Norms of Gender Construct - Essay Example

?Doing Gender: A study of the character of Monica Geller as both conforming and challenging to the norms of gender construct As is imperative, any paper ruminating on gender issues must begin by defining the umbrella term gender. If we are to endorse the idea presented by West and Zimmerman in their essay “Doing Gender” then gender is “an achieved status that which is constructed through psychological cultural and social means” (West, & Zimmerman, 1987). An understanding of gender in terms of this definition would require us to probe further into the implication of the key terms used in this extract which are ‘achieved’, ‘constructed’, and of course ‘cultural and social means’. As West and Zimmerman contends the very term ‘achieved’ becomes problematic if we are to consider the evils of patriarchal domination over women, the division of labour, et al. We understand in this it is not so much an achievement. Also gender can be achieved only till the very early years after which it becomes static and unchangeable. The second term ‘constructed’ is perhaps of most importance to both anthropologists and social scientists who constantly lay bare the various apparatus working within a societal unit, be it a family, a state or a community which defines behaviour codes pertinent to a certain gender and anomalous to another. In this paper we shall take up the character of Monica Geller from the sitcom that gave television a trailblazer Friends and see how gender is constructed everyday through actions, through pre-conceived notions and through popular belief. The T.V show Friends had been on air from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. During the course of which we saw the development and bonding of six friends Chandler Bing, Rachel Green, Phoebe Buffay, Monica Geller, Ross Geller and Joey Tribbiani. For a better understanding of the issue we shall deal in it becomes imperative to discuss in a nutshell the kind of relationship that the six friends share. Monica Geller and Ross Geller are siblings, Monica being the younger, Rachel is her high school friend who was dated by many guys unlike her. Ross too had a crush on Rachel in those days. Ross and Chandler are friends from college. Chandler who lives across the hall from Monica shares his apartment with an aspiring television actor Joey Tribbiani. Phoebe we learn later had been Monica’s roommate who had moved out but remained friends. From the very first episode Monica appears to be unlike her delicate form. Her personality exudes an aura of extreme strength. Her nature is extremely over powering and she’s used to getting her way in everything. She seems to be weather-beaten in that she knows the world more than her friend Rachel Green who in the pilot episode comes out as someone to whom the only way of not depending on the parents was by getting married. This very idea accorded to Rachel is also gender specific. Even though we laugh at the momentary humour, it is in fact a gender construction that pretty women(or for that matter women in general) can spend their lives without having to earn their bread by depending on the patriarchy which primarily constitutes of the father and later the husband. That Rachel had been moulded into such an idea is also a form of interpellation by the society. That she finds nothing wrong with it her acceptance of her gender role as daughter and wife (in both cases dependant) is her way of accepting a concept of gender which is simply constructed. In contrast Monica who is said to be bossy and competitive is portrayed as a type which in the later seasons would verge on tomboyishness and trace back its roots to her obesity in her school years and the second-shot treatment she always received from her parents who would be too busy doting on their first born Ross. This preference of the male child over the female child is the most obvious kind of gender differentiation. But that Monica decides to fight back instead of accepting her place as the ‘second’ always is what challenges her gender, or the normative behaviour expected from her gender. Throughout the series Monica has often been described as ‘freakishly strong’. However if we question ‘freakishly strong’ as per which standard, then the silent half of the phrase spells itself out too clearly for us to miss, she is ‘freakishly strong’ for a woman. This strength though most definitely is physical (as we find her giving the boys a hard time while playing foosball, in fact once she throws the ball so hard at Ross that he feels the need to remind her that they are on the same team, she is also said to have given Chandler a fair competition at a arm wrestling match once, and in her youth had broken Ross’s nose while playing football; thus, as we can see not only are her choice of sports always defying her gender’s natural propensities but she also shows a prowess which is more often relegated to masculinity) is also emotional. We find her mothering almost every single character on the show. Ross who always appears to be in some kind of trouble always has his sister for strength and support. This is a clear case of gender-role reversals as the elder brother a member of the patriarchy turns to the younger (hence natural subordinate), feminine member for support. Even in her relationship with Chandler, it is quite obvious that Monica has the upper hand, and there Chandler’s feeble pleas, desperate attempts at winning a conversation and the eventual and obvious defeat become the fodder for humour thus stressing on the ridiculousness of the situation thereby pointing out that things would have been normal had things played the other way round. Thus, to conclude we could say that media be it news, melodrama or sitcom as friends also derive their stock from either magnifying or subverting gender roles sometimes for the sake of drama and sometimes for humour. However, much as in our admiration of the ‘macho’ men on T. V and our laughter of ridicule at dominated ones, much as we adore the dressed up dolls presented as being from outer space as the accordance of the adjective ‘freakish’ we are all paying homage to the construction of gender as being operated by the state, community, or human psychology. References West, Candace, & Zimmerman, Don H. (1987). Doing gender. Gender and Society,, 1(2), 125-151. Crane, David, & Kauffman, Martha. (Producer). (2004). Friends. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.watch- friendsepisodes.com/frasier_video.php?season=1&video=2 Read More