Heterosexism and Gender Role in Socializing - Essay Example

A cursory analysis of available costumes illustrated that twenty-two customers were propagating hyper heterosexism. They were even segregated into sections named ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ customers. There were also unisex costumes like burglar costumes or angel costumes. However, it was evident that the majority of these costumes encouraged heterosexual partnerships. This costume-based stratification can be explained with the help of feminist sociology theories that support the existence of a social order and values related to it that are meant to be followed by individuals to demonstrate their participation in gender-based group participation (Ingraham 209).

Eight costumes could have been seen as being suitable for same-sex partnerships. These costumes included Scottish outfits, Mario costumes, wrestler costumes, and other revealing warrior costumes. The store also had a male personification of Adam and Eve costume which was supporting same-sex relationships.
This study helped in understanding that there was a rather limited choice for customers who do not wish to propagate hetero-normative gendered constructs. The store had a collection of object-based inanimate costumes such as Cupcakes, Robotic characters, Banners, and other similar costumes that were equally famous for male and female customers, according to the store owner. These costumes are delivering clear messages about heterosexual relationships.

The costumes meant for female customers included Ballerina dresses, Disney movie characters, and others having a feminine outlook. On the other hand, costumes meant for boys had moderate to strong masculinity attached to them as they were reflecting a degree of physical violence and aggression. When asked about a Tuxedo hanging in the Halloween section, the store manager responded that it is meant for female customers as it was ‘sleeker’ as compared to regular tuxedos meant for male customers. There was a visible social construct regarding social and cultural prescriptions of roles meant for men and women. It was also found that biological and cultural constructs were considered while designing these costumes.
As far as “gender-neutral" costumes are concerned, they cannot be perceived as mitigating gender-based stereotypes.

Instead, they were more concerned with age. Most of these neutral inanimate costumes were in smaller sizes reflecting that personal identity development is a time taking cognitive process (Burke 224; Ryle 127). Hence, for children who are yet going through the process of developing their own identities as boys and girls, it is more suitable to have something that reflects characters more than gender although children are more likely to learn gender differences quickly than other social preferences according to Gender Schema theory (Ryle 132). Such identity development is even more difficult for boys as they generally spend more time with female caregivers in their household or academic settings (Ryle 136).

Furthermore, there was even a slight gender stereotyping in these neutral costumes as well mainly because of their external outlook in terms of colors and construct e.g. a male customer is less likely to purchase a pink cupcake costume. Similarly, generally unisex nurse scrubs are more used by female customers since there is a reasonable degree of femininity in the term itself. It was also found that decisions regarding the purchase of neutral costumes were affected by the use of color, shape, line, and texture and gender stereotyping related to this aspect of costume designing. Accessories also played an important role in defining this gender specification e.g. regular sneakers used with a juice box reflect masculinity whereas Stilettos and high-heel pumps reflect femininity. Hence, it can be said that social conditioning plays an important role in designing these gender differences. Read More