Hamahashi 1

Nanami Hamahashi
Professor Beadle
English 113A
December 8, 2015
An Equal Society for Everyone
So, are we equals? Until the answer is yes, we must never stop asking. This is a main
message of a film that Daniel Craig shows up. This film was commissioned by a coalition of
charities campaigning on equality issues. In addition, it starts with this message, Were equals,
arent we 007? As you know, Daniel Craig is famous for the role of James Bond, a character
who is aggressive, risky, and focused. This film has great impact because the typically masculine
James Bond insists on equality between men and women. In general, people regard gender as a
just division of women and men, but it is not true. In addition, men and women are not equal in
some situations. I argue people in society must rethink gender and create an equal society for
everyone.
I refer to the main common idea of two readings in Composing Gender so as to make my
argument more meaningful. The main common idea of Night to His Day: The Social
Construction of Gender written by Judith Lorber, Rethinking Womens Biology written by
Ruth Hubbard is that the society requires people to perform gender properly according to their
sexual distinctions, which should not be true. They are making their arguments because they
want to create equal society that is comfortable to live for everyone. Human beings are equal. If I
answer to the quotation at the beginning of this essay, the answer is that we are equal. I agree

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with their common arguments that we should create equal society. In order to make equal society
for everyone, many people in the society should get much interest in gender, should understand
the physical difference between women and men correctly, and should recognize the current
inequitable society. In addition, I also have experienced the gender inequality, and rethinking
gender is important for my own life.
First, the status of men and women should be equal because they are both human beings.
However, in some situations, we are not equal. In the 19th century, women were not allowed to
get opportunities for education, politics and jobs. In general, there was a thinking that women
should focus on producing offspring and looking after children. In the article Rethinking
Womens Biology, Hubbard refers to one example of prejudice from that time, if they divert
this energy to their brains by studying, their reproductive organs will shrivel, they will become
sterile, and the race will die out (Hubbard 47). Women did not have enough opportunities to get
education. Many people thought that women do not need to receive education.
In addition, women suffrage was not admitted for a long time. In Japan, even now, the
number of Diet (legislative assemblies) women is smaller than that of Diet men. According to the
film which I referred before, Yet it is 2011 and a man is still likely to earn more money than a
woman, even one doing the same job. Even now, there is a tendency that it is difficult for
women to be promoted to a higher grade. Women have been discriminated for a long time in
terms of opportunities for education and suffrage. There is rule on human nature below endlessly
looping processes of the social production of sex and gender (Lorber 30). There is no basic rule
that discrimination is allowed to exist. For the reasons above, there is a lot of discrimination

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between women and men. We can notice the current situations by picking up on gender. We
should get rid of the discrimination, so there is an equal society for men and women.
Next, it is certain that men and women are equal, but there are differences between them.
In order to build an equal society, we should understand the difference of men and women
appropriately. Recognizing the existence of average sex differences is irrelevant to the way we
organize society. Men and woman are different physically such as height, weight, and strength.
The difference of height arises from growth patterns, especially the increase in estrogen levels
after the onset of menstruation for girls. Generally, when girls start menstruation, the increase in
stature will be slower (Hubbard 48). There are some differences on body build.
In particular, I would like to emphasize the difference of the organs of reproduction. Only
women can give birth to babies. Even if a woman does not want to have babies, people around
her will require her to do that (Hubbard 50). She has a hard time. When a woman had a baby and
wants to get back to her job, it is difficult to do so. There are many countries which have
incomplete systems of childcare. If there are more childcare faculties, women are easy to be
reinstated in their former office. We are required to understand the difference of men and
women, and consider what systems are proper for everyone.
Finally, we should make a society that everyone can make a life comfortably. Everyone
has their own identity. We need to accept other peoples identities. I have to ask you the
definition of gender. Gender is a foundation of identity. Gender is not a state of being male or
female. However, society requires people to behave properly. For human beings there is no
essential femaleness or malenessonce gender id ascribed, the social order constructs and holds
individuals to strongly gendered norms and expectations (Lorber 25). Properly means that if

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you are a male, you must conduct yourself masculinely, and if you are a female, you should
control your behavior femininely. The stereotype of masculinity is dominant, stronger, and
active, on the other hand, that of femininity is subordinate, emotional, cooperative and so on.
However, it is impossible to divide all people into two groups. Some people are homosexuals,
lesbians, transsexuals, bisexuals, transvestites and transgendered. Since there are various kinds of
thinking of gender, recently genderless tendency has extended.
Furthermore, people tend to form identities when they are children. Therefore,
circumstances such as culture and religious and parents influence the establishment of gender
identities of children. When I was a child, I lived with my grandmother. One day, she said to me,
You are a girl, right? So, you have to do housework. You should practice cleaning, washing
dishes, folding up clothes. And behave gracefully, not aggressively. I wondered whether what I
am a girl is related to my behavior. She had a stereotype of gender. I disagree with the thinking
that girls must be femininity. Unfortunately, some people cannot express their identities and have
a hard time because they are seemed to be eccentric by someone who does not understand gender
appropriately. There is a story which is related to identity and religious. I know Leelah Alcorn.
Leelah was born as a boy, and named Joshua. He had feelings as a girl. When he heard the word
"transgender", he was very glad because he understood "her" difficulties. However, her mother
called Leelah to account. She could not accept Leelah because accepting Leelah means
disobeying the teaching of Jesus. Leelah was very sad and chose to die. Her mother could not
accept Leelah's feeling due to religious. Like these actual examples, the influence of parents and
circumstances is very big. However, I insist that what the most important thing is to accept
identity.

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After making my argument, understanding gender properly is important to construct the

equal society. First, men and women should be treated equally. Second, we need to understand
there are differences between men and women. Finally, gender is foundations of identities.
Various things such as parents, culture, and religion are related to forming identities. I argue that
more people should have much interest in gender, and we should make efforts to construct an
equal society for everyone.

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Works Cited
Hubbard, Ruth. Rethinking Womens Biology. Composing Gender. Rachel Groner and John F.
OHara. Eds. 2014. New York: Bedford/St. Martins. 46-52. Print.
Lorber, Judith Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender. Composing Gender.
Rachel Groner and John F. OHara. Eds. 2014. New York: Bedford/St. Martins. 19-34.
Print.
Esther Addley. James Bond video for international womens shows 007s feminine side. The
Guardian. 7 March 2011. Web. 21 September 2015.