Sociology thesis-driven essay
7
Winson Yu
05/21/2018
Soc 105B
Social Constructionism of Gender
Introduction:
Social constructionism of gender is defined as the belief that describes the reality of the gender is based on the social views of the people and the society around us. The views of the people living in the society are based on sexual orientation and sexual attraction. Mainly there are two types of gender differentiation that exists in the society, namely “Male” and “Female” and anything in between is considered to be discarded in the social context. According to this concept, the society and the culture of the place which a person lives in, play a vital role in the creation and definition of the specific gender roles. The concept of social constructionism of gender clearly explains that there is no relationship which is present between the sex a person is born with and the gender they actually belong to. It also explains that influence of the society on the gender of the person (Liebrucks, 2001).
The social constructionism of gender:
The social constructionism of gender identification explains that there are no essential or universal characteristics based on behavior which are assigned to the females and the males. It further highlights the fact that the behaviors exhibited by an individual are dependent on his or her natural instincts. The behavior of a person regarding the gender which he or she belongs to, should not be determined by the sociological factors such as the culture, religion, age, type of body, sexual preferences or the social class (Zevallos, 2016). When people talk about gender, it is quite easy for them as they just describe it on the footing of what they observe around them and the manner by they have been living all their lives according to these concepts. However, they fail to acknowledge the fact that the description of gender is basically shaped by the definitions that are further developed by the society. Thus, the true or the real aspects of gender are not presented to them. Gender is not something which is defined at birth or is transferred in an individual`s genes. It is a continuous process which is created and recreated or evolves with time (Mahn, 2013).
The concept basically focuses on the fact that males and females are involved in the overall construction of their own gender identities. They can exchange their roles at any point of time and may also contradict each other. Therefore, it can be stated it is a process which is changeable and ongoing and hence, should not be defined strictly by the society. The concept also suggests that individuals are responsible for choosing or selecting the gender they want to adopt and rejecting the one they feel unaffiliated with (Zevallos, 2016). However, in the current time it is not very easy. The society has a heavy influence on all the individuals and has pre-defined gender roles for everyone based on their relative sex. Also, the people have to act according to the roles which are described and selected by the society for them in order to be accepted and welcomed by the society (Mahn, 2013).
The concept also states that there are various theories which have been formulated to explain the freedom which an individual should have regarding selection of his or her gender. The theories explain that there shouldn’t be a standard description concerning the way a particular individual is supposed to behave on the basis of his/her gender. According to the concepts of social constructionism of gender the expectation of people from various individuals to perform in a certain way or possess a specific kind of behavior is wrong. As the individuals should have the freedom to choose how they want to behave and act in both private and public. Therefore, the behavior of the individuals should not be affiliated to the sex they were born with.
There shouldn’t be any generalization. For example, the females should be sweet, sensitive, quiet and kind while the males should be brave, loud and less sensitive. There should be no stereotyping done by the society in order to let the individuals live and behave in compliance with their true gender (Zevallos, 2016). Gender is said to be an acquired character and it is built from the early part of childhood, and further develops with time. While sex is determined at birth. The difference between the two things needs to be understood by the society. This is so as the individuals will be not be able to live freely until and unless the society realizes that there is not standard definition which links gender with the sex an individual is born with.
Therefore, it can be said that the gender is a social construct in the world. It means that the gender roles are influenced and forced upon the individuals by the society and are somewhat unreal and cannot be considered a true projection of their inner feelings. The behavior of the individuals is due to the social pressure which encourages them to perform in a way which is considered normal by the society. The social stigma has enforced the people to perform in a way in which they can please the people around them and be considered appropriate and fit in (Liebrucks, 2001). This social stigma has led the people to change their sex so that they feel comfortable in their real self, if they feel that they have been born in the wrong sex. It is now termed as “Sex Reassignment” and this accounted to the social constructivist approach that the gender identity has now reduced the worth of people “to what they have in between their legs”. (Liebrucks, 2001). Judith means by this is that mostly people in world are identified by their gender (figuratively using “private part) and mostly they are either male or female. However their worth is inly determined by this gender differentiation. A person having any sexuality other than hetro is not accepted, transsexual and transgender people are looked down upon rather being accepted in the society. This is a social stigma that still remains prominent everywhere around the world, despite many LGBT rules passed for their acceptance (Butler, 2001).
Historical context shows that the process of social construction of different types of sexualities based on the different or same gender of people got formulated of their behavior and attitude towards other. The second concept of social construct is based on how reproductive sex being change by the people based on their own will. This concept is termed as Trans-sexuality where the person who was born with a specific gender changes his natural gender to the opposite one for his/her own pleasure and social comfort (Liebrucks, 2001). The social constructionism approach is challenged by the essentialist approach in which common sense is used to understand what a person or society thinks about race, gender and sexuality of a person. Essentialism is largely based on the biological factors and it is changing as the culture and people’s thinking is changing with time. “Sex reassignment” is the new concept that has evolved over the past few decades in which a person changes his sex into the opposite one using medical assistance.
The reason behind people doing this sex reassignment is that they want to feel comfortable in their own skin but the society has difficulty accepting these transsexual because this is not natural process and against the process of nature. Judith Butler has explained the same concept in his essay as well as how people tend to realize upon growing up and interacting with others that they exist in the wrong body. Since at birth none is given the choice to be born with a gender of their choice so the people should have the full freedom to change it. But the social construct approach shows that the gender is determined on the foundation that the societal influences provide (Butler, 2001).
Judith’s experiment and research shows that this concept is totally based on social construct and the how surgical correction can provide them with the sex or gender they want and live in. This superficial correction of gender also explains that the important link between the biological reality and gender destiny is based on how the development of social skills of people when they are growing up. This means that artificial correction that people are now making due to the medical advancement to change their gender shows the relationship that exists between their biological genders with which they are born with the gender they decide to take afterwards which is based on their newly discovered sexuality. This newly discovered sexuality pushes them to change their gender so that they don’t feel as if they are trapped in a wrong body. This is mostly because people around them tend to make things difficult for them, hence they tend to such a drastic step in order to live the life they want in the gender and body they feel contented in.
Many of the feminists have also stood up on the argument that biological organs and the gender of the person should not be used to judge on how they behave with others and it is important for the society to accept them for who they are (Butler, 2001).There are no advantages that a boy who has changed into a girl or a girl who has changed into a boy has in the society. It is all based on their own working in the society as opportunities are almost same for both genders based on this concept. However, sociologists also believe that the cultural influences along with social pressures act as constraints in effecting the gender of the person and they are not normally accepted easily in society. It is also seen that in many cultures this is considered to be a taboo and it is termed as a sin to change the natural sex they are born with.
As a conclusion it can be stated that it is mostly the social attraction and orientation that allows someone to determine themselves that which gender they truly belong to. This normally occurs when they tend to interact with other people and socially are active that they tend to realize that which gender they belong to. This is the main reason why people realize that they might be born in the wrong gender and tend to change it based on their attraction towards the other or same sex.
Work Cited
Mahn, C. (2013, October 13). Transfixed: The Radical Feminist Body. Retrieved from https://www.alluvium-journal.org/2012/07/01/transfixed-the-radical-feminist-body/
Zevallos, Z. (2016, January 3). Sociology of Gender. Retrieved from https://othersociologist.com/sociology-of-gender/
Liebrucks, A. (2001). The Concept of Social Construction. SAGE, 11(3).
Butler, J. (2001). DOING JUSTICE TO SOMEONE: Sex Reassignment and Allegories of Transsexuality. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 7(4), 621-636. doi:10.1215/10642684-7-4-621