EWRT1A-30: Reading Response 5

The prompts for Reading Response 5 are below. If you want to know more about Devor's theories and see more specific examples of them, this is a comprehensive article. Some of the pictures on the page may not be suitable for work.

Reading Response 5

Aaron Devor, “Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender”

I want you to explain an idea from Devor’s essay using another text (or texts) in the class as an example for that explanation. To do this, choose one of the prompts below.

1. Explain Devor’s distinction between I and me (121, paragraphs 7 and 8). How may this separation contribute to problems with finding one’s own voice? Use another text from the class to illustrate this.

2. Explain the difference between Devor’s concepts of  the “generalized other” (121) and the “significant others” (122). How do these two concepts play a role in the formation of identity? Please use another text in our class to demonstrate this.

3. Devor refers to the process of gendering that he describes as a “patriarchal gender schema,” an ideology that believes “the cultural superiority of males is a natural outgrowth of the innate predisposition of males toward aggression and dominance” (123). According to Devor, how does this lead to inequality? Use another text from our class to show an example of this inequality.

4. Come up with your own focus, but try to show how another text from the class relates to Devor’s essay.