Hello everyone!
Chapter 12 is entitled "One Last Look Through A Critical Gendered Lens" and it acts as somewhat of a conclusion and summary of the main topics discussed throughout the book. This section of the textbook recaps important foundations to the study of gender in communication like dismissing the gender binary, utilizing a critical gendered lens in our everyday lives and being a good communicator.
This quote from the textbook plays on the overall goal that the authors had in mind: "Gender/sex is about real lives. Everyone faces real consequences if people do not recognize and resist the intensification of hegemonic masculinity and hyperfemininity. We hope you can help create a future in which the people around you -- family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers, children -- will be freer to be themselves without fear of harm. It will take everyone... working... together." This is the ultimate goal of the textbook: to educate the uneducated and in time, make a change to the way people view gender for the betterment of society.
Important terms to keep in mind for the presentation:
- critical gendered lens
- gender difference approach
- choice
- gender diversity vs. gender difference
- adaptability
Consider these questions:
- what kind of small initiative could you take to make a change about the way gender is performed and viewed in society?
- do you think that you look at the world through a critical gendered lens and if so, how has it changed the way that you see the world and gender?
- how do the choices you make about your gender play into the larger political environment of gender itself?
Best,
Conor Donachie
For me personally, I tend to break the gendered-norms existing in our daily lives both consciously and subconsciously. Being an athlete, I typically wear clothes that are comfortable, loose fitting, and allow me the ability to work out in them whenever I need to. I generally do not wear make-up or do my hair during the week because I am lazy and don’t see any point in doing so during school. Although I believe when you look good, you feel good, I don’t think that makeup or clothing should be the factors that determine whether you feel good or not. I think confidence comes from self-awareness rather than the materialistic representation of ourselves. No matter how good I think I look, if I feel unbalanced and unsatisfied with my inner thoughts, I will not be genuinely happy. Happiness and a pure life comes from your inner thoughts, and finding inner peace from within rather than finding happiness through the approval of other people. This is what I try to convey when speaking to people who value the opinions and judgments of others about them and allow that to dictate their own self-perception. The more aware you are with who you want to be, and what you value in life, the more you will not allow the opinions of others to get in the way of that. I do believe I look at the world through a critical gendered lens, because I always find myself questioning the gendered norms and observe the way men and women present themselves through both nonverbal/verbal communication in order to seem ‘attractive’ or ‘acceptable’ in society. I’ve seen people perform their gender through these acts of social/cultural conformity in fear of being judged or unaccepted for what/who they truly are. Whether choosing to conform to the norms and stereotypes involving a club you are in (athletes, frats/sororities, etc.), the more you use these groups to influence the way you speak, act, dress, and represent your identity overall, the further away you become from finding out who you truly are. You’re basically allowing societal/cultural perceptions of what is ‘acceptable’ and ‘desirable’ to take control your life rather than taking control of your own life.
ReplyDeleteFallon,
DeleteThank you for your comment and sharing some of your personal experience. I have to agree with your point that many people seek happiness through the approval of others, as well as through materialism. Especially in the United States, this appears to be a product of our consumerism and capitalistic approach to finding value in our lives. We search for external happiness through ownership or image, rather than internally through living virtuously or providing for others. Individuality is a staple of Western culture and it has influenced the way in which we define the search for identity. People certainly look to create their own identity by trying to be different, or they attach their identity to a group, like you said (athletics, fraternities/sororities, etc.). Whatever avenue a person takes to identify themselves, they should do so using a critical gendered lens -- exactly like you say you have done. In this way, we can truly create an identity that breaks the normalized culture of gender that we experience daily, in hopes of influencing others to identify the same way. Like I said in my presentation, personal choices are political choices. Changing the narrative can be difficult when you are alone, but developing an identity through a critical gendered lens and influencing others to do so, as well, can make a greater change than imaginable.
