Role of Media in the Performance of Gender - Assignment Example

Role of media in the ‘performance’ of gender Introduction Sex and gender are two closely related yet not synonymous concepts. Sex refers to the biological makeup of people’s reproductive anatomy while gender refers to the social roles that a society or group of people assigns to people of different sexes. The mass media is one of the most important institution in the society that influences the social and cultural values of a society as they perform their educating, informing and entertaining roles (Warnke, 2011). In performing the three functions, the media either provides a factual representation of the society or criticizes some of the social and cultural activities in the society. In both cases, the media has systematically influenced the construction of gender roles thereby enhancing the differentiation of sex and gender as the discussion below portrays. Sex influences gender since the society assigns roles based on either the masculinity or femininity of an individual. Among the basic differences between sex and gender is the fact that it is difficult for people to change their sexual orientations. Boys recognize their sexes at birth and so do girls. People therefore grow up appreciating the differences in their reproductive anatomies that systematically influences their genders. The society begins to tech the two sexes to behave differently and to undertake specific roles. This way, concepts of masculinity and femininity arise. However, unlike sex gender roles often change and have always changed with the progressive development of the society (Rosaldo & Lamphere, 1974). The media plays an integral role in influencing the change of gender roles in the modern society. The media enhances the understanding of sex thus the differences in the gender roles. While sex remains unchanged with people facing immense difficulties in changing their sexes, the introduction of such basic concept as gender and sexuality continues to change thereby heightening the controversy that surrounds the definition of each. A number of theorists and feminists have attempted to explain the development of the confusion in understanding gender and sexes in the contemporary society. Key among such is Judith Butler, an American gender theorist and philosopher. She proposes for the perfomative understanding of gender. In this, she argues that by performing gender people can easily create gender. Her proposal opposes basic understanding that performance of gender should always express a form of a natural gender. Her theory corroborates the fact that gender is both a cultural and social development that can change. Gender roles have changed tremendously in the past few decades a feature that proves Judith Butler’s perfomative understanding of gender. As people perform their respective gender roles, they succeed in developing unique features thus proving their abilities to transcend the traditional gender roles a feature that proves that gender performance neither represents nor expresses any form of natural gender. The developments of such vital concepts as gender equality proves that gender is a cultural concept and that through performance people can change such roles (Butler, 2013). The media on the other hand has played an important role in proving that performance of gender can change. Modern media content including news coverage shows men and women working alongside each other as they undertake similar roles. Such developments are representations of the changing gender roles that arise from the performance of gender. In her book Gender Trouble, Butler explains that the coherence in the categorization of gender, sex and sexuality is a cultural construction that arises from the repetition of patterned actions in time. Such is an important argument that enhances the understanding of performance of gender roles. The stylized acts in male bodies such as strenuous activities that result in the development of muscles and portrayal of strength are examples that show masculinity in males. The modern day media portrays such stylized acts in their portrayal of various genders. In movies, male characters differ from their female counterparts in a manner that portrays the differences in the genders. Most films portray men as strong and masculine while women are beautiful and tender. The stylized actions enhance the development of gender in the society a feature that underscores the claim that gender is both a social and cultural concept (Donnellan, 2001). Imitation and insubordination of gender are yet some important concepts in Judith Butler’s works. In her explanation of the two, the gender theorist succeeds in explaining such unique identities as heterosexual and homosexuals. She explains that category of identities arise from repeated acts that results in the concealment and exclusion of some aspects of the identity (Butler, 1997). Her explanation of identity is vital in explaining the origin of such unique identities as homosexuals, heterosexuals and bisexuals among others. She explains that identity arises from repeated actions thus imitations and not from an original identity. While sex is a physical concept that relies heavily on the reproductive anatomy, understanding the gender of an individual requires a holistic understanding of the life of an individual. Films in the modern day media shows hos imprisonment enhances the development of homosexuals as inmates engage in repeated acts of sexual relations with the people of the same sex. When the inmates engage in the acts repeatedly, they succeed in creating their unique