Issues on Female Masculinity - Research Paper Example

Introduction Gender is an outward expression of what the society considers masculine or feminine. It is demonstrated by our modes of talk, dress, or manner styles that define difference between the two. Its meaning varies from one society to another depending on the values, customs and beliefs held by the particular society. This paper examines the role played by the society through its basic institutions to bring distinction between femininity and masculinity. More emphasis is laid on the impact of culture on femininity together with its effect on all aspects of growth and development. The issue of masculinity brings out notions of power, privilege and legitimacy. It symbolizes the power of state and unequal distribution of property. It represents the inheritance and social privileges across gender and sexuality. Culture and society tends to ignore and discourage female masculinity and yet is highly attentive on male femininity. “Issues of gender inequality are perpetuated by the patriarchal nature of our society that permits male domination and female subordination” (Kambarami, 2006). This has largely been influenced throughout the process of socialization. Researchers, community organizers and law enforcers who concern themselves with anti-LGB (-lesbian, -gay and –bisexual) prejudice and discrimination tend to conflate those aspects that target sexual orientation with other issues of gender non nonconformity (Gordon, 2007). Gender nonconformity is defined as “An outward appearance or gender expression that does not conform to the traditional laws of gender” (Gordon, 2007). It is attributed with experiences of sexual minority and behaviors that deviate from the expected gender roles. The gender nonconformity incidences were discovered to occur in the societal set up and were mostly perpetrated in the family, in schools, religious settings like a church and in the corporate world like in a public retail setting (Gordon, 2007). This gives evidence of the roles played by the society through its basic institutions on the issues of gender and sexuality. There are various contexts in which the society shapes women to femininity. It sets boundaries for women that are morally acceptable according to cultural norms and customs. There is interplay between femininity, sexuality and culture (Kambarami, 2006). Culture impacts feminine sexuality negatively by imprisoning women to subordination of patriarchy which consequently renders them powerless to control their sexuality. Feminists define patriarchy as “A social system in which men tend to over rule all the social responsibilities as women remain in subordination” (Kambarami, 2006). An example of a social setting where feminism is highly displayed and culturally manipulated is in the family. The socialization process differentiates the boy and girl child at a very tender age. The boys are oriented to view themselves as the family heads and breadwinners whereas the girls are trained to be obedient and submissive housekeepers (Kambarami, 2006). This consequently displays women as sexual beings and not human beings, where they are being defined in relation to men therefore dependent to them always. The society instills in women qualities such as gentleness, passivity and submission in order to always please men (Kambarami, 2006). In our culture for example when a girl attains the puberty age, she receives endless teachings on how to please and maintain her future husband by being a submissive wife. She is further exposed to issues of her sexuality and how best to utilize it for male’s benefit. The teachings encourage dependency where a woman ultimately cannot support themselves in absence of the husband. They observe a male figure with great awe for provision and cannot survive alone in the case of the husband’s death but have to remarry. The society values the male child more than the female. The foundation of this is in the family where a boy child rules a girl child by the right of birth. He may not be the first born in the family but he is bestowed headship in the household. Prejudice rises against the girl child because it is expected that she eventually marries out and becomes apart of another family (Kambarami, 2006). An idealistic example in the socialization process is exhibited where parents purchase toys for their children. “A girl is given dolls and kitchen utensils to play with whereas the boy is given cars, puzzle games and the toys which refine their physical energy and cognitive abilities” (Kambarami, 2006). The girl child at puberty is also regularly warned against interacting and ‘joking’ with boys. This makes the girls treat their counterparts with fearful respect and anxiety. Though it indirectly or indeliberatly happens, the girl child is oriented to the weakly attributes of being soft and emotional which translates to femininity. It further perplexes her as she matures since the biological bells are beckoning her to indulge in mutual relationships, but rather she feels guilty due to the socially sowed attitudes and norms. She fears consulting and secretly gets into the wrong relationships. Thereafter she conceives mistakably and forces abortion, much more the society does not spare her, as she is