SC2220: Gender Studies

Lecture 4: Masculinity and Femininity

Eric C. ThompsonSemester 2, 2010/2011

Where We Have Been…History of Gender

StudiesFrom the study of

women to theories of gender

Sex/Gender DistinctionGender is built on sex

differences but not determined by them.

Becoming Male or FemaleGender socialization;

paths to learning gender.

Where We Are Going…Gender Systems

Gender as systems of beliefs and behaviors

Gender in Popular Culture

Gender in Social RelationsGender and PowerGender and Work

Gender, Here and NowGender in Singapore

Today’s Lecture…Part 1: Where do

gender systems come from?

Part 2: “Unpacking” the gender system.

Part 3: ExamplesEffects of Gender

SystemsChanging Gender

Systems over Time

PART 1: Where do Gender Systems come from?

How do we go about producing Systems of Gender and Sexuality?

The Cultural Process . .General Concepts ofMasculinity and Femininity

Sari

Business

Pretty

ClothesDress

Sari

Business

Clothes

Sari

Business

Clothes

Tell that to these guys…

Difference and Distinction are essential to Meaning

Mapping things onto a gendered structure

gives them meaning.

Sari

Pretty

Dress

A Three GenderSystem

Gender versus SexualityGender and Sexuality are very closely

related, but not the same.“Gay” and “Straight” – refers to sexuality

(sexual practices)Pondan, Katoey, Berdache, Man, Woman, etc.

are “gender” identities (a broader category that mere sexual practices).

Example of “Katoey” gender.See: Oetomo (1995) in Supplemental

Readings

Gender Systems at PlayGender systems (cultural beliefs) provide us a

basis for knowing how to behave.This enables and empowers us to act (as

gendered individuals) in society.It can also be constraining and limiting (for

example, Billy Tipton, who had to go to great length to overcome gender constraints).

Gender is also a source of pleasure, amusement and play in all cultures.

PART 2: “Unpacking” Gender Systems

How do we go about understanding gender systems?

What are the elements and processes that make up gender systems?

Gender Is Not Primarily IdentityGender is systems of beliefs and practices. It is not

something we are but something we think and do.

We come to think of gender as identity as a result of regular reinforcement of these beliefs and enacting these practices.

Masculinity and Femininity are “Structures of Appropriate Behavior” (see: The Gender Tango); they are socially constructed in relationship to each other.

“Doing Gender”Gender is something we do (a performance) not

something we are (an identity).West and Zimmerman 1987 – “Doing Gender”Judith Butler 1990 – Gender TroubleMasculinity and Femininity are beliefs and

guidelines for appropriate behavior – they are beliefs that guide us in doing gender.

Because gender is something we do all the time, everyday, we experience it as identity – as something we “are” rather than something we “do”.

“Unpacking the Gender System”(Ridgeway and Correll 2004)

Gender is a System of:

Gender BeliefsInstitutionalized

Social Practices“Unpacking” the

Gender System means Critically* examining these Beliefs and Practices*”Critical” Social and Cultural theory does not mean

“criticizing” or bashing; it means carefully and reflectively examining.

Hegemonic Gender BeliefsCultural Beliefs – beliefs that are shared by two

or more people.Hegemonic Gender Beliefs

A belief is hegemonic when everyone in society must act in relationship to it – whether they believe it or not.

Hegemonic Masculinity (from Connell).Alternative (Nonhegemonic) Gender Beliefs

Many alternative beliefs may exist in a societyDifferent beliefs may be hegemonic in different

groups or different contexts.

Hegemonic Masculinity(Connell and Messerschmidt 2005)Not necessarily “normal” (in the statistical

sense)… but “normative” (it sets the standard – it is the way a man should be).

Not a fixed idea; differs over time and from place to place.

Plurality and Hierarchy of Masculinities.

The power of Hegemonic Masculinity requires men (and women) to act in relation to the set of beliefs that are “hegemonic”Adoption, complicity, privilege, defense of status-

quoResistance, alternative masculinities, “passing”

Hegemonic Femininity?Hegemonic Femininity vs. “Emphasized

Femininity”Debate over whether forms of femininity can be called

“hegemonic” (because femininity is more often than not culturally devalued compared to masculinity).

Can we assume that masculinity is always hegemonic (powerful) and femininity “emphasized” (subordinate)?

As with Hegemonic Masculinity; “Emphasized” or “Hegemonic” Femininity is normative – it sets standards in relation to which everyone in society must act.

Cultural OperationsSex Categorization

Categorization by sex/gender is a First Order Cultural Operation; before any interaction with other people we place them in abstract gendered categories (man, woman; boy, girl).

Gender as Background IdentityGender is something “always there” but often

implicit (and taken-for-granted)

Effective SalienceGender comes into effect in certain social contexts

(but not always, in all situations).

Rules for Acting in SocietyGender systems guide our behavior; they give

us a blueprint for:How we ourselves should act.How we should act toward others.How we evaluate others.How we evaluate ourselves.

Beliefs and their EffectsWill changes in Gender Beliefs change Social

Practices (inequality, discrimination)?

Do changes in Gender Beliefs follow rather than lead Social Change (changes in practice)?

Answer: We don’t know… (but we have some ideas; and the answer is probably both, in different cases.)

PART 3: Examples (Case Studies) of Gender Systems…

A. Effects of Gender SystemsB. Changing Gender Systems over Time

Gender Beliefs and EvaluationOne example where there seems to be

good evidence for the effect of Gender Beliefs…

Peoples skills are evaluated differently, based on whether they are men or women.

Many studies have shown that resumes (e.g. in applying for jobs or schools) with a MALE NAME are judged more favorably than the same resume with a FEMALE NAME.

There is also evidence that men are negatively evaluated when performing traditionally female tasks (e.g. domestic work, childcare).

Product EvaluationProducts are evaluated more highly when

portrayed as produced by men than when portrayed as produced by women.

If the products are “masculine” (engineering, military) then the effect is very strong.

If the products are “feminine” (domestic and childcare products) then the effect disappears or slightly favors women.

Men in Crisis in RussiaIn the 1990s, Russia experienced severe economic

crisis.Unemployment among men was high.Although men were available to help with domestic

work, women actively excluded them from housework by controlling the domestic sphere.

Men were doubly marginalized: in the economy outside the home (through unemployment) and in the domestic sphere.

S. Ashwin “Men in Crisis in Russia: The Role of Domestic Marginalization,” Gender and Society (2004)

Transitions Through Time and SpaceMasculinity and Femininity are constructed

differently in different times and places.

“Where Have all the Trans-Gender Ritual Specialist Gone?” (Peletz 2006)

Hollywood Images of Masculinity in the Late 20th Century (More on this in Lecture 6)

Examples of Transgender Ritual Specialists (Peletz 2006)Pre-Colonial Southeast Asia: Widespread

Evidence of “Trans-Gender” Ritual Specialists

Sida-Sida (Peninsular Malay)Bissu (Bugis)Basir and Balian (Ngaju Dayak)Hau Bralin (Khmer Initiation Ritual)Acault (Burma)As well as others…

“Where Have All the Trans-Gender Ritual Specialist Gone?”Contemporary Southeast Asia: Apparently

less “Tolerant” Attitudes; Marginalization of Trans-Gender Individuals (But still many examples)Pondan, Mak Andam (Malaysia)Banci (Indonesia)Khateoy (Thailand)Bakla, Bantut (Philippines)

Why? Modernity? Bureaucratic Rationality? Religion (esp. Spread of Islam and Christianity)? Capitalism? Westernization?

Transition from “Gender Pluralism” to “Gender Dualism”