Gender from a young age

From our first day in this world we are shown the gender binary. We are placed in a gender defining color and labeled "boy" or "girl." In this society that is filled with gender stereotypes, children often gravitate toward those stereotypes that fit their biological sex. They learn very early on what it means to be a boy or a girl. Attitudes and behaviors about gender are formed in the home then reinforced by peers, social experiences and media. By the young age of three, children have become aware of boy activities versus girl activities, interests and occupations. We see children gravitate towards peers of the same sex and activities identified with that sex.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs
In this campaign ad, we first see teenage girls who have spent years subject to gender defining roles and boys of all ages describe what it means to do things "like a girl." Then we see younger girls describe what it means to do those exact same things "like a girl." The difference between the portrayals showed me how gender roles and what it means to identify as a specific gender are socially constructed and LEARNED. They are learned.

What it means to be a girl or to be a boy in our society is largely based on constructed concepts that continue to be passed along through natural learning processes. If you don't fit the mold of one of the gender binaries, how can people identify your gender? Why do we feel the need to immediately label someone based on their gender? A better question is, why do we feel the need to immediately label someone's gender based on how well they fit our constructs of either gender?

For trans people, these social constructs are what make it difficult for people to label them based on their gender. When people are not able to see how someone fits into our society's box of what is deemed "normal," it makes them uncomfortable. This discomfort results in unaccepting views and policies.

Basically, we learn from a young age what it means to be a boy or to be a girl. We learn to be narrow minded by creating a gender binary. We learn how to label people right off the bat and that makes it difficult to understand that gender is not what we are biologically born with, it is how we feel we fit into this society. Gender roles and gender specific qualities are not inborn.


Check out this blog for more information on constructed gender roles and how are society is based on them:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/bfr3/blogs/applied_social_psychology/2011/10/the-social-construction-of-gender.html

"Eat Like a Man!"

Has someone ever said to you "you eat like a *insert gender*!" when you identify as the opposite gender? Or when you're gender fluid? What does it even mean to eat like a specific gender? Don't we all, as human beings, require the same nutrients from our foods?

As I walk into our school's dining hall I see girls sitting with boys, girls sitting with other girls, and boys sitting with other boys. Then I see the girls' plates in a striking juxtapose to the boys' plates. Plates full of vibrant shades of green next to plates full of dull brownish mixtures. You can probably guess at this point that it is more common to see a girl in our dining hall with a plate full of veggies or a salad (not even piled high) and to see a boy with a plate full of fries, burgers, pizza and pasta. If you had to take a wild guess, which plate of food is more likely to cause a person to gain weight? Yes, you guess correctly, it is in fact the typical profile of a boys plate.

Girls hesitate to get and even forego a second round of food, even if it is to the salad bar to get some more raw veggies, because they're afraid of being judged by 1) other girls and 2) boys. Boys are reprimanded by other boys if they only come to the table with one plate of food or don't go back for seconds.

In our society girls are terrified of gaining weight. This idea goes back to the idea of gender in the gym. Girls try to fit the social construct of feminine qualities by restricting food choices in order to be thinner. Boys try to fit the social construct of masculine qualities by eating everything in sight in order to bulk up. This is another example of  how everyday things most people do are based on the constructed gender roles which creates a gender binary.

This social construct of gender is another reason that this society makes it difficult to openly be a trans person. If you do not fit into one of the two constructed gender categories then you are "abnormal." You are put in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statical Manual) for having a "psychological disorder." This idea perpetuates our societies construct of the gender binary.

The Term Transgender

During my research I came across a title question that has quite possibly been the most thought provoking question I've come across throughout my time in the class:

              "If gender is largely a social construct, why would someone identify as transgender?" 

This question made me think of the definition of gender. Gender is a person's psychological sex. Not biological. It is how a person thinks of themselves.

 The term transgender is defined as "a person whose self-identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender." The definition itself practically says that gender is socially constructed. The term gender speaks for itself. If gender is a psychological identification, it shouldn’t matter what one's biological sex is; therefore it technically shouldn't be a transition from one gender to another or being gender fluid. Because society constructs gender, it is hard to escape from the typical thought that one's biological sex equals one's gender. 

