Can Popular Culture Subvert Gender Binarism - Essay Example

Can Popular Culture Subvert Gender Binarism Introduction Popular culture is defined as: "Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (people's) culture that prevails in a modern society. The content of popular culture is determined in large part by industries that disseminate cultural material, for example the film, television, and publishing industries, as well as the news media." (wikimedia.org) Popular culture therefore can be considered a common universal practise that governs all aspects of every day life such as dressing, cooking, media, and entertainment. Gender binarism defines the separation of the two genders in terms of the differences they present. According to Schlegel: "binarism became like a mantra to differentiate man and woman, masculine and feminine." Binarism thus, serves the society into the distinction of roles of the genders. A feminist movement of the 70's makes a clear separation of sex and gender in the roles of the feminine and masculine as there are known up to this point; from then on sex defines the biological function and gender is defined by the construction of society and the norms that regulate it functions. The aim of this paper is to discuss whether popular culture which defines the roles in society in the very end is capable of undermining the roles of the genders in society as these are defined. For this purpose examples are going to be laid out on the topic that sustain of reject this proposal and a research of academic papers and journal articles will be discussed. The next section includes all the following starting with laying out the definition of the two terms and their role in the society. A small discussion and personal viewpoint follow in the last section where the summary is provided. Revising Sex-Gender Binarism Schlegel in his book "Wisdom from a Rainforest" describes a unique experience. Among the forest Tedurays even if a buy is born he has the choice to live as a girl. Such a boy is termed among the members of the tribe as one-who-became-a-woman and is referred to as she (Diaz, Quevedo, OMI). This is a clear evidence that a physiological characteristics do not predetermine the lifestyle of the individual and furthermore, that there exists society where determination of the gender lies on the individual and is perfectly accepted by the member of the rest of the culture. Schlegel himself on the phenomenon asserts that this experience gave the understanding that for the Tedurays the penis did not defines the gender of the person in the society but the function he played: the clothes that are worn, the way the hair is dressed, the every day activities and the social environment one comes in contact with and finally the way people address and perceive the person to function in their society. It is finally the acceptance of the rest of the society members of the role you declare that defines the gender, and the role, of the individual in the society. Butler in "Bodies that Matter" (1993) also declares that sex does not determine gender; sex is the mere "performative" of the gender meaning it defines the biological function of the individual but not the function declarative. Toril Moi, who has been elaborating on Butler, draws on the same line to propose that gender serves as a performative; "doing the gender" rather than "doing the sex". All the above make two things clear; firstly that the sexual organs of the person merely declare what their function upon sexual reproduction is and second that there has always been the case of a clear distinction between the sexual reproduction organs and the identity the individual chooses to take up in the society. The physiological characteristics therefore one is born with do not determine the role they decide to take up in the society. The very differentiation of gender and sex determine that there is a unique meaning given to the morphology and social roles of the individual in every society. As every society is founded and defined by its culture gender and sex take up meaning that reflect such interpretations of the society. Children from the early childhood learnt to distinguish between mum and dad. Sexes are defined in their own terms and are linked to internal and external genitalia, sex chromosomes and genes, sex hormones and so on (Diamond, 2000). Later on upon the first education received a very interesting phenomenon is met that confuses many children in fact; the introduction of gender used to the referral of objects that constitute the world around us and the fact that gender of the objects is not universal. English might use feminine, masculine of neutral for the chair while the Germans define it as feminine. General use of the word gender became popular with the introduction of feminism and it is no surprise that it was first used to differentiate from sex. The next section talks on popular culture and how this defines the role of the sex and gender in society. Popular Culture and Gender Culture is a vital part of the society; even though no one can find a true definition of the term and there has been many conflicts on the issue culture defines all the details that govern our every day lives; dressing , cooking, media, education, language, interpretation of the world and feelings and many more. Culture is primarily interpreted in the way we see the world and in the way the world sees us. In the norms that we follow every day without knowing we are complying to a general setting that is learned from the time of birth and has been going on for many generations. Culture of course undergoes changes to adapt to the living conditions that change also. The introduction of electricity and transportation for instance required learning how to use and behave while using these mediums. Another two definitions need to be refereed to here; mass culture which is the culture the masses follow without any special reason, without liking it or understanding what it is