Society is comprised of man and woman-- two genders that, anatomically, differ slightly, but socially, differ immensely. In Judith Lorber’s essay, “Believing is Seeing: Biology as Ideology” and Karin A. Martin’s essay, “Becoming a Gendered Body: Practices of Preschool,” both writers explore the gender divided society that we live in, and the ingrained gender ideologies that seem almost natural.
In Judith Lorber’s essay, she dives into the idea of the separation between man and woman that is seen in society. Lorber discusses how man and woman are not that different physically. Yet, through social grouping, something that has become so second-nature in society, man and woman live on two separate playing fields. The bold title chosen for this essay sets the stage for how the biological make-up of men and women create labels and perceptions that can enhance or hinder certain aspects of life. Lorber uses many different examples to articulate her argument, all of which validate the truth behind socially reinforced gender separation. One of her examples really stood out in my mind was her discussion of the Olympics and the underlying gender discriminations that go on behind the scenes. Lorber’s use of statistics made her argument very real. I thought it was astounding that, in the Olympics, roughly 92% of media coverage air-time was devoted to men’s sporting events, whereas women’s sporting events only received 5%, and the remaining was devoted to co-ed sports coverage. Also, I thought it was notable how Lorber highlights the difference in each gender’s most praised sports. Men are exalted for their performances in sports that showcase their strength and masculinity, whereas women are exalted for sports that illustrated their beauty and focus on their bodies. “Sports, therefore, construct men’s bodies to be powerful; women’s bodies to be sexual” (Lorber 573). Lorber also sheds light on the idea of the social construction perspective, which I believe makes sense in studying humans. This perspective focuses in on the idea of studying patterns of behavior that are seen in men and women, instead of merely focusing on the differences that are found through their biological differences. In doing this, it removes any preconceived notions that society has set in place about genders and strictly studies human behavior. As a whole, I think that this article, although it does demonstrate some feminist undertones, conveys a strong message regarding the differences reinforced between genders and the emphasis that is placed on the capabilities of men and women. This article inspires me, as someone who is very interested in sociology, to look for other aspects of life that categorize men and women’s abilities in such drastic ways.
The second article, Karin A. Martin’s essay titled “Becoming a Gendered Body: Practices of Preschools,” solidifies this same concept of gender separated bodies and how gender labeling is programed in our minds at an early age. Martin focuses on how men and women’s bodies first become gender separated and labeled during common preschool practices, activities, and reactions to situations. Ultimately, by distinguishing certain aspects that create gender differences between children at such a young age, it makes it possible for these ideologies to become exacerbated as the children grow up. Martin’s article is set up in a way that feeds the reader evidence that proves the concept of gendered bodies beginning in preschools through an experiment he conducted and his results. Martin wanted to conduct this experiment initially because he felt that within preschool curriculums, there were more specific, hidden curriculums “encourag[ing] the construction of bodily differences between genders and makes these physical differences appear and feel natural” (Martin 496). This concept is very interesting to think about, because from a psychological perspective, it is known that things that children learn in their early years can shape who they become or how they perceive aspects of society later in life. One thing that really struck me in Martins article was his discussion on how men’s bodies are seen as a source of power, and women’s are seen as a source of tentativeness. This concept immediately places women inferior to men-- something that should be prevented in preschools before children identify with these fabricated social rankings. Martin weaves a lot of insight in his essay about how children learn many bodily practices in preschool. This can be seen in children standing in lines, raising their hands to ask a question, and other ways. I found it interesting the distinction he made between how boys and girls are treated in this sense. Martin talks about how girls are told to “sit like a lady” and how they are at an early age being encouraged to take up little space when sitting. Boys on the other hand, are not told to do so-- giving young boys more freedom with their bodies. I found this idea especially interesting because of how relevant this idea is in society. Martin’s discussion on the differences in how men and women carry themselves made me curious, and I reflected upon what my friends look like when we travel in a pack. The boys usually take bigger strides and walk with a lot more confidence, where as the girls usually walk with a bit more conscious effort to look poised.
Another part of Martin’s argument that I found interesting was his discussion on “dressing up”-- focusing both on how children dress when going to preschool and the pretend dress-up children love to play. Parents send their children in clothing that can also enforce the idea of gendered bodies through colors. Boys are typically dressed in more earth tones, and girls in pinks. In the study that Martin did out of a collection of preschool children, it was also noted that none of the boys wore pink to school. Also, in addition to girls bodily restrictions that cause them to take up less space, many girls wear dresses to school-- garments that are very restricting in themselves. Teachers in the preschool were also noted to pay more attention to monitoring girls clothing, ultimately calling more attention to girls bodies. In regard to when children play dress-up, it was interesting to read about how many young boys will dress up in girls clothing and vice versa, yet this changes as children age. This articulates Martin’s stance very clearly and makes very tenable evidence. Through children developing the knowledge of what is considered their gender’s clothing and what is the opposite gender’s clothing at older ages, it proves that gendered bodies are something that stem from learning through social cues and experiences. Thus, if children enter preschool with no knowledge of what is considered “boy clothing” and leave knowing that it is not acceptable for a boy to be wearing “girl clothing,” it emphasizes the shaping role preschool activities and curriculums play in molding children’s gender separated bodies.
