Case Study: Social Construction Of Gender

Assignment 1 Sex in the earlier 1970s was taught to be an ascribed status, while gender was an achieved status that was constructed through psychological, cultural, and social means. Although there are many distinctions in biology between males and females, this does not change how gender is shaped in the lives of people. Candace West and Don H. Zimmerman believe that gender is not a set of traits, nor a role, but the product of social doings. They claim that gender itself is constituted through interaction. A case study that demonstrates this is about Agnes, a transsexual who was raised as a boy. At age 17 Agnes underwent a sex reassignment operation. Agnes wanted to adapt as a woman, in order to do that she needed to learn what it is
Growing in an East African household, traditionally the male figure in the home takes on a more dominant role, specifically being the breadwinner and also making final decisions after hearing advice from his wife. I grew up with my father as my role model and followed in his footsteps. I was influenced from a young age by the way he did everything which is what made me the man I am today. He also taught me that growing up as an African male in Canada, I would receive racial prejudice and discrimination. He knew this because that is what he went through when he arrived in Canada. Just like how my gender construction was influenced by my race and ethnicity, I am sure many other people of different ethnicities were raised differently and were influenced in different ways than I
We live in a society today that is so judgemental when it comes to anything we do. When I was growing up it was clear that society was not open to anything other than what is “natural”, being either male or female. This meant that people wouldn’t feel comfortable “doing gender” especially if they knew they would get criticized. In the case of Agnes, the transexual raised as a boy, she lacked the the social resources a girl’s biography would presumably provide in everyday interaction. Agnes was trying her best to display herself as a woman after her sex reassignment operation, she had to consciously contrive what most woman do without thinking according to Garfinkel. Agnes was clearly trying to fit in as a woman in order to avoid being criticised for her decision to change her gender. The pressures of society’s expectations doesn’t only affect those who have made a gender change like Agnes, but people who are confused about their gender and are uncomfortable talking about