rendered immoral. The society expresses leniency on male sexual behavior but it is greatly strict when addressing sexual conduct in females. The males are given freedom to experiment sexually before marriage whereas the females are expected to preserve their virginity as way of making the marriage pure. After marriage, a husband can have extra-marital affairs where sarcastically the blame is put on the wife for failing to satisfy him. When the wives complain, the older women advise them to put up with the infidelity as the society is already used to it. However, it is not permissive in the same society for the wife to have extra marital affairs as she is labeled as ‘loose’ and is sent back to the parents for some discipline (Kambarami, 2000). It is expected that women are supposed to be sexually passive and submissive to men’s desires. A woman is not to initiate sex but should wait a man to express desire and set the conditions for the encounter. There are various mystical beliefs in the society on female sexuality which portrays it as very distinct from men’s. It is supposed that men have higher sex drives and are easily aroused which they find hard to control. It also believed that men extract the highest enjoyment in sex therefore are more sexually possessive and are permitted to engage extramarital sex. Such beliefs portray women as colder and more virtuous as long as sex is concerned. They are rendered to possess less sexual desires, that they do not extract much pleasure from sex therefore should have less of it. All these are nothing but illusions that pervade our culture. The biggest difference between male and female sexuality today is a consequence of power and motivation, where men initiate as women submit. This is also evident in our language and choice of words in sex conversations. Many people use heavy terms like ‘men screw’ and women on the other hand get ‘screwed’. The active verbal forms are attributed with men. This distinction between the assertive males and the passive females suggests that there is no sexual inhibition as long as men are concerned. Men seek sexual encounters which make them further obsessed and have to do it regardless of whether it implies crossing the cultural boundaries. Similarly, according to the image of female sexual passivity, “femininity infers resistance to sexuality” (Jackson, 2005). In reality women experience sexual pleasure equally as men and are aroused similarly as often. However, women’s desire is often curtailed to passivity as initiated by the societal norms and beliefs. Further in the realm of sexuality, gender inequality also affects the issue of giving and receiving pleasure. Recall that women are supposed to be submissive and depend on man for provision including sex. It is therefore evident men perceive women as sexual bodies which does not retaliate in women’s perception about men. Basing our argument still on femininity we find out that men fantasize more in doing and women in receiving. This deeply infers that women utilize love and sexuality as resources to exercise control over their femininity. They tap opportunity by “conceiving men as instruments to release their female potential in sexuality” (Jackson, 2005). It enables women counteract their passivity and subordination ideals through manipulating intimacy to men. Women practice sexual resistance which makes them control their sexuality and achieve the goal of countering male’s social power (Jackson, 2005). One of the weapons women use to defend themselves in sexual resistance is virtue. They do not want to appear ‘loose’ before men as the society dictates. This is through culture and experience where the loss of a woman’s virtues is measured according to her permissiveness in sex. The risk of pregnancy too motivates women to deny sex. The fears of conception before marriage are mostly related to social influences which is counter to cultural norms. The society also orients girls and women in manners that evade sexually provocative behaviors. This is explicated in the socially accepted dress codes, conversations and other interactive behavior forms. They are supposed to be conservative in their dressing and behavior as long men are concerned. They are discouraged from putting on transparent clothes or that which expose parts of their bodies. They are supposed to limit expressing their excitements exaggeratedly during conversations with men by avoiding lengthy and loud laughter. This way a women preserves her value and is considered worthy by the man and in the society. The sexual provocations are said to “reinforce men’s assertiveness and anger towards women whom they view as the cause of their frustrations” (Jackson, 2005). Another social setting in which feminism is emphasized is in religion. A good example is in Christianity which presupposes that man was created from the beginning and a woman was made from his rib. This is one of the religious customs that are utilized by men to manipulate women’s sexuality. They are viewed second class citizens who are products of God’s afterthoughts (Kambarami, 2006). This is to imply that was is not for God to see it necessary for man to be alone, then a woman would not have been created, and so would never exist in the world. These kinds of attitudes