Archive for January 19, 2011

January 19th, 2011

Recommended Reading #30: Gender Socialization



      “A Manifesto for Radical Masculinity” by Sinclair Sexsmith (Gender, Sexual Orientation) 12/25/09

I appreciate the wide-ranging introduction and discussion of questions around masculinity in this piece, in part because it has always seemed to me that gender socialization (as in prescribed gender roles based on biological sex) is a blatant disservice to everyone, not just to women as some interpretations of feminism have seemed (to me) to imply in the past. The approach of this piece strikes me as considered, caring, sincere, open, and thorough.

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      “Fag Bashing & Slut Shaming: It’s About Policing Gender Roles” by Dr. Charlie Glickman (Sex and Culture) 9/10/10

I love this piece. To me it seems to reflect beautifully the perception in me that social prescriptions according to gender constrain individuals in arbitrary ways, disallowing full, individualized, authentic expression. For this reason I find the entire process of gender socialization woeful, and I have ever since I became aware that it existed. It also seems obvious to me that we all have masculine and feminine representation in us; the idea of that not being understood or of some kind of social or collective demand that any part of that not be recognized or displayed seems anathema to me.

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      “Let’s Rethink Masculinity” by Joan C. Williams (Non-sex-related, Gender, Social Perception) 10/6/10

This article also deals with masculinity (in the discussion of gender socialization, it makes sense to me to see an emerging focus on masculinity and men since in the recent—in relation to human existence, I mean—past there has seemed so much focus on women. This focus has been understandable, of course; in the larger picture of gender socialization, however, I appreciate acknowledging and examining how, again, gender-based prescriptions affect and are of detriment to all), particularly in the professional/livelihood realm. The only hesitation I hold with this piece is what seems to me a presumed association between men and masculinity. To me the two are not at all synonymous, as again, we all have the masculine and the feminine in us in ways that are far beyond the biological sex of our physical bodies. At times my reading of the piece seemed to express the two as interchangeable or inherently related. The historical collective association of certain traits as masculine or feminine seems to me importantly distinguished from actually perceiving such traits to be inherently more prominent in one sex than the other. The author may not have been proposing this; it was just an interpretation I experienced occasionally in reading the article. That being said, overall I appreciate a number of the offerings made in this piece and its invitation to recognize the socialization of masculinity as an important part of discussion on gender and understanding of gender equity.

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Recommended Reading posted every Wednesday