Gender Essay Sample 3

Essay 3: Gender Essay
Why is it that when people hear the word sex they tend to giggle? Is sex and gender not
the same? What makes them so different? The answer may vary. Some might think sex and
gender does not have anything in common, but some might think sex and gender are the same.
Social norms affect our gender identity in different ways. Examples of social norms can be
observed throughout our daily life. For example, many girls’ bathroom are colored pink because
pink is a feminine color. Other examples can be found in media, such as commercials and
movies that we watch, or magazines, books and articles that we read. All these examples helped
us to identify all the differences between sex and gender. Social norms limit public space of
males and females with colors, how they look and the types of jobs opportunities that are
available to them in our society.
One of the ways social norms limit public space is through the use of colors. All the
students that attend Galileo High School probably have noticed that the girls’ and boys’
bathrooms are colored differently. Girls’ bathrooms are filled with objects colored in pink
because societies think about the color pink as a feminine color. Boys’ bathrooms are filled with
objects colored in blue because societies think about the color blue as a masculine color that
represents all the males. Even the public bathrooms apply the same principle.
Another way for social norms to separate males and females is the dress codes that are
apply to each gender. In the film “Persepolis,” women are forced by the government officials to
wear hijab on their head when they are outdoors. Women are also denied the right to wear pants.
This became a problem because it appeared that the dress code only apply for women and not
men. Men have rights that women do not have, for example, men can wear pants and they are not

enforced by the law to wear anything on their head. Even dress codes in America tend to separate
males and females, for example, people living in America think skirts or dresses are for girls
only and if a male travel outdoor with a skirt or dress on, the people will make insult and make
fun of him because it is abnormal for males to wear skirts and dresses.
Social norms limit our freedom by stopping us from getting the job we want. When a
person is looking for a job, he or she might be denied because of their gender. There are still
people out there in the world who think females cannot do anything right but to mess them up.
This led to a problem in our societies where certain jobs are closed to females. However, there
are also jobs that are closed to males. Even in America, so called “Land of the Free,” there are
still people who are rejected by companies because of their sex and gender.
The way we look, the jobs we can have, the colors we use in our daily life are all
impacted by social norms. Social norms changed the meaning of freedom. People’s rights are
taken away by the government and society through social norms. Democracy or not, social
norms have always been above the law. In fact, some laws are passed and enforced by the
government because of social norms. For example, the dress code used in Iran took away
women’s right to wear freely. It is just a matter of time before people start to realize and stand up
to fight for their freedom and rights that has been promised by the government.