Socioeconomic Status and Gender

Gender norms refer to the characteristics, attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex. These socially constructed characteristics are typically based on a rigid binary concept of gender: man and woman. Society teaches individuals the normative behaviors for men and women, including how to interact with the same and opposite gender, education and workplace responsibilities, household duties, and the roles they should assume within their communities and society. When people behave in a manner that is consistent with society’s expectations, it is known as gender normative, and when individuals do not conform to the traditional gender norms, it is known as gender nonconformity. Society’s construction of gender roles and norms affects a person’s ability to function in society, including ...