Diversity within Society

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that a great many characteristics and qualities merge together to form individual identities that help to separate each human being as a unique entity. The writer points out that based on these characteristics, society is often able to categorize individuals, such as age, gender, or race. This paper examines four common human characteristics; gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and ethnicity and looks at how each of these traits can impact an individual's behaviour. The writer maintains that characteristics do influence behaviour, and they do contribute to diversity. The writer concludes that one must also consider the extent to which society impacts the decisions of individuals to behave in ways that either conform to or deviate from the expected norms associated with any particular characteristic.

From the Paper:

"The scope of this paper is far to narrow to discuss all of the ways in which gender can impact an individual's behaviour, but the important fact to understand about the link between gender and behaviour is that it is quite arbitrary. The link is one, which has, for the most part, been socially constructed.
"Sexual orientation is a topic of diversity that is quite prevalent in today's popular media. Sexual orientation refers to the enduring nature of an individual's sexual and emotional attractions to either members of the same-sex, opposite-sex, or both sexes. Individuals who are attracted to members of the same-sex are homosexuals, while individuals who are attracted to members of the opposite-sex are referred to as heterosexuals."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Caplan, P.J., Crawford, M., Hyde, J.S., & Richardson, J.T.E. (1997). Gender Differences in Human Cognition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Conklin, J.E. (1998). Criminology, 6th Ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
• Johnson, O.S. (2004). The Sexual Spectrum: Exploring Human Diversity. Vancouver: Raincoat Books.
• Peril, L. (2002). Pink Think: Becoming A Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons. New York: Norton & Company.
• Wood, S.E. & Wood, E.G. (1996). The World of Psychology, 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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