I think our readings, discussion and films have raised a lot of interesting questions about sex, gender, and gender performance. Talk a bit here about your understandings of what gender is. In what ways do we perform our genders by choice and in what ways do we perform our genders without choice?
Gender is a complex system and is not simply about display or simply about biology. I think it is fruitful to examine how we define gender in society and in what ways these definitions are limiting to our individual self-expression.
Here are two pictures of the same person:
Here is an experiment I'd like you to try and then to respond on this blog. Spend the weekend observing people of all genders. Take notes. How do they move in the world? Walk? Sit? Talk to one another? Once you have a good bit of observation, try on a different gender style. Walk or sit in a way that is uncomfortable for your own gender expression. Take note of how you feel doing this and of how friends and strangers react to you. You may enlist a friend to tutor you in how to walk this way, talk this way....
Write your responses here. Also comment on the films we've seen this week. What surprised you? Where do you think gender comes from? The Codes of Gender film really stressed gender as a social construct, while Tiger Devore (what a great name!) in the Sex, Lies and Gender film seemed to assert a more biological view of gender. What do you think?
Looking at the two pictures, two very different gender identities are noticeable. The first picture appears to have masculine characteristics, according to the film (Codes of Gender) that we saw in class. The subject is sitting in a nonchalant way, seeming bored and nonplussed by the situation going on, however very in control of the situation at the same time. In the second picture, the subject exudes a more feminine look, with legs crossed, a childish smile, and seemingly guarding oneself from the viewer.
ReplyDeleteI spent some of the weekend viewing people of different genders. I could go on forever about the differences in their demeanor, so I will just sum up a few of my ideas. Women typically sit with their legs closed or crossed, whereas men tend to sit with with theirs spread. Also, it is more jarring when a female curses than a male, although both appear to be fairly acceptable. I attempted to sit like a male. I found the process rather uncomfortable, but got used to the idea of it after a while, although a few people did look at me strangely. Furthermore, the films that we saw surprised me in one manner- I did not know how common intersex was- that it encompasses such a large portion of the population of humans, as well as many plant and animal species. I hope to continue studying these ideas, concepts, and challenges to current social norms in the future.
I think that it's interesting how we have certain body postures that are classified as male or female. Also, I think it's a bit sad that we do. One should be able to sit however they want without being judged on sitting in a classically male or female position. I know that if a male were to sit with his legs crossed like women normally do, he would be judged for it or thought of as "gay". I like the pictures and how they show these differences because these postures are around us in everyday life, yet I have really only started thinking about them since we've been discussing them in class. Also, I loved learning about men and women in advertising. I thought it was interesting to see the differences and have someone tell us why the ads were like that. It also makes me a bit mad that women are always portrayed as being childish and prone to attack. I would like to see more ads where women are in strong positions. The ideas that Guess were using for advertisements made me upset. Women shouldn't always be portrayed as something to look at. There is more to a woman than looks.
ReplyDeleteI think it is so odd that our society that made it like this. The two pictures does not look like it is the same person, but it is odd that there is a define way to be a male, and to be a female. I was not surprised be how I saw people acting. I think gender comes from early on in life. i thought the the Sex, Lies and Gender film was best to help our generation understand, the code of gender film was great of showing how much there is in our society, it was a great film as well but I thought him repeat himself.
ReplyDeleteJessica Skidmore
i think two people in the picture are totally different because one is male and another is female. It is easily to find. Also, gender comes from the personal opinion. If some people have a female's face, he is actually a male. On the other hand, if the female's actions look like males, she is a female. In this society, the advertisement just shows two genders in two pictures. Some people will decide to think that they are similar. In contrast, i think they differ in some factors.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the two pictures are so strange. Man and woman have exactly different way to sit. we could classified them from their action.
ReplyDeleteThe two pictures show very different style of gender. When I realized the two pictures are same people, I do not really believe it. In the first picture, the people are sitting there very comfort. The people enjoy the situation when he is sitting there. He shows control and serious. The second picture shows the person lies on the coach. The person repress childish smile and relax. She is sitting there with a crossed leg. The person shows more that she wants to rely on others. I asked my friends how they think about gender. Women are more sensitive and soft. They like wear very bright color clothes and show their S shape. For men, they usually have muscle and can be reliable. In the film, the people show their intersex. They do not express that are like a typical gender, and are like different gender.
ReplyDelete