SOC219H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Sex Assignment
"Doing Gender" by Candace West and Don H. Zimmerman – article review and summary
In their 1987 article "Doing Gender" sociologists Candace West and Don H.Zimmermann first introduced
their notion of gender not as a trait, a social role or a societal representation, but rather as an
accomplishment- the product of daily social practices and behaviors which codify and manifest
femininity of masculinity. This product is the result of social structures and it in itself serves to reinforce
them. The "doing" of gender legitimizes social structures and therefore establishes the male/female
dichotomy as natural.
Traditional gender perceptions view man and woman as natural and unequivocal categories. These
allegedly principal differences between sexes are supported by the division of labor and are
characterized by female and male behaviors, which have deep psychological and social implications.
In "doing gender" West and Zimmerman refute the classic distinction between the social constructed
"gender" as opposed to the biological "sex". Instead they argue for a more complex relations between
social and physical features.
West and Zimmerman's definition of gender is a sociological one which relies on codes and conventions
that are at the foundation of everyday activities. "doing gender" means to perform complex societal
activities of perception, interaction and of micropolitics which define certain activities and pursuits and
either masculine or feminine.
West and Zimmerman argue that gender is a series of traits nor a "role", but rather something which is
performed, something which is "done" (hence "doing gender") in a continuing and context-related
manner. Gender is established by mean of interaction and is displayed through it, and while appearing
as "natural" it is in fact something which is created by an organized social performance.
In viewing gender as an accomplishment, its essence is diverted for intrinsic traits and features to
something which is dependent on social interactions and contexts. Gender is also a result of
institutionalized functions of society – indeed individuals are the one that are "doing gender", but they
do it in the real or imagined presence of others.
In "doing gender" west and Zimmerman replace that traditional sex/gender distinction with a triadic
division of 3 concepts:
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