Critical Reflection 4: Gender Identities

I will be reflecting on gender; what is means to be male or female and how other cultures differ from western society`s views on gender classification.  The typical discourse adopted by many surrounding gender believes that human beings fit into one of two categories; male or female. In the reading The Social Construction of Sex, Gender and Sexuality, this is defined as dichotomy (The Social Construction of Sex, Gender and Sexuality, n.d.). The idea of dichotomy is a way to classify people because generally we believe females are feminine and therefore adopt certain social roles and vice versa for males (The Social Construction of Sex, Gender and Sexuality, n.d.). This however excludes many people who do not fit into these definitions.

            From the time you are born, you are given items that reflect the colours and items that society has labelled feminine or masculine. As you age, certain roles are placed on you according to your gender. It is assumed that once someone knows your gender, they know a lot about you. These stereotypes are thoroughly reinforced in our society and can be confusing for many people. Terms including ‘tomboy’ and ‘sissy’ are used to describe people who do not typically conform to society`s social construction of what it means to be male and female.  The term ‘opposite sex’ suggests that males and females are opposites of each other which implies they are not interested in the same things.

            A particular idea I have observed from living in Canada is that when someone cannot be easily labelled or defined, they are immediately regarded as different, not normal or weird. This stems from the idea of dichotomy (The Social Construction of Sex, Gender and Sexuality, n.d.). Many cultures challenge western society`s views on gender and belief more than two exist. A berdache is a term used in North American First Nations communities to describe a person, usually male, who is believed to have been born with two genders (The Social Construction of Sex, Gender and Sexuality, n.d.). They assume the role of the opposite sex by dressing and acting like the social roles associated with that gender (The Social Construction of Sex, Gender and Sexuality, n.d.).  Sexual preferences are not deemed important in regards to a berdache as they are regarded as a separate gender and are treated equally (The Social Construction of Sex, Gender and Sexuality, n.d.). This idea challenges western society`s views on gender as typically, a berdache would be seen as a male who is dressing feminine. Instead, the First Nations community can accept the notion of a third gender.

            In Islamic culture, a xanith is a biological man whose daily role and obligations are that of a typical Islamic woman but he is given the rights of an Islamic man (The Social Construction of Sex, Gender and Sexuality, n.d.). For example, a xanith has the right to testify in court which is against the rights of Islamic women (The Social Construction of Sex, Gender and Sexuality, n.d.). However, they are considered women during special occasions by sitting, dancing and singing with other women (The Social Construction of Sex, Gender and Sexuality, n.d.). A xanith is known as a separate gender because his duties, roles, rights and appearance are separate from males and females (The Social Construction of Sex, Gender and Sexuality, n.d.). This distinction allows men who feel more ‘feminine’ to participate in activities which are more suited to their interests. It also recognizes them as a biological male and grants them certain rights accordingly (The Social Construction of Sex, Gender and Sexuality, n.d.). It is interesting to note that the cultural differences mentioned above only pertain to biological males.

These stereotypes are thoroughly reinforced in our society and can be confusing for many people. Clearly our definitions of gender are limited by the two classifications and undoubtedly exclude people who do not feel they are either male or female.  The gender types earlier discussed allow people to quickly and easily classify you as a specific type of person and place certain stereotypes on you because of this. We need to avoid grouping people together and focus on accepting and embracing everyone`s differences. If males and females were equally encouraged to participate in any activity that they were interested in, we would likely have people who were much more skilled in all areas.

References

(n.d.). The social construction of sex, gender and sexuality. Chapter 1.

Leroux, D. (2010). Thinking Gender [Power point slides]. Retrieved November 6^th, 2010 from http://webct6.carleton.ca/webct/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct.

Nanda, S. (2003). Retrieved November 7^th, 2010 from http://www.galva108.org/xanith.html.

Emma Liz