Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture - Assignment Example

Gendered Lives Midterm Question Julia Wood seeks to link the elements of gender, culture as well as communication to daily occurrences in life. The author tries to bring out the relationship between these phenomena in human life, and the extent to which they determine how people live with one another within a particular society. Gender is the true identity of a person based on either masculine or feminine characteristics while culture is the predetermined norms and practices that are cherished within a particular society. Communication makes it possible for human beings, both male and female, to relate with one another according to the culture of the society in which they live. This discussion will look at the extent to which the three elements are related to one another and the mutual influences that cut across them. Wood (2012) highlights the significance of gender, culture, and communication in any given society as elements which depend on one another for them to be functional. The link that exists between gender and communication is one that is likely to vary when taken into the perspective of the two main genders; male and female. These two genders, since time immemorial, have their own unique ways of initiating communication and as such, the mode of interaction they use will depend mainly on their emotions and insight. Wood (2012), therefore, is able to show the level of involvement that both men and women have on various issues that affect them within the society in which they live. Culture has gained prominence as a base on which people’s values, pride, and dignity in many societies the world over rest upon. With that in mind, culture determines the way of life of people within a particular society and through which their perceptions, beliefs, practices, taboos and prejudices originate from. Wood (2012) stresses that a key component of cultural uniqueness is language which makes it possible for both men and women within any cultural setup to communicate with one another. He highlights the cultural situation as one which determines the nature of relations male and female members within a particular society are likely to have among themselves and with each other. Therefore, the kind of participation by any particular person in the affairs of the society will be shaped by the gender of that person. The level and nature of communication within any cultural setup varies between the male and female members of that particular society. Men and women can use verbal forms to interact or non-verbal forms to pass vital messages to the other party. This makes it easy for both parties to exchange views in whatever form regarding their feelings, understanding, or perceptions on different situations which they encounter. Wood argues that the language used for communicating within a community shapes the perceptions among members of that society about the expectations society has of all that live within a particular community (2012). Through verbal and nonverbal communication, men and women are able to interpret the values that are cherished within their societies and how they can guide them to become better members of those particular societies. Culture, gender, and communication are elements which have a lot of inter dependence within any society. All these elements determine the extent of participation a male or female member of that society is likely to have in shaping the agenda that exists. Question 2 Introduction Gender, being an element that grants distinct identities to people, is important in many societies across the world. At times, the characteristics that are taken to identify masculinity or femininity can be observed in both genders at different times. Gender in such an instance cannot, therefore, be the term that identifies the physical features or attributes of a man or a woman without taking into account the kind of activity that the person that is being observed participates in. The nature of social participation by each person within a society, therefore, will determine the nature of identity that the person will curve out oneself. This discussion will seek to look at the implications of regarding gender as a verb as opposed to the commonly held view of a noun. Gender, according to Butler (1999), is an aspect of life that is dynamic and is heavily influenced by the patterns of action that an individual participates in from which he or she gets fulfillment. The nature of the social practices which a person participates in is what gives that person the gender identity that accurately portrays him or her. Therefore, the nature of participation by people within a gender system needs to react to the capabilities of each individual person living within that specific society. This goes beyond the determined cultural perceptions of determining gender as only masculine or feminine. This is especially so in the way people have been conditioned to perceive gender by their families, religion and education which for a long time have formed the basis on which people identify gender differences and characteristics (Butler, 1999). The naming of a person based only on physical characteristics as opposed to how his persona is shaped by other factors demeans the value gender plays in human lives. Bell (1999) stresses that the identity that can be given to each individual is complex and involves much more other factors which bring out the qualities of each individual according to what that person is known for. Gender, therefore, is a verb more than a noun because the actions which a particular individual is known for are repeated and from that series of actions, a comprehensive identity of an individual can be constituted. The fixation with the biological aspects of an individual has been erroneously taken to constitute the gender of a person which has been found to be not adequate in presenting the true identity of a person. Within this context, gender can be taken to be something that is done repeatedly by a person to the point of perfecting it from which that person can claim to derive his or her identity. Question 3 Introduction The goals and beliefs of the Mentors in Violence Prevention movement are mainly persuaded by the need to educate men and women on how not to use their state to perpetrate acts of violence. The program seeks to dispel the cultural attitudes that embolden people to be violent as a means through which they can prove to be strong. The White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) seeks to end the incidents of men perpetrating seeks to end the incidents of men perpetrating acts of violence against women. This discussion will focus on the impact the two groups in the society. The most common similarity is that both organizations highlight the issue of violence against women and the importance of men reducing the incidents of violence perpetrated against women. Goldrick- Jones (2002) argues that the two movements highlight the problems that violence creates in a society, and how women are usually on the receiving end of the acts of gender based violence that more often than not are committed by male members of the society. These two bodies strive to reduce the social environment that encourages violence to be committed within the society. While MVP program targets both male and female members of the society, the WRC program mainly focuses on changing male attitudes towards violence against women. The MVP program seeks to make young men and women to have a positive attitude and speak out against all forms of violence within their communities and schools (Goldrick-Jones, 2002). The WRC seeks to empower men to avoid and speak out against of all forms of violence against women by wearing a white ribbon as a symbol of renouncing all forms of violence against women. Bystander behavior is a way through which young men are empowered to tackle incidents of all forms of violence that are likely to perpetrated against other people within the environment that they are in. Katz (2012) highlights that the MVP emphasizes that those who are close to people who are victims of violence and abuse are better placed to curtail all forms of violence that are likely to be perpetrated against their friends, colleagues, or family. This concept is vital considering that many young men just act as bystanders and do not take any proactive steps in curtailing violence against women or other vulnerable people within a society. This helps such young men to be models of positive coexistence within any environment. Both MVP and WRC programs are vital in reducing cases of violence within any given society. This is important in shaping both male and female members of the society to solve conflicts and disagreements in more amicable ways without resorting to violence. References Bell, V. (1999). Performativity and belonging. London: Sage. Butler, J. (1999). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. New York: Routledge. Goldrick-Jones, A. (2002). Feminism. New York: Greenwood. Katz J. (2012). Gender Violence Prevention and Training. Mentors in Violence Prevention. Retrieved on 27th February from: http://www.jacksonkatz.com/aboutmvp.html Wood J. (2012). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture. 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