gender and society- bobby bleistein

Bobby Bleistein

Humans are constantly being categorized into groups, women and men although very broad is one form of this grouping. Due to a difference in genitalia and hormones women and men are viewed as seemingly different species. Although this has been occurring for hundreds of years, the development of “normal culture” and media has developed these groupings into more then just a difference in genitals. This can also be seen through sports, public places, and social media; gender and society. In Judith Lorber’s article called gender and society, she shows many ways in which men and women are different through society.

            Lorber starts the article with stating the obvious differences between men and women that were recognized in the 18^th century, genital differences. Then begins to discuss how society treats each gender differently.  “I am arguing that bodies differ in many ways physiologically, but they are completely transformed by social practices to fit into the salient categories of a society, the most pervasive of which are "female" and "male" and "women" and "men."” One aspect of this article I found intriguing was men’s vs. women’s sports. I have always known the difference but this article allowed me to think about them in a different perspective. In sports men and women are treated completely different in what each gender should and shouldn’t be able to do.  Men are told to be men and take precedent in sports due to the fact that we are men but why shouldn’t this be the same for women? She states the example for this with basketball; men use a larger basketball and have a different set of rules then women. This is done in order to speed the pace of the game and keep it interesting. Women’s basketball is almost a completely different sport then the men’s game because of the difference in pace due to the rules and regulations. Even after title IX women still tend to be degraded from sports, ex: wresting. Media does not help this because whenever you see a commercial for a woman athlete, most times it tends to be for a beauty product or a clothing line and not the hard work they put in to become a great athlete. Lorber states “Sports, therefore, construct men’s bodies to be powerful; women’s bodies to be sexual” (Lorber pg573). Women have been gaining more publicity now for their great accomplishments; an example of this is through the Olympics and the great feats of the USA women. This article gave me the chance to think about the how drastic the differences in men and woman sports actually are. Through this I was able to take into account my experiences in sports and thinking about how the game would be completely altered if I were playing the “female version of the sport”. Lorber’s feminist view allows her readers to take into account their own experiences and view them in a different way.

Preschoolers catch on quickly. In martins article gendered bodies an experiment was taken in 5 preschool classrooms to try to find out where and when kids learn about gender. Men and women tend to be different in ways including motor functions thinking and size/shape. In particular, motor functions such as walking, running, jumping, ect… are just some of the major differences that kids learn when they are young. In preschool there are always sets of rules that are common in most classrooms for recess “1. No wrestling. 2. No violent play, killing games, kicking, karate, etc. 3. Bikes belong on the outside of the gym. 4. No crashing bikes. 5. Houses are for playing in not climbing on. 6. Older children are off bikes when toddlers arrive. 7. Balls should be used for catching, rolling, tossing-not slamming at people. 8. Adults and children will talk with each other about problems and not shout across the room. 9. Use equipment appropriately.” (martin pg496) This is one place in which boys and girls learn “their place in society” these rules is more so exercised and used for the boys rather then the girls. Another aspect in this experiment was the actual field-testing when the researchers would go into the room with the students about 3 times a week to analyze. Through this form of gender difference was found, grouping of students during activities such as the block area and dress up area.  This experiment found many things that point to a universal rule set for younger kids based upon their gender. Martin states that these preschoolers that were analyzed for the span of 8 months showed at least awareness for their gender that was clearly visible through the 5 aspects researched. “I identify five sets of practices that create these differences: dressing up, permitting relaxed behaviors or requiring formal behaviors, controlling voices, verbal and physical instructions regarding children's bodies by teachers, and physical interactions among children. This hidden curriculum that (partially) creates bodily differences between the genders also makes these physical differences appear and feel natural.”(martin pg494) This quote shows that through the research that was conducted boys and girls even at ages 3-5 have a sense for their gender and what the social norms entail. But martin shows that these gender traits are not normal. Martin found that boys in many cases dressed up like girls while in dress up time and that there were partially segregated groups that contained both boys and girls. This shows that although young kids can learn quickly what society believes boys and girls should do and be, it is not until the presence of an influence such as school does this mental change occur. This article was not surprising to me to see that there is a presence of gender differences in preschoolers. Do to todays society, the influence of media and a social norm, kids will continue to learn about gender at younger ages. And school is a prime place for this to occur. Due to the coed classes and the influences of a teacher/teachers as shown through martin’s research I feel preschoolers will continue to learn these gender differences.

Both articles are similar in how they view gender. Not as much anatomical but social. Both articles also allowed me to view these gender differnces in a different light and try to visualize what changes could occur to reduce the social gap between genders. In history and in todays world men and women are socially different and as found these differences are formed at a young age and carried though out ones entire life.