Social Construction Of Gender

In order to understand the social construction of gender, one must first know what a social construct is. According to Oxford Dictionary, a social construct is a, “theoretical approach which regards human experience and knowledge as originating within cultivated social groups” Oxford Press December 16. In other words, a construct is nearly a reality that most individuals follow based on custom, habit, and symbols, that are imbedded in a specific culture. Moreover, the basic theories of a social construction are generally applied to the cultural oppositions pertaining to human life. However, the social construction of gender is controversial, since there are many understandings of gender, and what it consists of cross-culturally. This essay
A binary is defined as a discourse, which conforms a gender identity to be either “male” or “female” (Tilsen and Nylund 48). This binary theory is founded mainly upon human sexual organs, and is generally tied to heterosexuality as a normative sexual preference in society. The notion of the binary system holds a particular transgressive attitude towards social identify, where humans are constantly being observed as only two options of gender representations. Moreover, if someone is not able to “do” their gender correctly, they are seen as failure in relation to the dominant structural status, and are viewed as an abnormal or different beings (West and Zimmerman). A binary suggests that gender is simple, and there are only two observations for gender representation and discloses other possibilities. The idea of a binary society arouses issues that relate to the negative perceptions of a person, for example, Caster Semeyna needed to undergo a “gender test” in order to race in the Olympics, because she did not appear “female” (Chaudhuri). To add, the identity crisis of an athletic persona is justified based on physical appearance, and how other’s perceiver her, rather than the consciousness of her own identity. To expand, Caster identified herself as a female although many would argue she has the build of a male athlete, which would give her the unfair advantage. A Western
The answer is no; other cultures have freely acknowledged the existence of “cross-genders” (West and Zimmerman). Gender is not always structural, nor is it controlled. There are cultures that accept the identity of different genders in order to limit the self-subjection, and/or the oppression of a person. Heteronormativity and the gender binary are not the only norms that construct the socialization of a gender in a certain location. In reference to the Indian culture, Hijra is considered a third gender, although similar to being identified as female, Hijras stem aside from the two pre-existing normalizations of the “male” and” female” gender (Nanda 35). To add, the performance of this gender is accepted as a separate way of living, while disclosing traditional roles that are ritual for men and women. Hijras are commonly accepted in Asian cultures since in India specifically, there is a tie to historical traditions of morphology and transformation, as it can also relate to the Goddess Bahuchara who is prosperous for her role of being the Mother Goddess (Nanda 40). Unlike Western society, the Indian culture is distant from the dominant ideals of gender, and sees diversity as something positive and normal. Without the social control, the social construction of gender can be distinguished as something