WGST 1F90 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Erving Goffman, Sut Jhally, Femininity

• School: Brock University
• Department: Women's and Gender Studies
• Course: WGST 1F90
• Professor: Jenny Janke

Document Summary

Lecture key terms: binary/dichotomy, sex, sex category, gender, doing gender, micro/macro reasons, repetition of gender. Boys don"t cry. ": we experience and demonstrate a range of the qualities; to limit ourselves is damaging, confusing term: multiple misconceptions about gender and sex, how natural" it is, biological basis, etc. Dichotomy: gender"s basis: gender is structured upon binary: we are either male or a female, but not both, binary: dividing an idea/concept into two distinct parts. Results: polarizing: examples: instinct/reason, nature/nurture, madonna/whore, man/woman, devalue one half while overvalue the other: traits associated with the masculine are overvalued, those associated with femininity are devalued, male traits: independence, emotional reserve, and strength. Examples of gender dichotomies in the west: note how differences are exaggerated. Things are the way they are by virtue of the fact that men are men and women are women a division per- ceived to be natural and rooted in biology, producing in turn profound psychological, behavioural, and social consequences.