Best,
Conor
Through this course, my perception of how I view gender has definitely changed since when I first entered this course in the beginning of the semester. I can now say that I view gender through a critical gendered lens, and I would not have been able to say that a few months ago. This perspective has indeed changed the way in which I view the world, because I now fully realize that the way in which I had previously perceived gender was primarily because of different beliefs, values and perceptions that are engrained in us from social institutions. Through this lens, I also have a better understanding of how to take steps towards gender and social equality. One way to deconstruct these values is through emancipatory education, or, “Educational practices that seek to challenge accepted categories, unexamined norms, and repressive practices” (DeFrancisco & Palczewski 180). Though this is only one method that can be used to break down institutional discrimination and hegemonic masculinities, it is important because it can directly be applied to the future generation so they can be taught to always question these norms and values. In order to create sustainable change, this questioning of heteronormative tendencies needs to be instilled in the youth. I also agree with Fallon’s point that the more comfortable you are with your own gender identity, the less likely you are to give into societal pressure to conform. One small initiative that could be taken to change how gender is viewed in society is by viewing images and other mediums from media with an oppositional gaze. This means to consider your perspective and who you identify with, to recognize the degree to which you participate in your culture, to move from a social critique to political action, and finally to recognize medias engagement in commodification (DeFrancisco & Palczewski 236-237). This is but one way in which you can create a change in how we perceive gender.
ReplyDeleteHayley,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment and the apropos quotations from the textbook. I wholly agree that this course has changed the way that I see the world, particularly how the world is gendered. I would never have thought about these ideas if it were not for this course. Using a critical gendered lens is probably the most important thing I learned throughout this course. I agree that acquiring an oppositional gaze makes seeing the world through a critical gendered lens makes it much easier and can incite change in the world. Certainly, it can't be up to us alone. Institutions must change and also see through critical gendered lens. Emancipatory education is a wonderful way the institution of American education can achieve an oppositional gaze. These can feel out of our control, but we have the power to challenge these existing institutions and the way they gender people, actions and circumstances.
Best,
Conor
Conor,
ReplyDeleteGreat presentation! In regards to how we can take a step forward and make a change in the way that gender is performed and viewed in society, it is important to keep in mind that even if we are determined to change societies standpoints, expectations, and norms, it would be quite difficult to influence groups as a whole to attack the problem in an optimistic way. In order for society, as well as individual members of society, to be better educated on gender and performance, as well as its fluidity, taking an approach to enforce people to read up on theorists and their arguments such as Judith Butler, Kenneth Burke, and Bell Hooks would be a great starting point. Before taking this class, I had a very bias opinion towards gender and communication, as well as gender in communication. It wasn’t until after we read articles in class and I did further research on my own, did I have a better grasp and understanding of all of these concepts, terms, and gender and communication as a whole. Therefore, maybe there are people that also stand where I did before coming into this class and need to be better educated on how and why gender is performed, how symbols and symbolic meanings influence gender, and how crucial language can be in gender and communication. If we start there with proper education, lectures, and articles where this information is better explained and argued, we can then hope that we will point society in the right direction towards optimism, acceptance, and understanding. Unfortunately, there will always be people that are stubborn, close minded, and set in stone with their beliefs of heteronormativity and gender binary, but if we try to take an initiative and reassure people that it is not a negative thing to be free and have peace of mind in regards to gender identity and gender expression, then we will create a negative and judgement free society where everyone feels accepted, wanted, and less fearful. It is also important for people to take into consideration that some people may be acting or performing so that they are not treated differently. Therefore, if we are aware of how unnatural this is and steer clear of historical expectations and norms, even a small initiative such as this would make a major difference.
Conor,
ReplyDeleteGreat presentation to wrap up this course!
My understanding of gender in communication expanded through this class. The inequality that still exist is still an issue. Whether these gender differences exist in the way in which they communicate, influence, or lead, men and women have always been viewed as different and unique sets of people. These differences have, to a certain extent, put women in the workplace at a disadvantage because of their perceived inferiority to men, mainly due to historical gender inequalities. For example, I always knew that a gendered wage gap existed, however I did not know that it was to the extend of women being paid 78% of what men earn. The extreme gap is large enough to make an impact on the lives of the women who are at disadvantage. Due to this wage gap, women who are working full time are able to afford less education, housing, transportation, food, and health care for themselves and their families than their male counterparts. Looking at gendered communication from a critical lens, there is hegemony that is present in our society. Women are often sexualized and objectified in the media for the pleasure of men. Additionally, that same objectification of women promotes the lack of powerful representation of women. It is not often that we see an actress play a role a independent and strong woman, however in most film, their characters are tied to a male character and often includes a romantic relationship. Throughout this class, we studied how gender is performed and how it is constructed through communication. As you presented in class, the last paragraph sums up the course as a whole; “Gender/sex is about real lives. Everyone faces real consequences if people do not recognize and resist the intensification of hegemonic masculinity and hyperfemininity”. We must act and create change in this hegemonic society we live in.