Trinidad What Is a Concept? A Concept

¶ … Trinidad

What is a Concept?

A concept is, by its most basic definition, an idea. Webster's dictionary defines a concept as either "something conceived in the mind" or as "an abstract or generic idea generalized from particular instances" (Webster 2011). A concept is an idea that has been allowed to fester and for other people to input into that idea. Rather than a notion or something less substantial, a concept is something that has been considered carefully. Many people and their theories have gone into the development of this idea until it is something tangible and understandable to the masses.

Gender:

Society has a way of taking the concepts of physical sex differences and applying them to gender. Boy and girl, man and woman, are terms which people associate with both gender and sex. We use these terms interchangeably but that is wrong. Sex is what is meant by the physical differences between the male and female. Gender is the social definitions that are placed on the person based on their physical differences. For example, when a baby is born and it turns out to be a girl, the parents will often paint the room pink. They will buy pink clothes and purchase dolls and princess things. These are all due to the sociological imposition of gender put upon that child's sex. If the baby were a boy, the parents would likely paint the room blue. They would buy blue clothes and stock up on war toys and sporting equipment. Before the child can talk or walk, the adults around it have imposed certain constructions about what they believe the child's identity should be. The child has virtually no personality demonstration yet, but already the baby is encouraged to have certain characteristics based on his or her sex.

As we as a society are becoming more aware of the realities between sex and gender differentiation, a revolution is occurring. It is becoming more and more common to see a person who belongs to one sex but acts in a manner more likely to occur in the opposite sex's gender. Gender stereotypes are some of the most ingrained in the collective consciousness. Several groups have worked extensively to recreate these ingrained beliefs in the social matrix. Feminists are outspoken about rights for females that take them out of the domestic sphere and beyond that pink clothing. To that extent, many people who accept those gender stereotypes consider a rejection of these characteristics as unnatural. Gender stereotypes are some of the most accepted of all. Opinions of what characterizes a female vs. those that are supposedly inherent in males are ingrained in the subconscious. Anyone who challenges those deep-held beliefs is considered other and is treated as such.