Devor: "Five-year-olds, for example, may be able to accurately recognize their own gender and the genders of the people around them, but they will often make such ascriptions on the basis of role information, such as hair style, rather than physical attributes, such as genitals, even when physical cues are clearly known to them."
Me: "I completely agree with this statement. I remember when I was that age, I never understood gender being identified by their genitals and I believed that all long-haired people were females, even though my dad had long hair."
Devor: "Those who tend to speak more loudly, use less polite and more assertive forms, and tend to interrupt the conversations of others more often also communicate masculinity to others."
Me: "I disagree with you on that one. Many of the loud-talking people I know are female and they are usually the ones that do the interrupting. If a guy interrupts, he is considered rude. What age are you from, dude? Although I do agree that males are usually the less polite ones."
Devor: "Fortunately, our training to gender roles is neither complete nor uniform. As a result, it is possible to point to multitudinous exceptions to, and variations on, these themes."
Me: "That, I agree with you on. When I watch couples in a relationship, the characteristics between the male and the female vary. In somerelationships, the female is the quiet one while her guy does all the talking and vice versa for other relationships. The breadwinner in the relationship varies, too. Sometimes the husband is a 'sugardaddy' and other times the wife is the one bringing in all the money."
Devor, Aaron H. "Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender." Rereading America. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2004. pp. 424-431.
