#1.)
There are many ways that gender can be defined and experienced. In our first class discussion, we examined how gender can be an identity, expression, expectation, and an attribution. Kate Bornstein addressed these terms in “Gender Outlaw. We identify with (or in some cases totally reject) social gender categories like “man” or “woman.” Gender expression is how we “do gender.” It is a behavior. In relation to expression, gender expectations are the culturally outlined “oughts and shoulds” of how we do gender. Gender attribution is the way we interpret cues from others and effortlessly assign them to a gender category (Bornstein 26).
More simply put, the constructionist approach describes gender as the sum of all of these social reactions …show more content…
The social construction of gender begins for each of us before we are even born. When a pregnancy occurs, everyone wants to know “is it a boy or a girl?” so they can easily select …show more content…
A binary gendered system of hegemony creates a dominant group that possesses power and oppresses those that are not a part it Gender as an institution helps create a standard anticipated division of labor and resources (Lorber 26, 27). The hierarchy of gender does not end with the idea of men versus women. The real determining factor is the presence or absence of what a given culture deems to be masculine traits. Traits deemed effeminate are judged to be less valuable (Tauches 174). So, a person who exists as a man and displays all the right masculine traits would be at the top of the gender ladder. Though men in general benefit most from the gender binary, only a select group of people can actually achieve that top-of-the-ladder manhood. Gay men and men of color are often pushed down the rungs and grouped closer to women. The “otherness” and effeminate qualities of women and non-heterosexual men are a threat to the American masculinity (Kimmel
There are many ways that gender can be defined and experienced. In our first class discussion, we examined how gender can be an identity, expression, expectation, and an attribution. Kate Bornstein addressed these terms in “Gender Outlaw. We identify with (or in some cases totally reject) social gender categories like “man” or “woman.” Gender expression is how we “do gender.” It is a behavior. In relation to expression, gender expectations are the culturally outlined “oughts and shoulds” of how we do gender. Gender attribution is the way we interpret cues from others and effortlessly assign them to a gender category (Bornstein 26).
More simply put, the constructionist approach describes gender as the sum of all of these social reactions …show more content…
The social construction of gender begins for each of us before we are even born. When a pregnancy occurs, everyone wants to know “is it a boy or a girl?” so they can easily select …show more content…
A binary gendered system of hegemony creates a dominant group that possesses power and oppresses those that are not a part it Gender as an institution helps create a standard anticipated division of labor and resources (Lorber 26, 27). The hierarchy of gender does not end with the idea of men versus women. The real determining factor is the presence or absence of what a given culture deems to be masculine traits. Traits deemed effeminate are judged to be less valuable (Tauches 174). So, a person who exists as a man and displays all the right masculine traits would be at the top of the gender ladder. Though men in general benefit most from the gender binary, only a select group of people can actually achieve that top-of-the-ladder manhood. Gay men and men of color are often pushed down the rungs and grouped closer to women. The “otherness” and effeminate qualities of women and non-heterosexual men are a threat to the American masculinity (Kimmel