The Role of Race and Gender in The Community

The meaning of race and gender is still being debated by psychologists and sociologists today because of the difficulty to truly understand these identities. Race and gender are also known as social constructs because these terms of identity were created by society to classify people by distinct traits. Race is said to be more of a natural and biological construct compared to gender which is a “cultural construction” developed by people in our society, it has nothing to do with genes. Tim Wise argues that race has little genetic grounds and could say that it is similar to gender in a sense of which revolves around society (Tim Wise, 2007). Race and gender are big roles in the realization of identities, not just in human beings but in the society that we belong in. These social constructs then lead to racism and forms of inequality among the society which get ignored and blinded by the privilege that some people obtain. Throughout this paper, race and gender will be discussed in more detail, including privilege in regard to racism, and finally masculinity and femininity and how it pertains to dominant roles in society.

Even though many in society use sex and gender conversely, they actually have different meanings. Gender is based on cultural features involving males and females, the behaviours, the roles, and interactions among the society. While sex is classified based on biological factors and natural constructs which a person has no control over. So why does gender have very little involvement in the biological aspect of things? There are norms that people in society see every day, for example a care giving role is most likely expected to be carried out by a woman while men are to provide for the family. The types of identity roles displayed here are known to be true in today’s society, but what if these roles got switched around? Noelle Chesley, who performed this study found some unexpected results as both the male and female appreciated each other more and had a positive difference of behaviour. This is a great example as to why gender is more cultural based rather than biological. Race and ethnicity are two other terms that interchange among conversions and are known in the society to be the same, but that is not true. Race is believed to be a natural and biological construct but many sociologists, like Tim Wise believe otherwise, that race is actually similar to gender in a sense that it shows aspects of a culture based construction. Why is race considered by many to be more cultural then biological? Race deals with characteristics in physical trails, appearance and behavior. Since behaviour deals with experiences in the society, race is less biological then one may think.

Privilege in the society is a big motivator in enabling racism because many do not actually realize they have this type of privilege. There are many perks that are revolved around privilege and consider being white as the “default” skin color which gives an incentive for those who are blinded by privilege to perform racism actions (Wise, 2007). Those without privilege in society will have a harder time in making decisions compared to those that do and is believed that white as the “default” skin color will be perceived as better. If a person is blinded by their own privilege then there will be signs of discrimination towards others in society. By educating the people of privilege, racism in society will definitely decrease and become aware of the true difficulties that a non-privileged person deals with in everyday life. Because of the increase in multi-cultural norms, in Canada more specifically, it shows how important it truly is for people to be more aware of their own privilege.

In today’s society, dominant racial and gender roles are stronger than ever, as they are visible almost everywhere, in movies, magazines, jobs, etc. To discuss in more detail, the “Codes of Gender” video is a perfect example of these dominant racial and gender roles displayed in the society, as well as how masculinity and femininity is viewed. In the video Jhally explains how men are viewed in advertisements and posters as strong, dominant, engaged, in control, and firm with both feet on the floor. While Women are almost the opposite of men, they are in control by the men, shows signs of a supportive role, usually has one foot up in the air which shows insecurity, and weakness. Almost everything that is advertised in society uses these specific traits of dominant roles, which is why it would be almost impossible to leave these dominant roles behind. Even though Jhally shows how the society perceives masculinity and femininity, it is not true in the actual world as some women do portray masculine traits.

Race and gender are very important topics in today’s society as it brings new norms and identities. These two roles are very similar in terms of natural and cultural trails and how they are seen in society. Many do believe that race is more a biological trait then culture but is argued that it is more cultural construct then a natural/biological one. Privilege is also a topic that is important in regard to society as it is blinded by many which later enables racism and unfairness. There are still many unanswered questions about race and gender in society and the dominant racial roles present.