identity as homosexuals. Butler’s central argument of the performance of gender occurs at every level of human life. People interact with each other conscious of the genders owing to the performance of each as dictated by the society. Repeated actions enhance the definition of a gender thus the identity of an individual. Social interactions among people provide a natural portrayal of the differences between sex and gender. The media on the other hand captures the interactions among people in the society thereby succeeding in capturing the differences between sex and gender as portrayed by people in the society. Hate speech is a contentious issue that continues to curtail human interactions thereby inhibiting the development of diverse identities in the society. Butler explains that hate speech is a creation of the state, which describes and validates hate speech by describing boundaries of free speech. Halperin, (1997) explains that the media captures censorship in a variety of ways including in films and news coverage a feature that portrays the conflicts that exists in the definition of both gender and sex besides the interactions among people in relation to the two concepts. Michel Foucault is yet another renowned philosopher who developed a number of theories in his attempt to explain and differentiate gender from sex. In his queer theory, Foucault explains that sexuality is a socially constructed concept. The explanation is important in understanding sexuality and resonates with the explanations of Judith Butler. The society assigns different roles to different genders a feature that does not only influence the actions of people but also the relationship between one gender and the other. Gender equality has proven that sexuality is indeed a socially constructed concept (Grauer & Stuart-Macadam, 1998). The history of humanity shows a consistent change in gender roles from a time when the society had conservative cultures and beliefs that apportioned each sex a number of restrictive gender roles to a liberal society where both genders are equal and women can perform just as good as their male counterparts. The media continues to provide an effective representation of the changing gender roles in the modern society. Women take part in politics and in various professions a feature that is a sharp contrast from a few decades ago when the society discouraged women from taking part in such issues. Blumenfeld, (2013) explains that the media provide women with adequate coverage as they present their divergent political views and fight for equality. Numerous movies portray women as established politicians with some as presidents. Such films embody the change in gender roles thus the development of gender equality. Gender equality is the ultimate success of the numerous feminists who have vouched for gender equality. However, Foucault rejects the politics of identity as he explains that sex can help identify people but is not center for politics. Social contract theorists explain that people engage in politics in order to protect their interests. In borrowing the concept, Foucault explains that politics should not degenerate into identity since this would curtail the freedom to express sexuality. He further rejects any explanation that shows that there exists a universally accepted norm for either ethics or morality. He argues against the possibility of the existence of a fixed human nature. He explains that people are different and so are societies. This implies that every society has its unique gender roles. Such is a vital explanation that shows the diversity in the society. His explanation of the diversity influences studies on morality and ethics since they encourage the development of a broad perspective in the analysis of human actions since an unethical practice in a society maybe ethical in another. Conclusion In retrospect, gender and sex are two difference concepts. Various gender theorists and philosophers contend that sex refers to the reproductive orientation of an individual while gender arises from the roles that a society assigns every sex. The media plays an important role in explaining the differences between the two besides communicating the developments in the definition of the two concepts. Various media contents including news, music and films show the development in the roles of either sexes in the society a feature that helps in the identification of people. Additionally, the media shows such new identities as homosexuals, bisexuals and heterosexuals thereby positioning the identities strategically in the society by attempting to integrate them and assigning them appropriate roles. References Blumenfeld, J. W. (2013). Examining Medias Socialization of Gender Roles. http://www.huffingtonpost.com Butler, J. (1997). Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative. New York: Psychology Press. Butler, J. (2004). Undoing Gender. New York: Routledge. Butler, J. (2013). Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative. New York: Routledge. Butler, J. (2014). Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of "Sex”. New York: Routledge. Donnellan, C. (2001). Gender roles. Cambridge: Independence. Grauer, A. L., & Stuart-Macadam, P. (1998). Sex and gender in paleopathological perspective. Cambridge [u.a.: Cambridge University Press. Halperin, D. M. (1997). Saint Foucault: Towards a gay hagiography. New York: Oxford University Press. Rosaldo, M. Z., & Lamphere, L. (1974). Woman, culture, and society. Stanford, Calif: Stanford Univ. Press. Warnke, G. (2011). Debating sex and gender. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More