An important connecting theme of this course has been that ‘gender is more than sex, and that is it socially constructed’. Write an essay where you discuss your understanding of this statement. In your essay, you need to refer to and quote from at least four different readings assigned for four different lectures in this course.
First of all, in dealing with the gender concept and its origins in society one should accept that any knowledge or taboos on that issue are just creations of human mind. Such inventions are essential in order to establish a firm community. For instance, marriage institution is one of them, besides gender construction. In social construction of gender, there are various topics and forms of studies. For instance, creating self-fulling prophecies and nonverbal behaviors of gender types are two telescopic issues of constructed gender. In self-fulling prophecies basically a person or a group of people act in the way which they are expected to do by the dominant part of the community; additionally, they assume (or seems to assume) the actions as natural parts of their body & life. Briefly, as a result, the dominant side is proved to be right. From the gender point of view, self-fulling prophecy may be exemplified by a commonly known instance: women behave according to the sexist or nonsexist personality of an employer in the job applications. In researches of von Bayer, Sherk & Zanna1 (from Doing Gender) “women are proved to wear more frilly clothing, more jewelry, make up and perfume, when they believe they were to be interviewed by a sexist man.” Furthermore, in my opinion non verbal behaviors are also strict components of these pre-assumed predictions. For instance, in business life, a female worker (secretary, waitress etc.) is supposed to smile much more than a male co-worker does, indicates the searches of Kennedy and Camden.2 On the contrast, if a woman does her job without a sincere smile on her face, she possibly be labeled as a glum or even bad-tempered person. Thus, “women seem to feel a greater obligation to smile than men do”, say the reports of La France. One more serious point about non verbal behaviors is the sitting styles of two genders. as a personal instance, I have been taught to sit like a nice lady(!) with my legs firmly closed. Otherwise, it would not be appropriate for a girl to open her legs like boy (!). Consequently, I did in the way my mother wished; and all prophecies of other people were full-filled by my “lady style” sitting. However, I could never understand why I should sit such an uncomfortable way. Worse, as long as I have grown up and become a teenager with all my female properties, it was impossible to open my legs again when sitting in a group of people. Anyone might think that I was full of sexual desire and implying to have it. On the contrast, firstly my father and all other male members of society were free to sit however they pleased. And they still are. And they will be till eternity. Thus, they full-fill such another assumption that the men have the power, the domination; and that comfortable sitting style supports his authority. (to some extent, that is a Freudian reading, but the powerful phallus image is inevitable here.) Then, providing that these gender differentiations root to the very first of our childhood, we should investigate a little bit of history: from being an embryo when our social gender is figured out by our parents. First of all, the whole clothes, the “lovely” baby-room, and toys are chosen pink or blue according to the ultrasonic diagnosis of the boy or the girl. Many researches (by Shakin&Sternglanz, Pomerleau, etc.) carried out all around the world provide that instinctual behaviors of parents.3 Afterwards, the name is chosen, appropriate for each sex. (At that point “language and gender” construction plays its first role that if parents choose a little famine name for their boy, his life will be ruined from the start.) After a couple of days the baby was born, the government certificates the gender as blue or pink (In Turkey). When the baby grows up to the consciousness and linguistic level (at about 1-1.5 years) that he/she observes toys are much more than just soundly stuff, a boy is rewarded by colorful cars in many size, may be minimal warriors of cartoons, like Action-man (lead soldiers of today); on the other hand the girl is given colorful fake jewelries, various baby-dolls (in order to learn how to be a good mother since childhood) and pinky tea sets and cooking sets (in order to get used to housework!).4. Moreover, these ridiculous obligations are enthusiastically supported by advertisements and other visual media stuff. As long as the child plays with them, he/she will be much more loved by people surrounding him/her. When she makes her doll to drink milk, she becomes an individual filled her duty successfully!! Or when the boy races his colorful cars between his soldiers and creates a dreamy war his father taps his head with honor saying “my brave boy!” It is possible to extend the list. In that case, do we have any right to accuse a child who sees the opposite sex as an enemy? We grow them up through out entirely different categories; then, it seems surprising if they refuse to play together. Even when they play, the social constructed roles takes the place such as in the doctorship-nursery play game, denoting that the doctor role “must” be the boy’s and absolutely the nurse “remains” to the girl. In the opposite situation, if the girl demands to be the doctor, the boy ruins the game and often leaves her behind. In the last two decades, the toy designers and factures try to produce unisex logical toys, making easier for boys and girls to play together; additionally encouraging parents to buy them. However, society is much curious than toy industry (even the economic and capitalist face counts harsher) in raising children as categorized. I want to indicate one last point regarding these effects, when these socially constructed children become teenagers and then adults, here is the picture: the boy, turned into a conscious man, graduated as an engineer and applies to a job. When he first enters the room for the appointment, he initially rejects or feels uncomforted if his supervisor is woman. At that point the power and rage relations involve in to the situation which is a sensitive issue of another essay. footnotes: 1-2 (from Doing Gender) 3-4 (from Becoming Gendered: Childhood)
