Doing Gender

After reading Chapter 3 of WVFV and I found it interesting to look at gender as an action rather than a characteristic. I had never really seen it this way, but “doing gender” is a way of following the social construction of femininity and masculinity. We perform gender by doing everyday things such as walking, talking, or sitting in the suggested appropriate manner based on our sex. Since childhood, we have been socialized to act like a “gentle, sweet girl” or a “tough, hyper boy”. Gender socialization has made me what I am today.

I find that gender is something we do unconsciously because we have grown up with that social construction from even before birth. We were welcomed to this world with “boy” or “girl” clothes in gendered colors like blue and pink; typically you are not going to buy a pink article of clothing for a baby boy. This social construction travels with us as we grow and begin our education. Education is definitely an institution that serves to reinforce gender expectations; I remember that in kindergarten, the girls had a space to play house with dolls and cooking supplies while the boys played outside or inside with trucks. I did not notice the gender differences at that moment; it wasn't until years later, when I was told I was prohibited to go outside by my dad, that I realized the gender difference and stratification. My younger brother was allowed to go outside of the apartment and play while I was kept inside because “I was a girl and he was a boy”, and that is how my dad explained it to me at that moment.

Gender socialization has been around for years and although it might have become a bit subtle, the core components of “doing gender” are still the same. Masculinity is still stratified above femininity and although women work, they are still expected to cook, clean, and bare children. I feel that this tradition of gender will always remain in our subconscious and although a minority might act against the norm, the majority will follow the ideals of what it is to be male or female.