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home / study / social sciences / philosophy / philosophy questions and answers / You Will Be Required To Submit Two Research Papers. Written Assignment #1 Will Be Due At The ... Question: You will be required to submit two research papers. Written assignment #1 will be due at the end ... You will be required to submit two research papers. Written assignment #1 will be due at the end of Unit 4 and written assignment #2 will be due at the end of Unit 7. Each paper will allow you to broaden your understanding of a particular sociological concept. This paper should be 2-3 pages of content in length and include 3 outside references (not including your text). It is also important that at least one of these references be a scholarly journal article (peer reviewed) Since this is an introductory class, the topic of the paper is up to the student, as long as it addresses the following: your understanding of sociological theory and how social institutions affect individuals and their behaviors. Examples of topics may include: •Attitudinal issues regarding abortion •Gay rights movements in the US •Drug use trends •Political Opinions as a function of Socio-Economic Status •Attractiveness related to employability •Music Preferences and the effect upon suicide •Gender issues in the marketing of products The above topics are merely examples, please feel free to choose a topic that interests you. You may want to check with your instructor to confirm that your topic is appropriate

Answer 1

• A social institution consists of a group of people who have come together for a common purpose. These institutions are a part of the social order of society and they govern behavior and expectations of individuals.
• The main problem with gender marketing in products is the specification of gender in products where it should have no place. While most people say that girls gravitate towards fashion and dolls, while boys gravitate towards more violent video games and sci-fi action figures, that is mostly a product of social conditioning rather than innate inclinations towards a specific genre of toy. This trend also continues into clothes, and one can find vastly different clothing in the men's section of a department store than in a women's section.
• Clothes, toys and other related products, serve the same purpose for both genders, and therefore do not require specificity in their marketing or focus. To market a specific item or line of clothing to one gender inadvertently contributes to the idea that men cannot wear items of clothing traditionally meant for women, and vice versa. The notion that gender roles should be applied to products, outside of the need for products marketed for different physiological needs by gender, is absurd.
• How toys are labelled and displayed affects consumers’ buying habits, with many parents uncomfortable buying a pink toy for their son, or their daughters one labelled as ‘for boys’. The impact of color is dramatic, and can taint whether or not a child will play with a toy they may otherwise play with if it was marketed differently.
• Forcing gender roles has many problems, and can hinder child development in ways that have long term implications for society as a whole.
• Studies have found that gendered toys do shape children’s play preferences and styles. Because gendered toys limit the range of skills and attributes that both boys and girls can explore through play, they may prevent children from developing their full range of interests, preferences, and talents.’ This has tremendous implications, and correlates directly with inequalities seen later in adult life. Research shows that by late primary school age, children have already assigned job roles that boys do, and job roles that girls do.
• Society today has made a clear cut line about what is appropriate for a little boy and what is appropriate for a little girl. Society has made that distinction through gender stereotyping.Regardless of the parenting style that one family opts for, there seems to be a common thread; the majority of parents will dress little boys in blue and little girls in pink. The thought process behind this is so that their gender can be identified properly by an outside source.
• Even the compliments that adults bestow upon children can be gender stereotyping. When you tell a little a girl how pretty she looks in her dress is an illustration of that. Parents lead by example. Their children learn behavior from what they see their parents doing, even if unintentional. If a child sees their mother as the one who always does the laundry and cooks the meals and the father as the one who always takes the trash out, then chances are that the child will follow the same roles when as they grow up.
• Media also plays a large part in where children learn about what their gender role is. Disney movies are a prime example of this. In these movies, the leading female character, usually a princess, is sweet, romantic, daydreams about Prince Charming, and almost always wears a dress in a pastel color.
• With the role that parents or caregivers play in gender role identification, they should learn different methods for breaking stereotypes. Adults could make sure that they use the same language for both sexes or become involved in activities such as cuddling with boys or wrestling with girls. Connecting children of both sexes in such a manner is a good way to encourage the cycles of gender stereotyping to end.