Gender is a role bestowed by society and is wholly dependent on one's sex. Considering these two terms as interchangeable is incorrect. Sex is permanently hardcoded into the DNA, whereas gender may be reassigned at a moment's notice.
Roles become irreversible during the later years of childhood, with male roles tending to be "universal". Females are allowed to participate in male activities without facing the same reaction as a male participating in female activities. An example:
At some point in a boy's childhood, it no longer becomes cute for him to be seen playing with dolls or dressing up with his sisters. The sisters, on the other hand, may participate in his activities without reprimand (continued participation may result in the title of "tomboy", however). This is also apparent in adulthood as certain occasions may allow for women to dress in men's clothing; however, men may never dress in women's clothing without facing ridicule.
Certain characteristics of sex have contributed to the ideas of masculinity and femininity society posses today. These can be seen in ares such as clothing and in media portrayal of gender. Clothing tends to accentuate the reproductive prowess of an individual, as the articles highlight the attributes making him or her an ideal candidates for mating. The media propagates the notions of what men and women are to the masses, and the masses reinforce what they see in television, magazines, films, books, etc. While magazines are only able to present still-images and text, television and films are able to present scenarios depicting appropriate gender behavior. These scenarios are more often than not mimicked by children and teens to further conform to the standards of their gender.
Currently, individuals are not encouraged to play any other role than the one their sex designates. Those who stray too far from the expected are hastily put back in place.
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Nice discussion of the media - particularly television, magazines, etc. versus the mediated quasi-interaction that comes through watching television and movies. An interesting question is whether mimicking behavior is more common through one medium or the other, and if so, how media adapts to deploy its messages in particular ways. Nice thought-provoking post!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that women have more freedom in bridging the gender expectations that you mention then men have, particularly in clothing. A man in a skirt is automatically ‘gay’ (though I don’t know of any gay men who like skirts, but I suppose it’s the assertion that everything gay equals female), but we think of pants (traditionally male) as gender neutral. However, it’s marketed in very different ways; the styles and fits of men women’s pants are not alike at all. I agree that it accentuates the reproductive prowess of women, but I don’t really see how it does that in men. For women it’s about drawing attention to the breasts and the hips, but such tight clothing on men would again be considered ‘gay.’ Children and teens are certainly copying these fads, and it seems to be happening at a progressively younger age.
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