Gender

1. Gender

2. Two Primary Issues • The Cultural construction of Gender • Gender Relations

3. Sex Versus Gender • Sex refers to biological differences, • Gender refers to the cultural construction of male and female characteristics. The ways members of the two sexes are perceived, evaluated and expected to behave. (what different cultures make of sex.)

4. Gender Boundaries • We demand that the categories of male and female be discrete • since gender is culturally constructed the boundaries are conceptual rather than physical • the boundaries are dynamic, eg. now it is acceptable for men to wear earrings. • Boundaries require markers to indicate gender some of which are natural such as • Voice • Physique • Dress • Behaviour • Hair style • Kinetics • Language use

5. Gender identity Why is it important How do we react when someone seems to have traits of each category? social intercourse requires that the interacting parties know to which gender category `the other' belongs Felicita Vestvali1824 - 1880 New York opera star who specialized in singing contralto "trouser roles."

6. If the categories `man' and `woman' are culturally constructed then there can be no universal meaning to the category woman or man. Only what it means to be a man or a woman in a particular society. It also means that we do not have to be restricted to two genders • transsexual – gender/ sex incongruent, “trapped in wrong body” but with the gender identity of their organs/sex change operation • transvestite – dressing as other gender, biological sex (cross-dresser) • homosexual • bisexual • eunuch – castrated male • hermaphrodite – both sets of biological organs • Virgin?

7. Is he a he? Or is he a she? Or is she a he? How does your reaction to this image compare to the earlier one of a woman dressed as a man? Is there a double standard?

8. The Hijras of India and Pakistan • Hijra meanshermaphrodite in Urdu but most Hijras are homosexual transvestites, some of whom have gone through a crude sex-change operation (transexual) • Cultural descendants of the court eunuchs of the Mughal Empire (1526-1858), Perceived neither as men nor women but as a third gender

9. getting dressed for a job entertaining at a Pakistani wedding Hijras now earn their living as beggars, and prostitutes.and by dancing at carnivals, weddings and births. The Hijras are both feared and pitied in Pakistan, feared for their supposed ability to place curses, pitied for being outcast children of Allah. Believed to hold great power because of their close relationship with the Mother Goddess - Mata Bahuchara

10. Berdache George Catlin (1796-1872)Dance to the BerdacheDrawn while on the Great Plains, among the Sac and Fox Indians, the sketch depicts a ceremonial dance to celebrate the “two-spirit person”. The men tease him but vie for his recognition, which is deemed an honor. • Common among all native north American groups • In everyday life the two-spirit male typically would wear women’s clothes and do women’s work. • He would be accepted as “one of the girls.” He might take a husband tribe, or might have affairs with several, or both. • Generally two-spirit males were not expected to have sexual relations with women.

11. Multigendered people were/are usually presumed to be people of power. • Because they have both maleness and femaleness totally entwined in one body, they are known to be able to ‘see’ with the eyes of both proper men and proper women. • They are often called upon to be healers, or mediators, or interpreters of dreams. • Besides their spiritual abilities, their capacity for work also figured into the high status of two-spirit people. • Even though a two-spirit male would have taken on the gender identity of a woman, he would still have the endurance and strength of a man We'wha (1849-96), a Zuni berdache, lived in New Mexico. He is shown holding a ritual vessel, dressed in women's clothing.

12. Western societies label third sexes and genders a “problem” and therefore feel compelled to “fix” them • Deification, ostrazation, and medicalization are common coping strategies for societies with strong gender dichotomies, and are often based on reproductive potential • These systems do not always have to be harmful to the third gendered/sexed individual, but often are As we move out of an age where reproduction was our main purpose in life maybe we need to revise and expand our ideas about how gender and sex roles work with each other

13. Is it possible to have a genderless society?

14. Gender roles: • tasks and activities that a culture assigns to the sexes. Gender stereotypes: • oversimplified but strongly held ideas of the characteristics of men and women. Gender stratification: • an unequal distribution of rewards (socially valued resources, power, prestige, and personal freedom) between men and women, reflecting their different positions in social hierarchy.

16. Gender roles:

17. ROSIE THE RIVETER All the day long,Whether rain or shine,She's a part of the assembly line.She's making history,Working for victory,Rosie the Riveter.Keeps a sharp lookout for sabatoge,Sitting up there on the fuselage.That little girl will do more than a male will do.Rosie's got a boyfriend, Charlie.Charlie, he's a Marine.Rosie is protecting Charlie,Working overtime on the riveting machine.When they gave her a production "E,"She was as proud as she could be.There's something true about,Red, white, and blue about,Rosie the Riveter. Gender Roles Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb,"Rosie the Riveter," (New York: Paramount Music Corp., 1942

18. In the 1940s, women were encouraged to help the war effort by getting a job outside the home. But it was family and country rather than money, status, or power that they were encouraged to toil for . Coke 1942 “For whether she rears a family or mans a rangefinder, a woman needs the physical support of a good foundation." and "Amongst other munitions of war, Berlei are still making foundations.".  November 1942

19. 1950s - mass consumption in high gear, TV ads idealized the woman as the wife and homemaker, and the man as the bread winner. But also the sex kitten

20. Cascade Dishwashing Detergent 1958 issue of Lady's Home Journal.  The man in this advertisement is envious of his hostess' spotless drinking glasses.  Rather than giving him advice on how to get his glasses just as clear, she advises him to tell his wife to use Cascade.   The designers of this ad assume that washing dishes is a woman's chore.  The roles are strictly defined; it never crosses the woman's mind that Jean's husband might have something to do with dishwashing in his household. 

