In her publication titled “Gender Trouble”, Judith Butler presents her view that gender is a performative role in society, meaning that in order for gender identity to be genuinely expressed and understood, it must be conveyed openly in social spaces. Throughout her book she provides numerous examples of these “social spaces” that would be a necessary ground for women in order to better establish an identity in society. These include political representation, cultural movements, and the economic climate. These social spaces are presented in great depth and explain how they limit a person by identifying with a specific gender. In this paper, I will argue for Butler’s view on how certain gender performance is restricted in these numerous fields, and how Ms. Butler would object to these various situations.
122 As a process, gender creates the social differences that define “woman” and “man.” In social interaction throughout their lives, individuals learn what is expected, see what is expected, act and react in expected ways, and thus simultaneously construct and maintain the gender order pg. 123 As part of a stratification system, gender ranks men above women of the same race and class pg. 123 The dominant categories are the hegemonic ideals, taken so for granted as the way things should be that white is not ordinarily thought of as race, middle class or men as a gender. The characteristics of these categories define the Other as that which lacks the valuable qualities the dominants exhibit. Pg.
Doing Gender (West and Zimmerman) * The article introduced their notion of gender not as a trait, a social role or a societal representation, but rather as an accomplishment- the product of daily social practices and behaviors which codify and manifest femininity of masculinity. This product is the result of social structures and it in itself serves to reinforce them. * The "doing" of gender legitimizes social structures and therefore establishes the male/female opposition as natural. * West and Zimmerman argue that gender is something which is performed, something which is "done” * Gender is established by mean of interaction and is displayed through it, and while appearing as "natural" it is in fact something which is created by an organized social performance. * Gender is also a
Each approach derives from the fact that feminist social theorists were considered to be mainly concerned with gender equality and preoccupied with ensuring that women’s interests were not marginalised .Feminist theorists have continued to concentrate on the position of women in society and their research is generally based on the notion that women are regarded as under the control and authority of men. Current feminist such as Martineau and Wollstonecraft theorists have widened the scope of their work while still acknowledging these concepts as critical to their core. Historically, feminist theorists have challenged the masculine bias in supposedly objective knowledge, claiming that women were excluded within the social sciences with the result that the focus was on topics and institutions of concern more to men than to women and neglecting issues and concerns relevant to women(Hughes 2013).Both Martineau and Wollstonecraft felt that it was only by embracing the diversity of women’s experiences that knowledge would stop being what they described as ‘partial’. They argued also that social scientific knowledge about women must begin from the context of the gendered experience of the women being studied. Such an approach would encourage research into issues such as the traditional family and the possible
Simone was referring to how females of the female sex assume the feminine gender-gender meaning the restrictive, socially prescribed attitudes and behaviors that we associate with femininity. Not the same but similar….. 1. Feminist and gender criticism are not exactly the same, but also are not opposites. They exist along a line of attitudes towards sex and sexism, sexuality and gender, language and the literary canon. Distinctions of Difference…… 2.
Through a feminist critique of Othello, it is possible to examine the influences of sexism in the society by inspecting the construction of the patriarchy, the idea that gender is not the same as sex, and lastly, the construction of femininity within the play. Feminism, is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary to be “the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes”, and as A. Balu Vijayaraghavan said, by applying feminist criticism, one could “investigate how Shakespeare’s plays relate to the codes and conventions of the gender system specific to the early modern period”, as well as having an understanding of “how thoroughly Shakespeare shared the gender assumptions of his own time and the ways in which his plays must have disrupted these assumptions”. The
These roles are not neutral but characterised by different possibilities for making choices, and different rights and deci¬sion-making powers; generally to the disad¬vantage of women. In contrast to the societal-ly-shaped role, or gender, the biological sex is determined at birth and is unalterable. Gender is an issue for every sector and every level of intervention. It is clear that in the context of our work gender should be seen as a cross-sectoral theme which is relevant at various levels of intervention and across all sectors, including those often termed "technical sectors", such as transport and construction. In very few instances, say projects covering solely the supply of materials and equip¬ment, can projects adopt a non-gender-differen¬tiated procedure.
For example, while.males are aggressive, strong, instrumental, etc., females are weak, submissive, affective, nurturant, etc. Sex differences in power and in social participation are conceptualized as consequences of these inherent differences between the sexes. When the emphasis is placed upon society, persons are viewed as empty slates, the product of the socialization process which integrates them into a
We are suffering because conforming to these gender roles puts pressure on us and deprives us of self-fulfillment. It is crucial for every culture to realize the dangers that gender stereotypes impose as it affects every single person. Men and women are individuals. They are more than just male or female. Our gender is only part of who we are, it does not define us as people.
Sex, Gender and Gender roles redefined In her book The Second Sex, Simone De Beauvoir states, “One is not born, but, rather becomes a woman”. This statement highlights the difference between sex and gender. While sex is a biological term, gender is a social and cultural construct. An individual is born into the categories of male or female but it is the very task of ‘accomplishing gender’ that determines the social identity of the person. Women are under a constant pressure to adhere to roles that are specific to their gender and so are men.