First of all, in dealing with the gender concept and its origins in society one should accept that any knowledge or taboos on that issue are just creations of human mind. Such inventions are essential in order to establish a firm community. For instance, marriage institution is one of them, besides gender construction. In social construction of gender, there are various topics and forms of studies. For instance, creating self-fulling prophecies and nonverbal behaviors of gender types are two telescopic issues of constructed gender. In self-fulling prophecies basically a person or a group of people act in the way which they are expected to do by the dominant part of the community; additionally, they assume (or seems to assume) the actions as natural parts of their body & life. Briefly, as a result, the dominant side is proved to be right. From the gender point of view, self-fulling prophecy may be exemplified by a commonly known instance: women behave according to the sexist or nonsexist personality of an employer in the job applications. In researches of von Bayer, Sherk & Zanna1 (from Doing Gender) “women are proved to wear more frilly clothing, more jewelry, make up and perfume, when they believe they were to be interviewed by a sexist man.” Furthermore, in my opinion non verbal behaviors are also strict components of these pre-assumed predictions. For instance, in business life, a female worker (secretary, waitress etc.) is supposed to smile much more than a male co-worker does, indicates the searches of Kennedy and Camden.2 On the contrast, if a woman does her job without a sincere smile on her face, she possibly be labeled as a glum or even bad-tempered person. Thus, “women seem to feel a greater obligation to smile than men do”, say the reports of La France. One more serious point about non verbal behaviors is the sitting styles of two genders. as a personal instance, I have been taught to sit like a nice lady(!) with my legs firmly closed. Otherwise, it would not be appropriate for a girl to open her legs like boy (!). Consequently, I did in the way my mother wished; and all prophecies of other people were full-filled by my “lady style” sitting. However, I could never understand why I should sit such an uncomfortable way. Worse, as long as I have grown up and become a teenager with all my female properties, it was impossible to open my legs again when sitting in a group of people. Anyone might think that I was full of sexual desire and implying to have it. On the contrast, firstly my father and all other male members of society were free to sit however they pleased. And they still are. And they will be till eternity. Thus, they full-fill such another assumption that the men have the power, the domination; and that comfortable sitting style supports his authority. (to some extent, that is a Freudian reading, but the powerful phallus image is inevitable here.) Then, providing that these gender differentiations root to the very first of our childhood, we should investigate a little bit of history: from being an embryo when our social gender is figured out by our parents. First of all, the whole clothes, the “lovely” baby-room, and toys are chosen pink or blue according to the ultrasonic diagnosis of the boy or the girl. Many researches (by Shakin&Sternglanz, Pomerleau, etc.) carried out all around the world provide that instinctual behaviors of parents.3 Afterwards, the name is chosen, appropriate for each sex. (At that point “language and gender” construction plays its first role that if parents choose a little famine name for their boy, his life will be ruined from the start.) After a couple of days the baby was born, the government certificates the gender as blue or pink (In Turkey). When the baby grows up to the consciousness and linguistic level (at about 1-1.5 years) that he/she observes toys are much more than just soundly stuff, a boy is rewarded by colorful cars in many size, may be minimal warriors of cartoons, like Action-man (lead soldiers of today); on the other hand the girl is given colorful fake jewelries, various baby-dolls (in order to learn how to be a good mother since childhood) and pinky tea sets and cooking sets (in order to get used to housework!).4. Moreover, these ridiculous obligations are enthusiastically supported by advertisements and other visual media stuff. As long as the child plays with them, he/she will be much more loved by people surrounding him/her. When she makes her doll to drink milk, she becomes an individual filled her duty successfully!! Or when the boy races his colorful cars between his soldiers and creates a dreamy war his father taps his head with honor saying “my brave boy!” It is possible to extend the list. In that case, do we have any right to accuse a child who sees the opposite sex as an enemy? We grow them up through out entirely different categories; then, it seems surprising if they refuse to play together. Even when they play, the social constructed roles takes the place such as in the doctorship-nursery play game, denoting that the doctor role “must” be the boy’s and absolutely the nurse “remains” to the girl. In the opposite situation, if the girl demands to be the doctor, the boy ruins the game and often leaves her behind. In the last two decades, the toy designers and factures try to produce unisex logical toys, making easier for boys and girls to play together; additionally encouraging parents to buy them. However, society is much curious than toy industry (even the economic and capitalist face counts harsher) in raising children as categorized. I want to indicate one last point regarding these effects, when these socially constructed children become teenagers and then adults, here is the picture: the boy, turned into a conscious man, graduated as an engineer and applies to a job. When he first enters the room for the appointment, he initially rejects or feels uncomforted if his supervisor is woman. At that point the power and rage relations involve in to the situation which is a sensitive issue of another essay. footnotes: 1-2 (from Doing Gender) 3-4 (from Becoming Gendered: Childhood)
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