about. Just to be more likable to our social environment or participate in a group. Group participation covers one the fundamental human needs to socialization. Popular culture has been attached a demeaning meaning which is not however the case; pop is confused with mass culture. Pop culture however differs in the sense that is known to the wider audience and is expressed through "mass circulation of from areas such as fashion, music, sport and film" (wikimedia.org). Popular culture finds applicability through of advertisements. Even though we do not understand it popular culture defines the television and radio programs the food and entertainment and the clothing apparel. Therefore in terms of gender definition, popular culture has the power to set the context of gender through the mediums that define our lives. In order to understand the impact of popular culture it is necessary to make the link to make the link to the rise of the culture per se. It emerged upon 1. the industrial mass production, namely the large of production of standardized products 2. the introduction of new technologies 3. the growth and wide expansion of wide media industries of radio, cinema and television, and also the Internet and other forms of music and electronic media. The uniqueness of popular culture other than any other form is that it is wide enough to include everyone who is willing to participate; there is no distinction of gender and age even though such distinctions are made by the individuals that participate in the culture. One can easily understand that since there are no boundaries as far as popular culture is concerned in terms of the participants and since popular culture is one of the medium of culture definition and formation it can contribute to the formation of the gender roles and properties. In the following section a link of the former discussion is made and the direct link of culture and the impact it has on gender definition is discussed. Moreover, the answer to the paper question whether culture undermines gender binarism is answered. Culture and Gender Binarism According to Rubin in "The Traffic in Women" published in 1975 the sex-gender combination form the "sex-gender system, in which raw biological sex" is transformed into non-symmetrical, binary gender relations where the masculine occupies the privileged position".1 According to Rubin and other theorists the notion of masculine and feminine does not define the sex but are rather social constructions. These notions were in fact used by the feminist movements that appeared in the 70's to support that the dominance of the male is not the production of the sexual reproduction function but it was rather imposed to the society(glbtq.com). Drawing on this, the feminist movements suggest that the male dominance is reversible and all that is takes is to redefine the social constructions to bring equity between the two sexes. Feminist movements however were facing many obstacles to come through to the audience and more specifically women and the initial efforts were oppressed from the beginning. Apparently, the strong cultural background that idealizes the man is difficult to bring down and evidently all modern societies are seeded with the male dominance element. Is therefore culture that defines the genders or not Returning to the experience Schlegel was exposed to and is described in his book "Wisdom from a Rainforest" the society is not exposed to external stimuli but rather relies on the cultural interpretation as this is passed on from generation to generation. According to Schlegel's (1999): "This willingness to let people decide on their own gender took me completely by surprise. The whole notion that gender is a matter of social and cultural definition and not a biologically given fact began to be considered and discussed by feminist anthropologists in the mid 1970sIt is now clear that in every society being "male" and "female" is a question of who is understood to be what and for what reason-a piece of a given society's take on reality-rather than a straightforward question of anatomy" Keeping away from popular culture to affect their society and based on their sole interpretation of their needs for the society construction the Teduray culture refused to put man and woman into pre defined patterns but rather they are free to decide upon the role they play in their society and are respectfully treated the roles they take. Cultural binarism does not define the role of the sex, meaning male, the protector of the family and female the caretaker, but also the sexual orientation of the person. As the Teduray culture allows its members to define their sexual orientation and are treated and accepted as such. Culture is not static; rather it is constantly evolving to adapt to the new facts the emerge; globalization, new technologies, environmental issues and many more. People being the core of the society take up different roles to adapt to these changes. Bagladesh allowed the introduction of women in the labour force (Schalkwyk, 2000). Working women was not allowed so far but outsourcing manufacturing launch a working chance. The effect of the former was women circulating a lot more in Dhaka when women were deprived of the right of pointless circulation in the city streets. Other benefits of such "closed" societies with the introduction of new cultural norms were the increase of women's rights to education and the increase of protest against domestic violence (oecd.org). Religious and political movements being a medium of culture are also a means of formation of the social roles of women and their campaigns look to penetrate in the social constriction and obtain more enthusiasts. Going deep into popular culture as previously said advertisement is the main medium of formation of identities in western societies mostly where mass consumers provide the target audience of multinational firms. The main target of such corporations is the direct targeting and the dissemination