Doing Gender by West and Zimmerman - Essay Example

In most cases, gender involves socially conducted perceptual, relational, and micro-political practices that show certain pursuits as showings of the masculine and feminine nature of humans in society. It defines the activities that are done by men and women in society. It, therefore, involves individuals who per take gender as its concentrates on interactions. (Zimmerman, 1987. pg126). The act of taking gender explains that some roles in society are done by men while others are by women. It is explained that interactions in society define the activities to be done either by men or women. In addition, doing gender emphasizes gender roles as well as sex roles. It gives the division of labor in society as either men’s or women’s. This involves doing things that are perceived to be men’s or women’s by nature and based on their masculine or feminine capabilities.

Sex is a biological feature used to view if an individual is masculine or feminine. Thus, it entails social doings which are constituted through interactions. “The recognition of the analytical independence of sex, sex category, and gender is essential for understanding the relationships among these elements and the interactional work involved in being a gendered person in society” (Zimmerman & West, 1987, pg127). Gender involves expressive behaviors that can be termed essential.

In this case, interactions determine how individuals express themselves as being gender. Human beings interact with others in different aspects of the environment and assume that each has an important role in nature that can be distinguished through the natural signs portrayed and expressed by human beings. Hence, gender is more than the actions or activities that are assumed to be done by either males or females in society. That is why being gender is defined as displaying sexual characteristics in an individual according to cultural norms and beliefs on social activities.

Human beings through their expression conduct themselves in a way that brings the best fit in society. Understanding sexual natures through interactions enable individuals to adopt human nature and produce feminine and masculine characteristics (Zimmerman and West, 1987). It is clear that doing gender is different from being gender as being gender is more than the actions done by certain individuals in society. Thus the realization of the essential nature of humans is essential in defining gender.

In conclusion, doing gender is completely different from being gender. This is because doing gender involves activities that are done in society while being gender entails the sexual characteristics of an individual. These actions are defined in a way that men have their roles while women, on the other hand, are confined to some roles according to society and this is opposed by the term gender. Read More