Judith Butler on the other hand suggested that both are socially constructed. If the immutable character of sex is contested, perhaps this construct called ‘sex’ is as culturally constructed as gender; indeed, perhaps it was always already gender, with the consequence that the distinction between sex and gender turns out to be no distinction at all. (Butler, 1999) Gender is performatively constructed in culture. (Gender and Sexuality, p.161) It is not fixed. It is socially
GENDER: Gender is range of characteristics pertaining to and differentiating between masculinity and femininity. It is linked to socially constructed notion of masculinity and femininity, it is not necessarily a direct product of an individual’s biological sex. GENDER DISCRIMINATION: Gender discrimination means discrimination based on a person's gender or sex, which is very common in our society and it more often affects girls and women. Because of gender discrimination, girls and women do not have the same opportunities as boys and men for education, meaningful careers, political influence, and economic advancement. The society we are living in discriminate individual on the bases of one’s sex.
Therefore, we cannot use this one single, broad definition of feminism and use it to declare that Sula is not a feminist novel. As written by Crossley, Taylor, Whittier, and Pelak, “While feminists may disagree about what constitutes feminist ideology and identity, feminism has never been monolithic and will continue to develop and evolve” (511). The preceding quote demonstrates how feminism is always evolving with time and changes in societal controversies; it further exemplifies how some feminists mat not agree with other feminists’ beliefs. This supports the argument that it is not valid to use one definition to describe feminism and use it to argue that Sula isn’t feminist literature. During the 20th century, a feminist may have advocated for the Equal Rights Amendment which “became a
On the other hand, on the side of feminist, they rather believe that in the real life the one who holds the human rights are not women but men, and ‘that gender equality, and freedom from discrimination for women, is given a low priority in the international arena’ (Donnelly in Reitman 1997, 100). This journal attempts to explain to the readers how both cultural
MINOR ESSAY 1 a1695334 Hui Qiao Connell claims that ‘gender must be understood as a social structure. It is not an expression of biology, nor a fixed dichotomy in human life or character. It is a pattern of our social arrangements’ (2009: 10). My interpretation of her claim on the term “gender” comes to this, it all depends on the patterns of behaviour of the social group or society that person is associated with. It is not dependent on the biology of which the individual is birth to or having the contrast to the other character of either being a male or being a female.
According to Butler: “There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender… identity is performatively constituted by the very expressions that are said to be its results (1990, p. 25).” In other words, contrary to popular notion, people’s gendered behaviors are not the manifestation of one’s gender identity rather, the performance of gendered behaviors produces one’s gender identity. Gender as performative. Gender, however, should not be understood as referring to a single instance of performance (Resources on Judith Butler, 2009). Butler asserts that gender is performative, meaning, for genderedness to be produced, there must be a repetition or iteration in the performance of certain behavioral or activity sets (Salih, 2006; Butler 1990). Apparently, many of Butler’s readers have misread her assertions about gender’s being a performance and being performative (Kotz, 1992).
Queer theory was developed by Judith Butler in her post-modern feminist text, “Gender Trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity” (Horitar, 2015). She discussed the role that gender and sexual orientation play in the way in which society uses this concepts in order to place individuals in a specific category on the basis on how they behave (Guantlett, 1998; Horitar, 2015). This theory examines the diverse ways in which current beliefs serves to reintegrate societal anticipations of gender identity, appearance and sexuality, it also offers a negotiation for the fragmentation of constructed gender categories (Horitar, 2015). According to Western society, sex defines your particular gender (feminine or masculine) which in turn defines your true identity, for example a biological female is considered to be a women who is anticipated, by their society, to be more sensitive and nurturing than a man and who needs a sensual relationship with the opposite sex (Horitar, 2015). This notion was rejected by Butler because according to her gender should be regarded as a performance and not as a category (Guantlett, 1998; Horitar, 2015).
Gender performance roles create and uphold societal norms, discourse, and the foundation upon which children are being raised in the patriarchy. In Butler’s claim, gender performance is anything that an individual does to express their identity based on human cultural concepts. Gender performance is any way that someone portrays their gender to those around them without even meaning to. The way someone sits in a chair, the title they take in marriage, the diction they use, or even the colors they choose to wear are examples of daily activity that can demonstrate said performance and are produced by culture and not directed by biology. Performance of gender refers to a separation of sex as the material body and gender as the performative body.
It will be interesting to analyse whether her portrayal is masculinist, subsuming the self into the masculine ethos or outrightly dismantling the rigid ethos. Gender as a construct is posited as related to universalistic and particularistic principles, with clear demarcations of access for women. As a domestic figure, women could lay claim to the particularistic principles and the ethic of care, and not foray into the public domain. Gender roles are set up as rigid, which can’t be transgressed by either of the genders. Power and authority are vested in the universalistic domain while meekness and subordination are set in the particularistic domain.
Theories of sex-based stratification:- Symbolic Interactionism- Gender is socially constructed. It is not intrinsically related to sex. Physical and biological differences come to be regarded as symbols that differentiate rights and rewards in society. Humans have an agency to influence the society around them. “Doing” gender is an option.