have forced women to be perceived as the passive gender. To worsen the matters, the woman of creation was the initiator chaos who lured man into eating the forbidden fruit. This further reinforced the woman’s perception to the society as a weaker being who constantly needs support and supervision. Let’s again consider education as another social setting and how it impacts femininity. It is an improvement in modern education setting which has maintained issues of inequality across gender (Jackson, 2005). However, a deeper scrutiny into the schools layout and daily classroom practices reveal some forms of prejudices. For example the textbooks used paint boys as rough and cognitively smart whereas the girls are gentle fellows who enjoy attending to household chores. More less the diversity of their uniforms arouses some forms of different ratings. “The girls’ uniform does not permit rough plays like tree climbing as the boy’s” (Kambarami, 2000). This denotes that the society limits girls more to adventure compared to boys. A girl child is also victim of her sexuality in a school environment. Some male teachers who are mannerly deficient make sexual advances to the school girls in exchange for money, academic credits or material benefits. The girls concede either due to poverty or the unconstructive cultural teachings that they are supposed to have reverence and obedience for man. They end up contracting diseases or conception which later makes them drop out of school. The male child on the hand has fewer distractions and goes on with his education. Consequently, the males become more educated in the society and therefore find ways of further dominating the female gender. Education has lately been viewed as the remedy to societal manipulation of femininity. If the both boys and girls were granted equal opportunities and fair treatments in the learning environment, the society’s wits would be sharpened and anticipations of gender inequalities would be addressed. The societal role in femininity is also depicted in the economy. A few females enroll and attain the highest education levels and therefore have less control over the economy. The patriarchal attitudes again explicate themselves in the corporate world other than in the family. “Women take part in the less challenging positions like secretarial and the clerical positions. It is not often to find women in tough ministries like finance or security, but they bestow positions in less challenging ones like gender, education and culture” (Kambarami, 2006). Women are also subjected to sexual harassment by their bosses in the corporate world. It occurs mostly in exchange for promotion considerations or gaining materials favors. This translates from the original perception in the society that females are not human beings but sexual objects. It is also evident that majority of unemployed women especially in the rural areas do not possess land, they often produce what they no control over, they are not entitled to inheritance and in the cases of divorce they get away from the marriage empty handed. When it comes to politics which is often referred to as a dirty game, women tend to shy from participation since it demands tough attributes. The fortunate few who make to it have to display the tough caliber and capability to put up with pressure from the patriarchal attitudes which often push women outside the leadership box. Generally, gender inequality breeds oppositions and conflicts between masculinity and femininity. The males impose desires on culture and women due to their dominating nature. The females on the other hand utilize their sexuality as a tool to counter their subordination. Consequently, conflicts and tension arise together with misconceptions of sexuality. This opposition between women and men’s sexuality is the driving force to inequality. In conclusion, since this sad state of affairs has been reinforced by the way of socialization, there is need for resocialization. This is achievable through the help of the teachers involved in mass teachings or public lecturing. The society should be informed on the negative impact of the expired cultures to growth and development. Emphasis should be laid on gender inequality and how to curb the disease. Furthermore, men should also be involved in the teachings in order to create an impact in patriarchy construction. Women should also be awakened on how culture has imprisoned them since they have almost fully surrendered to it and have gone to extents of worshipping the male dominion. Bibliography Kambarami, M. Femininity, sexuality and culture. Cape Town: Willey books publishers, 2006. Jackson, M. Down so long in gender inequality and sexuality. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2005 Adams, Rachel. "Masculinity Without Men." GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian & Gay Studies 6.3 (2000) Gordon, Allegra R., and Ilan H. Meyer. "Gender Nonconformity as a Target of Prejudice, Discrimination, and Violence against LGB Individuals." Journal of LGBT Health Research 3.3 (2007): 55-71. Skidmore, W. Christopher, Joan A. W. Linsenmeier, and J. Michael Bailey. "Gender Nonconformity and Psychological Distress in Lesbians and Gay Men." Archives of Sexual Behavior 35.6 (2006): 685-697. Read More