The Genderbread Person: Contextual Analysis

589 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender bias in everyday life

Picture yourself in the center of a glass/ mirror room surrounded by all the people you had/have a relationship, social interaction, or experience with. This imagery puts into perspective of how we influence each other personalities, that we are reflections of each other and this is how our own personal and social identities are formed. Both gender and sexuality contributes to molding our identities because it has a huge impact on our very own experiences. In order to understand gender and sexuality and its’ relations to Pascoe’s work, we can refer to models known as the Genderbread Person and the Sexualitree. The Genderbread Person approaches the social construction of gender based on one’s gender identity (define your gender based on what …show more content…

The Sexualitree deconstructs how we experience sexuality and how it affects us on three levels: intimate (dating, sex), relational (family, friends, associates), and cultural (populations within city, state, country). Within these three levels, there are numerous ways you can experience various aspects of sexuality (Killermann) ranging from age, disability, race, to sexual anatomy/orientation, pornography, and puberty.
So, how does the Genderbread Person depicted in Dude, You’re A Fag? Pascoe’s illustrates how sex/gender/expression can work in concert with (and opposition to) one another. Gender occurs in groups whereas friendships, cliques, and peer groups become important to the formation of identity in adolescence (Bettie 2003; Hallinan and Williams 1990; Kinney 1993). Despite one’s biological sex, they can express traits that can be categorized as either masculine or feminine. Social expectations relates to gender influence and how behavior (sexually, feelings, demeanor, attitude, etc.) is shown differently through women and men. This difference in behavior allows us to understand and develop a perception of the differences between masculinity and femininity, therefore categorizing behaviors between both men and women based on their

Show More
Related

  • Gender Blur Summary

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both Deborah Blum’s The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over? and Aaron Devor’s “Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes” challenges the concept of how gender behavior is socially constructed. Blum resides on the idea that gender behavior is developed mainly through adolescence and societal expectations of a gender. Based on reference from personal experiences to back her argument up, Blum explains that each individual develops their expected traits as they grow up, while she also claims that genes and testosterones also play a role into establishing the differentiation of gender behavior. Whereas, Devor focuses mainly on the idea that gender behavior is portrayed mainly among two different categories: masculinity and femininity,

    Read More

  • The Brady Bunch: Gender Differences Between Men And Women

    1196 Words  | 3 Pages

    As Carol Brady said, “You mustn’t let the boys upset you.” The establishment of groups, in the society, occurred since the civilization began. Some examples of the groups formed are groups of men and women, rich and poor, and between coworkers. However, the common differences occur between the groups of men and women. Individuals of the society define masculinity and femininity as what they were taught while growing up, either by their family, friends, or television.

    Read More

  • Masulinty and its depependance upon femininity

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is a widely accepted notion that social context and setting is very dependent upon gender. However, the converse is what appears to be true. Sex is biological and static, however gender is a social construct that is almost entirely dependent upon the social context in which it is placed. Contrary to what is often believed, gender is an idea that society constructs and students learn at a very early age. Once gender roles are learned, it can be incredibly damaging to act out of these roles because peer criticism as well as sheer belittlement will likely ensue. In Learning Silence by Peggy Orenstein, and Pascoe’s Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School, this reality that gender is dependent upon social context is discussed. More specifically, male masculinity and its dependency on femininity, or in any case, a lack of masculinity.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Society

    2016 Words  | 5 Pages

    “Boys will be boys, and girls will be girls”: few of our cultural mythologies seem as natural as this one. But in this exploration of the gender signals that traditionally tell what a “boy” or “girl” is supposed to look and act like, Aaron Devor shows how these signals are not “natural” at all but instead are cultural constructs. While the classic cues of masculinity—aggressive posture, self-confidence, a tough appearance—and the traditional signs of femininity—gentleness, passivity, strong nurturing instincts—are often considered “normal,” Devor explains that they are by no means biological or psychological necessities. Indeed, he suggests, they can be richly mixed and varied, or to paraphrase the old Kinks song “Lola,” “Boys can be girls and girls can be boys.” Devor is dean of social sciences at the University of Victoria and author of Gender Blending: Confronting the Limits of Duality (1989), from which this selection is excerpted, and FTM: Female-to-Male Transsexuals in Society (1997).

    Read More

  • Learning Gender In a Diverse Society

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    This article was written to bring attention to the way men and women act because of how they were thought to think of themselves. Shaw and Lee explain how biology determines what sex a person is but a persons cultures determines how that person should act according to their gender(Shaw, Lee 124). The article brings up the point that, “a persons gender is something that a person performs daily, it is what we do rather than what we have” (Shaw, Lee 126). They ...

