards in respect of  gender is necessary under the influence of the social constructionism or not? This is because the society is like a game where rules of the game are set. In this case, patriarchy prevails where men are seen as breadwinners while the women tend to domestic chores. In addition, capitalism tends to prevail as an economic system for men to gain more profits from an opportunity. As a result, they create behaviors that differ between the genders. It should be noted that what makes this social constructionism is that path of least resistance which exists in the society.