Gender Roles

The difference between male and femal are biological, however the difference between a woman and a man are psychological. This is why there are drag queens and tomboys. What really separates a man from a  woman? It certainly does not have anything to do with what sex one is born with, clearly seen in "Drag U," where males are more "womanly" than the females they are trying to help "find their inner divas." The realities of being and achieving womanhood is deeper than one's sex. The Kinks said, "girls will be boys, and boys will be girls it's a mixed up muddled up shook up world, except for Lola," this song is about a transvestite named Lola who the singer almost fell for. It's not a mixed up world. Its reality. Judith Butler's "Sex and Gender in Simone de Beauvoir's Second Sex," explains how people chose their gender and that it is separate from the body. There are people everyday who do not have the gender compatible to their sex, and they're happy and life goes on. So why do people get so freaked out when little girls play with fire trucks, or little boys play with barbies? Personally, I believe that social pressures contribute to what gender people chose. Since childhood we have been punished for acting the gender of the opposite sex, and rewarded for acting accordingly. On television, society's influence on acceptable gender roles is mirrored by the thought process of the majority of the population. Females are seen doing "girl" things, and males doing "boy" things. For example, on "One Tree Hill," Brooke Davis aspires to be a fashion designer, while Nathan aspires to be a pro-basketball player. If it was the opposite, well, people would be surprised. Even though T.V. shows feed into the gender role stereotypes and have since the invention of the television some shows are breaking through and recognizing the differences.  As the times are changing, so is what we are watching on television.  "Degrassi" has a transgender character, which is a major achievement for a teenage-targeted show. Television is part of every day life, when these topics start to become apart of television, they also start to become apart of everyday life.