gen·der (j
n
d
r)n.
1. Grammar
a. A grammatical category used in the classification of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and, in some languages, verbs that may be arbitrary or based on characteristics such as sex or animacy and that determines agreement with or selection of modifiers, referents, or grammatical forms.
b. One category of such a set.
c. The classification of a word or grammatical form in such a category.
d. The distinguishing form or forms used.
2. Sexual identity, especially in relation to society or culture.
3.
a. The condition of being female or male; sex.
b. Females or males considered as a group: expressions used by one gender.
"Gender". Gender - definition of gender by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gender
The first definition given here shows that the word gender is not only relevant to men and women, but in categorising words within language into sets and groupings.
The second and third definitions are more relevant to what I'm looking at, they concern differentiating men and women. The third definition seems to be a purely biological one, stating that one is either male or female and that this is their gender. The second definition, however, suggests that gender is far more than just how you were born, but more to do with your identity as a man or a woman within a culture or society.
The first and third definitions are simple enough, but the second definition warrants further exploration. How does culture and society influence gender and how do they view genders?
"In the beginning there was sex and there was gender. Those of us who taught courses in the area in the late 1960's and early 1970's were careful to distinguish one from the other. Sex, we told students, was what was ascribed by biology: anatomy, hormones and physiology. Gender, we said, was an achieved status: that which is constructed through psychological, cultural and social means."
West, Candace and Zimmerman, Don H. Doing Gender. Sage Publications Inc. 1987
West and Zimmerman support the idea that sex is something we are born with and gender is something that is learned, or even achieved through interaction within a culture or society.
"Gender is a social, rather than a biological construct, and varies with the roles, norms and values of a given society or era. Being able to bear a child is, fundamentally, a function of biology, while expectations about the imperative to bear children, the nature of parenting, or the status associated with being a mother are more closely linked to gender roles and expectations."
Phillips, Susan P. "Defining and Measuring Gender: A Social Determinant of Health Whose Time Has Come". International Journal for Equity in Health. http://www.equityhealthj.com/content/4/1/11/
This quote goes a long way, in my view, to showing how we view gender in society. The mentioned expectations of being a mother and parenting and their biological link to females as the bearer of children. These expectations, I feel, contribute towards the view of women as housekeepers and people who belong in a more domestic environment where they can look after children, raise them and care for them. Along with this comes the associations of women staying at home rather than working in order to keep the home and the family within it clean, fed and well looked after while the man goes out every day to work in order to provide the financial means for the woman to maintain the home.
"Risk taking behavior is the norm amongst males throughout the world. Socially defined traits often stereotype men and women as having fixed and opposite characteristics such as active (male)/ passive (female), rational (male)/ emotional (female)"
Phillips, Susan P. "Defining and Measuring Gender: A Social Determinant of Health Whose Time Has Come". International Journal for Equity in Health. http://www.equityhealthj.com/content/4/1/11/
The above quote helps to show how our views of men and women have helped to enforce the apparent roles of men and women in society. Men being active, getting jobs and playing sports, while women remain passive, staying at home and maintaining it.
Men are seen as rational, able to think clearly and concisely while women are emotional, more prone to decisions based on their feelings rather than what is the more logical option. These views start to build up an image of men as the dominant gender, those who actively go out to get things done, those who are more capable of making the necessary decisions, while women are depicted as being submissive, reliant on the men to provide for them and make rational decisions for them.
As I continue with my research into the representations of gender, I'll be looking at how the apparent view of men as the dominant gender and women as the submissive gender is represented. Are these views expressed visually in digital games and earlier media? Have they changed within media, and if so, how?
"Gender". Gender - definition of gender by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gender
The first definition given here shows that the word gender is not only relevant to men and women, but in categorising words within language into sets and groupings.
The second and third definitions are more relevant to what I'm looking at, they concern differentiating men and women. The third definition seems to be a purely biological one, stating that one is either male or female and that this is their gender. The second definition, however, suggests that gender is far more than just how you were born, but more to do with your identity as a man or a woman within a culture or society.
The first and third definitions are simple enough, but the second definition warrants further exploration. How does culture and society influence gender and how do they view genders?
"In the beginning there was sex and there was gender. Those of us who taught courses in the area in the late 1960's and early 1970's were careful to distinguish one from the other. Sex, we told students, was what was ascribed by biology: anatomy, hormones and physiology. Gender, we said, was an achieved status: that which is constructed through psychological, cultural and social means."
West, Candace and Zimmerman, Don H. Doing Gender. Sage Publications Inc. 1987
West and Zimmerman support the idea that sex is something we are born with and gender is something that is learned, or even achieved through interaction within a culture or society.
"Gender is a social, rather than a biological construct, and varies with the roles, norms and values of a given society or era. Being able to bear a child is, fundamentally, a function of biology, while expectations about the imperative to bear children, the nature of parenting, or the status associated with being a mother are more closely linked to gender roles and expectations."
Phillips, Susan P. "Defining and Measuring Gender: A Social Determinant of Health Whose Time Has Come". International Journal for Equity in Health. http://www.equityhealthj.com/content/4/1/11/
This quote goes a long way, in my view, to showing how we view gender in society. The mentioned expectations of being a mother and parenting and their biological link to females as the bearer of children. These expectations, I feel, contribute towards the view of women as housekeepers and people who belong in a more domestic environment where they can look after children, raise them and care for them. Along with this comes the associations of women staying at home rather than working in order to keep the home and the family within it clean, fed and well looked after while the man goes out every day to work in order to provide the financial means for the woman to maintain the home.
"Risk taking behavior is the norm amongst males throughout the world. Socially defined traits often stereotype men and women as having fixed and opposite characteristics such as active (male)/ passive (female), rational (male)/ emotional (female)"
Phillips, Susan P. "Defining and Measuring Gender: A Social Determinant of Health Whose Time Has Come". International Journal for Equity in Health. http://www.equityhealthj.com/content/4/1/11/
The above quote helps to show how our views of men and women have helped to enforce the apparent roles of men and women in society. Men being active, getting jobs and playing sports, while women remain passive, staying at home and maintaining it.
Men are seen as rational, able to think clearly and concisely while women are emotional, more prone to decisions based on their feelings rather than what is the more logical option. These views start to build up an image of men as the dominant gender, those who actively go out to get things done, those who are more capable of making the necessary decisions, while women are depicted as being submissive, reliant on the men to provide for them and make rational decisions for them.
As I continue with my research into the representations of gender, I'll be looking at how the apparent view of men as the dominant gender and women as the submissive gender is represented. Are these views expressed visually in digital games and earlier media? Have they changed within media, and if so, how?
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