21. 1960s Educated women started exhibiting their discontent with the status quo. Armed with diplomas and new sophisticated birth control methods, they demanded for the right to have both career and family. The great social change in the sixties allowed a variety of depictions of women: sex kitten, nurturing mother and independent working girl. 1970s Issues like woman's lib, ethnic heritage, and critiques of capitalism. Women are shown as independent only when inexpensive items or simple decisions were involved Advertisers realized that not just white people were buying products. Ethnic people were placed in advertisements.

22. 1980s independent woman freedom

23. Content analysis on the Portrayal of Sex Roles in Canadian Television Advertising, commissioned by the CRTC (1985) • WOMEN AS HOUSEWIFE/MOTHER • For 50% of the major female characters, the primary setting is the home. • Among men, 29% appear primarily in the home. • The paid work setting includes 9% of women and 22% of men. • The outdoor setting includes 11% of women and 19% of men. • The number of ads showing men only is significantly greater at 24% than the 13% of women-only ads. • Of the ads with voice-overs, 94% are male.

24. Females are usually shown performing domestic tasks relating to the product. • Male product representatives are mostly depicted using the product or giving instructions or advice. • Men are shown as the beneficiaries in 54% of the food ads and 81% of the cleaning product ads. • Ads that show the preparation and consumption of food tend to be populated with women and girls.

25. 1990s 2000s She is a "multifaceted success machine”. She is a nurturer and a seducer. She is the twenty-four hour a day woman, and she never sleeps. Men are domesticated. Sex objects

26. Images of women improving? From June 1999 issue of Glamour Part of outstanding ad campaign that accompanied the Women’s World Cup “You pass on more to your children and your grandchildren than your eye color, . . . You provide the living example that they can become more than they ever thought they could. Because you did. Just do it.”

27. Conclusions • Advertising generally portrays women as: • dependent on or subservient to men • primarily in the home or domestic settings • preoccupied with physical attractiveness • sex objects • decorations for men • product users/demonstrators

28. This ad is striking because it shows a man in what is typically thought of as a woman’s role. What does the fact that he can open the pail “without passing out” say about men?

29. Gender Stereotypes

31. What is the thinnest book in the world?What men know about women!What do you call a man with an I.Q. of 50?Gifted!What is the difference between men and government bonds?Bonds mature!How many men does it take to change a roll of toilet paper?We don't know - it's never happened. What's the difference between a man and E.T.?E.T. phoned home! How do men exercise at the beach?By sucking in their stomachs every time they see a bikini.What's the best way to force a man to do situps?Put the remote between his toes.

32. Be a Man What does this statement mean? What comes to mind • Men never cry • Should not show emotion • Not quitters • Physically brave • Independent • Heroic and patriotic ideals • Adventurous • Shaving • First day at work - earning a wage • Initiations • tough • Courageous • Drinking • Physical strength • Sex

33. Masculine Traits self promotion & achievement

34. How has this Changed during the past few years?

35. Why are these cartoons humorous?

36. “Men are Supposed to be Strong” • What message does this ad send to men? Women? • Do we usually see more scantily clad men or women? • Is this what a man looks like? Should men look like this? Why or why not? • Where do our ideals of beauty come from?

37. Go Against the Flow: Write Outside the Margins • How is this model “acting like a man?”

38. Act like a Lady What does this phrase mean? What comes to mind?

39. Feminine Traits focus on others, community

40. How has this changed in the past few years?

41. Victoria’s Secret is Revealed • What does this ad suggest women should look like? • Are these women, “Acting like Ladies?” How / Why or why not? • The current ideal of female beauty is difficult to achieve. The ideal being a young Caucasian female, height 5'8"- 5'10", weighing 110-120 pounds or less. Make-up, lighting and air-brushing are used to slim down the images even more. Less than 10% of the female population are genetically destined to fit this ideal. Victoria’s Secret, “Angels’ Collection”

42. Changing beauty standards • In 1957, Miss America was 5'7" and weighed 150 pounds. • In 2002 Miss America was 5'9 " and weighed 117 pounds Marian McKnight Manning, S.Carolina Katie Harman Gresham, Oregon

43. Recent advertising trends are just as harmful to men • Unforgiving & unrealistic images • Men’s magazines encourage obsession with body image, aging & sexual prowess

44. Healthy Women • What does this ad suggest about women? About men? • Why aren’t the men drinking the orange juice?

45. Want Candies? • The text in this ad (on the computer screen) says: “To: All Hot Babes; SWRS (Single White Rock Star) looking for some sugar! Reply to candies.com” • What messages does this ad send men? Women? • How do these models fulfill the stereotype of men or women?

46. What Men and Women Really Think • What do the models’ thoughts suggest? • What does this say about the roles of women? And of Men? • How are these people acting like a man or lady? • How are they not? Crutchfield; Catalog for car stereo equipment.

47. Gender Relations

48. Gender is an important dimension of social inequality • Gender stratification frequently takes the form of patriarchy whereby men dominate women • Are women in our society subordinate (i.e. have a second class status or power relative to men? If so How? • Politics • Economics • Education • Employment • Health • Religion Sexism is the assertion that one sex is innately superior or inferior to the other

50. Gender Relations • In the1970s it was argued that women are universally subordinate to men in political, economic, and public life • I.e cultures everywhere give man, as a category opposed to women, higher social value and moral worth. • the secondary status of women is one of the true cultural universals