If our society did not have social constructs of gender, I don't believe "transgender" would even be a term. 

Gender at the Gym

Things I noticed while at the gym today:

• 14 females on treadmills
• 2 males on treadmill
• 3 females on ellipticals
• No males on ellipticals
• 19 females in spin class
• 1 male in spin class
• Weight room full of males (did not count numbers)
• 1 female in the weight room, being stared at 

Do you notice a trend? I did. I do every time I go to either Brodie or Wilson gym on this campus. I notice it every time I am at my gym at home. I notice it when I'm outside and the majority of people running furiously are female. Why is this? Well our society seems to praise the "thin" and "petit" body shapes of women and the "buff" and "large" body shapes of men. People associate "feminine" qualities with thinness and "masculine" qualities with having bulging muscles. We see models on the covers of magazines or walking down the runway and the females have prominently boney structures while the males have prominently muscely structures. Confirming your gender seems to be done in the gym as well as the with the clothes we wear. Is it forbidden for females to lift weight or males to crush the elliptical from time to time? 

A friend and I walked past the male on the elliptical and they made a comment to the effect of "yeah that elliptical is really going to help build those chest muscles really well." I hear daily comments from my girl friends such as "oh my god my legs are getting so big, I need to lay off the squats" or from my guy friends "I can't date a girl who has bigger thighs than I do... It would make me feel weird." I guess bigger legs aren't a gender confirming quality of females. 

What if you saw a biological male  doing a cardio machine with skinnier legs than the girl upstairs busting her butt on the treadmill for hours a day? Or a biological female with baggy shorts and larger legs than the guy busting his butt downstairs in the weight room in the squat rack for hours a day? Sometimes we hear that the woman with muscles "manly" and that is "unattractive" or that the man who lacks muscles looks "weak" or "feminine." This is another example of how many things most people do are based on the constructed gender roles which creates a gender binary. 

Biological males naturally have more testosterone and are able to more easily build muscles than women. If a trans male wants to build muscle like biological males, but is not able to, will this affect the way he is seen by society? Will he be seen as feminine or less manly? And vice versa with trans females. If a trans female builds muscle more easily than biological females and is therefore physically unable to reach the specific "feminine" physique, will she be considered less attractive or manly? Hormone supplements could potentially help with these situations, but should it be this way? Is it fair that someone who identifies with the opposite gender, or neither gender, gets labeled based on ideas our society has constructed about physical appearance for the gender binary?

My answer: No.

https://communicationandgender.wordpress.com/gender-construction-and-identity-in-todays-mass-media/
^check this blog out for more information on constructed gender roles in mass media 

Does your clothing define your gender?

Yesterday was my first day back on campus after spring break. I was sort of disoriented for the first couple of hours being back in classes, but then I started noticing things. I noticed that no one was bundled up in their winter clothes anymore (which was very nice might I add) but rather showing off their new spring collection for everyone on campus to see. After I got over the shock of the warm weather, it came to my attention the types of clothing people were wearing... girls in short shorts and tank tops or short sun dresses while boys wore bright colored polos tucked into their khaki  belted shorts. Girls wore flowery sandals and boys wore plain tan flip flops. One might not think that this was something worth my observation, but since that is exactly the kind of phenomenon I am looking for in everyday life, these clothing choices stood out like a sore thumb. These clothing choices made it simple for one to immediately identify an individual as a boy or a girl. Think about that.... you are able to identify a person's sex (not gender) solely based on their clothing choices. What if you looked and saw a girl (based on their clothing choice) had more masculine features. Would you be confused? I believe that the gender norms our society has created about clothing choices confirm the idea of a gender binary. This norm makes it very difficult for people to see and understand people in the trans community for who they feel they identify with. It confuses many to see a person who is biologically male wearing what are considered to be "female" clothes. Gender norms such as the clothing norm force people to be narrow minded in their knowledge of what gender is. Gender is not biological sex, it is psychological sex.