Gender as a Social Construct

 Gender as a Social Construct (571)

In his essay, “Free Papers,” Daniel J. Wideman coins the phrase “scripts,” which has a similar meaning to gendered and racialized stereotypes. One’s gender is a social construct that is first and foremost connected to the sex that they were assigned at birth, due to their biology, external genitalia and reproductive organs. Scripts become attached to sex and, therefore, shape the way that society views women. Some common scripts associated with women are “gullible” and “shy” (when talking about the workplace), “lesser than,” and “weak.” Women are also often sexualized in the media and, as a result, objectified in their daily interactions and relationships. Although it happens in all cultures, it is more pertinent in some cultures than in others. In Asian cultures, women are seen in the media as sexual objects to be used for pleasure as opposed to for the plot. Scripts affect everyone, whether it be a conscious thought or a subconscious one.

These scripts are harmful because they affect society’s perspective on women in all categories. There are many things that one can do that can affect the gender that they are perceived to be. For example, one’s appearance, work ethics, and general attitude impacts how people are perceived. One can change their appearance by changing their clothing, makeup, or hair, and, consequently, people will view and treat them differently. I, for one, tend to wear more tight-fitting and revealing clothes when I am feeling more feminine, as opposed to baggier clothes when I am feeling more masculine, which affects how I am treated in the world around me. The same is true for the other categories – work ethics and general attitude. There are certain traits that society attributes to different genders in the workplace. In addition to harmful stereotypes in the workplace, there are also gender discriminatory attitudes within occupations because women are seen as less important and valuable than males. For instance, women are expected to be teachers and stay-at-home moms, while men go forth and explore the world of business or medicine. In this way, women are frequently targeted by scripts both inside and outside the workplace.

Additionally, the social hierarchy goes hand in hand with the patriarchy, and we can see these effects in many practical aspects of life. An important example of this is how women did not have the right to vote until the 19th amendment was passed in the 1920s. Because women were not treated equally in court, they are not accurately represented or reflected in society, which demonstrates how women were not treated equally and seen as inferior. This also connects to the hierarchy of race. Whites are above Blacks in almost every aspect of life. Being the colonizers of North America, Whites feel entitled to more opportunities and are always represented and respected more. This is not only true in Western cultures, and being a female in other cultures comes with its own obstacles. For example, in Saudi Arabia, women did not have the right to drive until very recently, and they still live with very strict driving laws (Specia 2019). Race has a large impact on societal structures and bias and it is ultimately traced back to patriarchy and colonization.

As we can see, there are many scripts that change how a woman is viewed in society. Overall, when thinking of society’s gender binary of men vs women, women definitely get the shorter end of the stick.

By Hannah Rivera

Sources

Specia, Megan. “Saudi Arabia Granted Women the Right to Drive. A Year On, It’s Still Complicated.” The New York Times, 24 June 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/06/24/world/middleeast/saudi-driving-ban-anniversary.html.