Gender 1.) is a social construction. Gender is defined as identifying with being a man or a
woman. When we a social constructionist defines gender, they believe there are many
multiple meanings of what it means to do gender. They understand that the meaning of
gender changes over time, place, culture, etc. The meaning of gender comes from
institutions. As a social institution, gender is a process of creating distinguishable social
statuses for the assignment of rights and responsibilities. As a part of a stratification
system that ranks these statuses unequally, gender is a major building block in the social
structures built on these unequal statuses [Lorber ]. Those stratification systems view
the world as ONE truth and ONLY truth. People with this view are called essentialist.
They protect our comfort zone, making our ONE truth be taught that it was divinely
given. For example, essentialist believe because you are born a male, you are therefore
consider a man is society (man=penis). We construct biological sex by saying you are a
man because you have a penis. They place people into binary boxes and say youre either
us or them. Sex what was ascribed by biology: anatomy, hormones, and
physiology. Gender is achieved status: that which is constructed through psychological,
cultural, and social means. (West & Zimmerman). Social construction perpetuates the
status quo and oppression. Dominant groups run institutions and gives us essentialistic
ideas. It perpetuates their dominance. We are trained to think like essentialism, therefore
we never ask why or what does it mean?
Gender in the U.S., for example, is viewed as hegemonic. This is a
heteronormative idea that everything heterosexual is what we consider a norm. Its the
idea that penis and testosterone is what makes you a man. we all believe in
stereotypes about minorities. These stereotypes are typically pejorative and false
(Sapolsky). For a male, it isnt the testosterone that makes you a man. Its that a man is
taught to be aggressive, which causes a greater production of testosterone. We use
testosterone as an excuse for male behavior. We are teaching our men to behave a certain
way, and the way they behavior helps to produce excessive testosterone. Masculinity is
learned and it impacts your biological makeup. For example, transsexuals do gender.
They believe that their biological sex does not justify then gender. Intersex people are
born with some type of ambiguity. This already violates the biological binary. The doctor
picks a sex for you if something is wrong with your genitals. You
have to fit into that box . Society feels that we have to do something about
ambiguity so we
can feel comfortable and know how to act (talk) towards you. You have to do gender
appropriate for people to believe that is what you are. We do gender in a heteronormative
way. We dont think about gender, see, think or contemplate what it looks like until we
see someone violate gender. It is something that is learned, policed, and we must do
correctly or suffer the sanctions. There is greater similarity between male and female
(biologically) than there is between the categories.
2.) The body is a powerful form, a surface on which the central rules, hierarchies, and even
metaphysical commitments of a culture are inscribed and thus reinforced through the
concrete language of the body. (Bordo) Because you have a vagina, that makes you a
woman. In our society, women have standards to uphold, such as the beauty myth. The
beauty myth is an unreachable culture ideal of feminine beauty that uses images of
female beauty as a political weapon against women advancement. Max Weber philosophy
is that as we get to be a modern society, we create bureaucratese in its effort to make us
more efficient. As things were getting more advance, we needed specialist in different
fields. These professional are called bureaucrats. They help us do more things efficiently
and then they have underlying things that help them run. The purpose was a
bureaucratese was to make our lives easier, but their methods have become inefficient.
That which we created now imprisons us. We built them to help us, but now they trap us.
We act like we didnt create these things. This notion of the beauty myth is based on an
unachievable beauty standard. What we say is the ideal for most people is not realistic.
The reason why these standards exists is to keep women down. It has gotten stronger and
stronger as women gain gender equality. For example, we expect for women to Look
pretty/thin in everything you do. It doesnt matter how success you get, you are still
trapped by this unobtainable standard. Word dont by themselves have meaning. WE give
them meaning. Can the word be debunked? Yes, but it has to come from the power of
elite. beauty The myth is an iron cage just like bureaucracies are an iron cage. We hold
women to a feminine standard that imprisons us. If we leave the binary boxes for too
long, too radically, or too far, we will suffer the consequences.
We view beauty as a heteronormative view; the language such as pretty
beauty are based on a white idea thats not realistic, even for white women. Yet, we are
purchasing and supporting things that continue to oppress us. For example, The tyranny
of slenderness talks about the average size of women having decreased, but the height
and breast size has increased. A healthy weight of a person that is 58 is 155. Models that
are 58 weigh 117. We expect Miss America to weight less the average 51 person
weighing a healthy 125 lbs. We use the word model as if these are the model ideas.
This is not realistic. The reality is that girls are terrified of being fat.
The idea that it is a womans problem is an illusion. Standards of beauty lie with
thinness and being popular. These standards have consequences. For example, Anorexia
and bulimia has increased. Anorexia is chronic starvation and obsessive exercise and
bulimia is regurgitating food. These two are the highest in the U.S. We are taught to
view our bodies from the outside, as if they were commodities, which cause distortion of
body image, and a disjuncture from our own bodies, which are objectifies and continually
monitored for faults. (Grogan & Wainwright) WE are sending horrible messages;
Women are so preoccupied with their exterior that we dont pay attention as much on the
other things that might make them success in the public sphere. We advertise to those that
can buy the product. If we dont purchase it, then the images change. If we start to
demand different, then those images change.
While women are expected to be anorexia thin, men are also suffering hyper masc. and
body building. When Mens Health came out, it grew to be one of the most successful.
It talks about being healthy and fitness. But it really isnt about health and fitness. Its
about maintaining youth because we valorize young bodies, for women, are seen in their
prime when they can procreate. When you cease of this, you are to feel and are told that
you are less of a woman. This distorted image of following perfection. We dont question
it. Over 1 million men suffering from some form of eating disorders. A lot of men wont
report it because it is a feminine disease. They are taught not to do femininity. Social
statements dictate cosmetic surgery. The elite is making a lot of money off of our
securities. They perpetuate this message. Women and men are subject to the notion of the
male gaze is that we are always being watched by a hetero male and this is the standard
of how we all judge ourselves. We see it in the media, medical institution and THE
PEOPLE are reinforcing it and buying into it. We are happier to go under a knife to
achieve a fake idea.
3.) Institutions are structures that control us such as schools/education, religion,
government /legal, family, economy/workplace, media and peers. Family is the first
institution you belong. They dictate what religion you are, what schools you get to belong
to. You follow their political lead because you are being taught that this is the Truth.
Institutions both constrain and facilitate behavior and actions by societal and group
members. As a social institution, gender is a process of creating distinguishable social
statuses for the assignment of rights and responsibilities. As a part of a stratification
system that ranks these statuses unequally, gender is a major building block in the social
structures built on these unequal statuses [Lorber (114)] This is how social control
works; Institutions say what the norm is and how to constrain actions. We act as if the
government is a building and that they have all the power over us. We created these
institutions and concepts so we have the power to change them. Some people, for
example, have structure agency. Structure is what limits our motions and agency is free
will. Some people have more agency than others. Our society defines power into two
binary categories: Dominant Majority and Minority. -Minority basically means I dont
have power. I am not the benchmark in which others are judged. I dont get to make the
rules. You have more hurtles to jump if you are different than the norm. The dominant
majority is based off of white western European standard: white heterosexual
middle/upper class man. Dominant groups run institutions and gives us essentialistic
ideas. It perpetuates their dominance (the status quo). We can shift the institutions, but
can never break the truth oppression. In order to dismantle the institution, you must first
make it visible (Yancey-Martin).