of one's gender group. The idea the firms lay on is to make clear lines between the groups they target as to make an "us and them" distinction. Belonging to a specific group were other are excluded provides the individual with the "belonging" security. Human nature as it exists has the inherent need of being part of a group. Being a group member declares that one is understood and has a communication medium to others. Specially targeted materials for a group enhance the group belonging by supplying common materials and products for the common liking of things. Gender distinction is a way of externalizing this need of group belonging and the target audience needs to have a clear view of whom a product addresses. In this sense even though popular culture is open to anyone, mass culture needs to draw clear lines between the group audience it addresses and mass produce products for these (Maldonado, Tansuhaj, Muehling, 2003). Turner (1987), contents that "self-categorization" theory has an influential power on the behaviour of the individual to the society. According to Risman (1998), four theoretical frameworks help the individual make a clear distinction between the gender and the sex: The first views sex differences of biological or social origin. The second views how the social structures views the genders and the roles assigned to them. The third focuses in the institutional construction of gender and the last one focuses on the impact of the gender perception of the individual on society. The person therefore in order to understand the position it holds in the society it has to have a clear view of the gender roles within its environment and the roles these are assigned. The former went deeper into the sociological need of the person for the constitution of society structure it is necessary however in order to understand how the culture affects the gender binarism. Taking the former a step further into homosexuality and bisexuality, the cultural perception here again is the main criterion of the perception of the former. Individual with such preferences are banished from Muslim societies, they are however accepted in Western Europe societies where even marriage and family is supported by the Law. In ancient Greece homosexuality and bisexuality was considered a common phenomenon and was widely accepted by all social levels. Orgies were attributed to fests for the Olympian Gods and where periodically organized. Even today cultures as the Tedurays that are kept away from any conservative culture authority and media and free and enjoy their sexuality without taboos such as those met in the Western Civilizations where sex is fully commercialised and has become an important part of the industry with good profit. Conclusion Social norms define the way the society is constructed and work. These are subject to constant change. From the ancient time in Greece and Rome women were given subsidiary roles in society and were often excluded from every day activities. To sum up culture is the formation means of the gender and sex identity beyond its biological definition. Even though culture does impose the differences the matter in this case is how making this differences initiates and what process is takes to bring down old perception on the gender roles. The former does not constrain to the roles the make and female are attached in the social constitution but goes further deep into the sexual orientation and the rights and responsibilities the gender is determined with. Mass culture and pop culture work on different grounds and performing formations on the cultural construction is not an easy task and requires special techniques, newly developed by the marketing industry, and catching the audience eye (Maldonado, Tansuhaj, Muehling, 2003). Performing changes in not impossible however, it merely takes a lot of time to achieve. Of course, the change penetration heavily depends on the society per se; hard to change institutions remain loyal to the established construction and ban every possible change carrier. Such institutions are mainly the church, or other regional beliefs, and the governmental institution that prefer to make changes to the society or preserve the status to serve their personal purposes. Culture therefore does undermine gender binarism in terms of gender roles and sexuality the change degree however lies heavily on many factors and can neither be viewed from a single perceptive nor be definite on the given answer. References Butler, Judith, "Bodies that Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex", New York: Routledge, 01 Dec 1989 Diamond, Milton, "Sex and Gender: Same or Different", Feminism & Psychology Volume 10 (1): 46-54, 2000 http://www.hawaii.edu/PCSS/online_artcls/intersex/sex_gender.html Diaz, P. Quevedo, Orlando. OMI, Patricio. "Understanding Mindanao Conflict", MindaNews, Davao City http://www.tambara.net/book_reviews/r2-5_book.phpPHPSESSID=6118d61aa48f4f1fd8b884f77e1871c5 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Encyclopedia, "Gender", New England Publishing Associates, 2002 http://www.glbtq.com/literature/gender.html Maldonado, Rachel. Tansuhaj Patriya. Muehling Darrel D. "The Impact of Gender on Ad Processing: a Social Identity Perspective". Academy of Marketing Science. http://oxygen.vancouver.wsu.edu/amsrev/theory/maldonado03-2003.html Risman, Barbara J. 1998. Gender Vertigo: American Families in Transition/. New Haven: Yale University Press. Schalkwyk, Johanna. "Culture, Gender, Equality and Development Cooperation". Canadian International Development Agency (Cida), June 2000 http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/2/9/1896320.pdf#search=%22culture%20impact%20on%20gender%20definition%22 Turner, John C. 1987. Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-Categorization Theory/. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Wikimedia.org, Popular Culture, August 2006, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_culture Read More