    Read More

  • West And Zimmerman's Doing Gender

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gender, in society today, is clarified as either being male which embodies traits of masculinity or on the other hand being female embodying traits of femininity. However the embodiment of these traits are just actions, decisions, or expressions rather than sexual anatomical features we are born and constrained by. Gender depictions are less a consequence of our "essential sexual natures" than interactional portrayals of what we would like to convey about sexual natures, using conventionalized gestures. (West, Zimmerman p.130) This excerpt reinforces the idea that society should view gender not as a absolute but rather a work in progress during your day to day routine. This capability to accept that gender is something you do rather than something that is leads opens up the tolerance to realize the implications that traditional gender views have impacted

    Read More

  • Gender Femininity And Masculinity

    1477 Words  | 3 Pages

    All around the world society has created an ideological perspective for the basis of gender roles. Gender and sex are often times misused and believed to be interchangeable. This is not the case. There are two broad generalization of sexes; female and male, yet there is a vast number of gender roles that each sex should more or less abide by. The routinely cycle of socially acceptable behaviors and practices is what forms the framework of femininity and masculinity. The assigned sex categories given at birth have little to do with the roles that a person takes on. Biological differences within females and males should not be used to construe stereotypes or discriminate within different groups. Social variables such as playing with dolls or

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Gender Blur, By Deborah Blum

    1408 Words  | 3 Pages

    When we discuss gender, the first thing that pops into our minds is the physical dissimilarities between men and women. For the longest time, I never realized that there are a diverse variety of issues involving gender, which are examined in the essay “Gender Blur” written by Deborah Blum. I now understand some of the factors involved, such as biological development, gender identification and behaviors, influences on aggression, and how testosterone affects behaviors and career choice.

    Read More

  • Masculine and Feminine Norms and Gender Identity

    1481 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout today’s society, almost every aspect of someone’s day is based whether or not he or she fits into the “norm” that has been created. Specifically, masculine and feminine norms have a great impact that force people to question “am I a true man or woman?” After doing substantial research on the basis of masculine or feminine norms, it is clear that society focuses on the males being the dominant figures. If males are not fulfilling the masculine role, and females aren’t playing their role, then their gender identity becomes foggy, according to their personal judgment, as well as society’s.

    Read More

  • Sexuality Is Gendered Essay

    1580 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sexuality is a fundamental part of our self-discovery, involving much more than just being genetically or anatomically male and female and it is not defined solely by one 's sexual acts (Ministry of Education 1989, p.79 cited in Gourlay, P 1995). The notion that sexuality is fixed and innate disregards the social aspects that impact ones’ sexualities. Gagnon and Simon (1973) further commented that sexuality is a feature of social

    Read More

  • How Sexuality is Socially Constructed

    2048 Words  | 5 Pages

    Wilton, Tamsin. "Which One's the Man? The Heterosexualisation of Lesbain Sex." Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. New York: Oxford University, 2009. 157-70. Print.

    Read More

  • Gender Identity: A Child's Identity

    1898 Words  | 4 Pages

    As a child grows and conforms to the world around them, they go through various stages, one of the most important and detrimental stages in childhood development is gender identity. The development of the meaning of a child’s gender and gender can form the whole future of that child’s identity as a person. This decision, whether accidental or genetic, can affect that child’s lifestyle views and social interactions for the rest of their lives. Ranging from making friends in school all the way to intimate relationships later on in life, gender identity can become an important aspect to ones future endeavors. It is always said that boys and girls are complete opposites as they grow.

    Read More

  • Portrayal of Women in the Media

    3135 Words  | 7 Pages

    Gender is the psychological characteristics and social categories that are created by human culture. Doing gender is the concept that humans express their gender when they interact with one another. Messages about how a male or female is supposed to act come from many different places. Schools, parents, and friends can influence a person. Another major factor that influences millions of impressionable females and males is television. Not only does the television teach each sex how to act, it also shows how one sex should expect the other sex to act. In the current television broadcasting, stereotypical behavior goes from programming for the very small to adult audiences. In this broadcasting range, females are portrayed as motherly, passive and innocent, sex objects, or they are overlooked completely or seen as unimportant entities.

    Read More

  • Sex And Gender Essay

    2354 Words  | 5 Pages

    The relationship between sex and gender can be argued in many different lights. All of which complicated lights. Each individual beholds a sexual identity and a gender identity, with the argument of perceiving these identities however way they wish to perceive them. However, the impact of gender on our identities and on our bodies and how they play out is often taken for granted in various ways. Gender issues continue to be a hugely important topic within contemporary modern society. I intend to help the reader understand that femininities and masculinities is a social constructed concept and whether the binary categories of “male” and “female” are adequate concepts for understanding and organising contemporary social life with discussing the experiences of individuals and groups who have resisted these labels and forged new identities.

    Read More

  • Gender Similarities And Differences

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gender roles and identity are constantly shifting throughout different societal generations. Men and woman both have notable similarities and differences in genders and they each contribute to their personalities and actions. In the past men have been viewed as a more dominant sex in society over women, both in careers, home life, and sexually, however, today women have bridged many of the gaps and society is accepting a more equal view of genders. The following examines the similarities and differences between men and woman by looking at biological characteristics, gender roles, and sexual responses.

    Read More

More about The Genderbread Person: Contextual Analysis

Open Document