Gender Norms Violations

Society constructs images that define males and females to boundaries called gender norms. When a person steps out of the gender boundaries, it is often looked down upon by society. I chose to violate the gender norm by opening doors for people. This past weekend, my friend and I went out to a store near my house. As I was entering the store, I decided to hold the door open for two men who were walking out. One of the men paused and told me, “shouldn’t I be holding the door for you?” and I reacted to tell him, “No I’m fine” and the two men paused and left. The other man said nothing but I knew the both of them felt uncomfortable. My friend observed that the other man looked thrown off from my comment. The two men did not expect me to communicate the way I did and it become awkward for them. Gender norms confine people these boundaries because even a minor violation of a gender’s societal image can trigger a negative reaction from society.

However, the result of external sanctions such as the negative question and the looks put me in an uncomfortable position. In my particular gender norm violation, I felt that being polite and holding the door was appropriate, however with the addition to the negative input about my actions from the men meant to remind me of who I am and what gender I am. I could see how this position that I was put in during the violation could motivate me to conform and to avoid certain behaviors in public. The socialization of gender behaviors is derived from the concept of nuclear family and how men are supposed to be head of the house or the provider. Therefore, it is assumed that man should be the one to hold the door open or pull out a chair for somebody to sit and provide for a woman’s needs. Social control mechanisms such as socialization of gender and external sanctions are used for conformity among