Moreover, I felt that both these articles did have correlating ideas concerning how separated men and women are in society. Both articles also touch upon the fact that these differences are not as much anatomical as they are societally conjured on what is considered female and what is considered male. The strong emphasis placed on the differences between genders begs the question of why they even exist in the first place. It is obvious that men and women will have differences, but it is interesting to see how it is society’s hands that shape the ideologies behind gender-separate norms.
Similar to Annie I was shocked by the bodily differences observed in Karin Martin’s “Becoming a Gendered Body: Practices of Preschools.” Specifically, it was the argument of how men see their bodies as a source of power and women as a source of insecurity. Power, normally adjacent to the concepts of superiority, strength, and aggression is something that Martin insists is instilled in pre-school. The negative physical interactions between teachers and boys associates “physical interaction with struggle and anger, and thus [the child] may be more likely to be aggressive and disruptive”. Thus, aggression and strength become ideals of human power and leadership (explained in Lorber’s description of West Point physical trials).
ReplyDeleteWhat I’m unsure about is if it is better to push formal behavior on preschool aged boys, or become more lenient with girl’s relaxed behavior. Although I agree that girls and boys should be treated as equals, should they be taught to call out and run around, or sit quietly and raise hands? Professor Jafar’s argument about professional women’s relationship to high heels convinces me that all children should be allowed to be relaxed. However, Lorber’s argument that the majority of what is considered “human” is based on males, makes me want to say “hey, why not women for once!” I agree that we should all be equals, I just don’t know on what ground. –Gracie Hall
After reading Annie’s post, I also found it interesting in Martin’s article how apparent gender differences are in children who are just in preschool. Already, at such a young age, boys and girls know that there is a difference between them and their actions in society are different. This is all because society shapes boys and girls at such a young age into the path that they are “supposed” to follow: the male path or the female path. Teachers treat girls and boys much differently, especially when they are younger, which has a big impact in shaping kids into society. Not only is it teachers who have an influence, it is mainly parents along with the children’s peers, and just the society of gender in general. I agree with you that it is interesting how differently boys and girls carry themselves in all different aspects. When I think about my friends, both guys and girls, the girls always sit with crossed legs, are more confined, and much quieter, more polite and wary in class. They are not nearly as loud, disruptive, or aggressive in class. The guys usually sit, taking up a lot more space, their legs are spread apart- not crossed and they shout out, rather than waiting to be called on by the teacher, and they are not nearly as wary or cautious as girls. It stuck with me as well that from early years girls already feel and are place inferior to men by bodily practices, which could and should be prevented.
ReplyDelete-Charlotte Sargent
TJ Brady: After reading Annie's article, the one thing that caught my attention was how the Olympic coverage was so different for males and females. Watching the Olympics I would see men's basketball, track, powerlifting, and other sports. However for women, the two sports I saw the most were gymnastics and soccer. The soccer team was shown so much because of their dominance as they won a gold medal. But now thinking about it, gymnastics is always shown most for women during the Olympics because it is the most feminine sport. It requires grace, balance, and flexibility. All which are traits that society says are feminine. You never see women's powerlifting during the Olympics because society doesn't think that is very feminine or lady-like. It was interesting to come to that realization and I will definitely be watching the next Olympics much more carefully in four years.
ReplyDeleteKelsey Warkentin
ReplyDeleteGreat post Annie! I thought your ideas about Lorber’s article were very interesting. I, too, thought it to be completely ridiculous that 95% of media coverage at the Olympics was devoted to men. I also found it surprising that I didn’t even notice that while watching the games! Since this article does have feminist undertones to it, I would be interested in learning the male point of view of this article.
As for what you said about Martins article, I completely agree with all of the important points you brought up! One thing I thought was important that you didn’t mention was how this gendering impairs people’s futures. For example, 35% of the time, when a teacher touched a boy it was seen as negative. Whether it was to tell them to stop, move them, etc. This caused a struggle of anger for boys that was often seen as disruptive and violent. Nowadays, people don’t usually associate girls with being violent or aggressive, but rather boys. Martin proves in her article that all of those stereotypes and gender differences start in preschool!