Amanda Bynes Gender Roles

“She's the Man” which started Amanda Bynes was a cinematic experience that defined gender politics. “She’s the Man” managed to centralize on how difficult it was to be a woman dressed as a man in contemporary society with its pro-feminist and pro-gay beliefs. The film followed Amanda Bynes', Viola Hastings, a high-school soccer star who received news that the male-dominated administration of her school had ended the women's soccer program. When Viola suggested to the coach of the male team that she should be able to tryout, she was roundly mocked by the coach, the players, and even her boyfriend. To demonstrate that women can compete with men on the field, Viola took advantage of the fact that her twin brother was in London for two weeks. Viola disguised herself as her brother to try out for the men's soccer team. The strategy was a success, and she found herself playing for the boy's squad.

She did not only have to change her outward appearance, but she also had to change how she walked and talked. Gender roles are something that we have socially constructed: or in other words only exist because society says that they exist. When Viola was learned how to do a man’s typical “slouchy” walk or tried to use language that men typically use, she was trying to imitate what we, as society, has defined as the male gender role. Gender roles are also specific to society and historical periods. We can see this in “She’s the Man”, as Viola was trying to imitate a very modern idea of masculinity. Throughout the movie she tried to imitate today’s idea of masculinity by doing things such as picking up girls, inappropriately touching them and dating multiple girls at once. This is an act that in today’s society is somewhat seen as acceptable of a college aged male. However, as one of the rules of gender roles this is only specific to a specific circumstance: today’s society and to the college age