Nature or nurture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nature or nurture - Essay Example Although at present, the scientific community has tipped the scale towards ‘nature’, an ongoing debate argues that environment is the main factor influencing gender identities of people. This conclusion is drawn from the work of Michael Kimmel, a sociologist who teaches at the University of New York at Stony Brook. Apart from having written on gender in general and men in particular, in â€Å"‘Bros before Hos’: The Guy Code†, Kimmel deals specifically with issues of masculinity. He believes that young men are socialized into their groups and gain ideas of masculinity from the surroundings around them. Studies which have been conducted by James O’Neill, developmental psychologist at the University of Connecticut and social psychologist, Joseph Pleck have shown how little the socializing influences on boys have changed over the years. Kimmel points out how men conform to masculizing influences and perceived masculine behavior because they are anx ious to secure the approval of other men. In the words of playwright David Mamet, women are perceived have such a â€Å"low place on the social ladder of this country that its useless to define yourself in terms of a woman†. Boys tend to identify with their fathers and older male peers and adopt behavioral patterns considered to be â€Å"masculine† in order to win the approval of other men. Freud has put forward the view that an essential part of the process of defining male gender identify is the separation of a boy from his mother and close identification with his father instead. Masculinity is thus achieved through â€Å"repudiation, disassociation and then identification.† To support this argument, psychologists such as Michael Thompson, James Gabarrino and Dan Kindlon also reiterate that a culture of cruelty is created wherein young boys are actively discouraged from crying or showing their emotions. Applying Pollack’s views, a young boy would be pus hed through the influences from other males in his surrounding environment to actively develop the â€Å"mask of masculinity, which is essentially a stoic, unemotional front wherein denying their own emotional needs forms an essential part of framing of gender identity of the boys. In contrast with Kimmel, Hanna Rosin is less certain about the impact of socializing influences and the environment on the development of gender identity. In the â€Å"A Boy’ Life†, Rosin points to the fact that the difficulties transgender children experience, appear to have been exacerbated by parental indulgence. These children take on role-playing at a very early age – usually the role of the opposite sex – and persist with it. The writer also maps the recent preoccupation with biology in the area of human identity and the theories of gender as a social construct. Both Rosin and Kimmel offer a disturbing view of the motivation of peers, parents, communities and professiona ls. These people involved in the negotiation of gender identities, in which a mix of fear of rejection, a need for normalcy and peer approval, and professional ambition leads to a single-minded consideration. Parents, driven by fear of their children’s rejection by society and constant social affirmation