"Becoming Members of Society" Response

Devor discusses how the “generalized other” influences our development of a gender identity. The term means that we judge our own actions against those of generalized conceptions of how members of society are expected to act. With this in place, we monitor and censor our actions so that we earn social approval. I thought it was interesting how he writes the “self” is composed by the more internal and private “I” and the more public and judged “me” I agree with this idea because the characteristics of “I” are what truly make a person who they are, but we morph ourselves to create a certain “me” to portray to others because we feel that our “I” may not be good enough or perceived well by others.

The “patriarchal schema” that Devor explains is widely in use in North American society. It shows how males are highly attributed and are the dominant person in a family and in the world. They display features of innate maleness through aggression, body presence, and speech. On the other hand, women are known to be dependent on males because they are ones who have a warm and soft personality, gentleness, and motivation to care for children and work in female roles only. Furthermore, the way both genders dress is a huge characteristic that separates the male type from the female type. The schema reinforces and perpetuates the idea that when it comes to gender roles, males are superior to females.