He noted that they include the following; naturalness, practicalness, thinness, accessibleness and immethodicalness. In conclusion, he noted that common sense is a by product, waste or what is left behind after art, science, law, ideology, religion, mathematics, technology and even epistemology and ethics have been exhausted by our minds.
Hebrige (1979) perspective of culture
Hebrige (1979) noted that our perception of style is actually a subculture in itself.
A summary and analysis of Hebrige's (1979) work on subculture
Hebrige (1979) began his work by saying that people communicate through their clothes. He noted that style is an intentional form of communication as earlier noted by Eco (1973).Subculture is also noted to be a cycle that leads from opposition to diffusion. Style is noted be a subculture that has its own codes of display. He noted that style is a subculture of conspicuous consumption. Style is also projected to be primitive (bricolage). Style is a subculture of revolt.
A comparing and contrasting of the works of Geertz (2000) and Hebrige (1979)
A review of the works of Geertz (2000) and Hebrige (1979) indicates that both believe that subculture is a social construction and represents a fight between primitive and non-primitive forces. They both believe that subculture is an opposition and revolt. The difference in their work is that Geertz (2000) believe that subculture is something that is subconsciously assimilated. Hebrige (1979) on the other hand believes that it is intentional.
Q2. Gender as a cultural construction
The concept of gender is noted by Chandorow (1995) to be both a personal and social construction. The cultural construction of gender is very evident in most literature. The very idea that various gender characteristics are never inborn and are rather constructed within each and every culture means that gender is a cultural construction (Hebrige, 1979). For instance, we see that all cultures do recognize two sexes; male and female. They also recognize two genders; feminine and masculine.
Alternative gender roles
Several societies have different...
In Indian, they are called Hijra.This is an alternative gender role that in conceptualized to be neither man nor woman.To say that gender is reconstructed is to mean that the masculine and feminine members of the society have very different meanings as well as associated behaviors in different cultures of the world. For instance, in cultural sexual behaviors, there are exotic sexual behaviors. Prior to learning how to Kiss from the Europeans, the Tahitians started practicing sexual intimacy through sniffing each other.
The concept of homosexuality and culture also indicates the cultural; construction of gender (Hebrige, 1979)..For instance, adolescent boys in the Sambia region usually have homosexual relationships as an integral part of their initiation.later on is when they enter into heterosexual marriages when they achieve adulthood.
Sexuality and culture
Different cultures also have different ages when sexuality begins and ends.They also have different ways of making they attractive. The importance of sexual activity also differs. For instance, in the Inis Beag Society: Ireland, women are expected to as much as possible endure sex while refusing sexual intercourse is regarded as a mortal sin.
Conclusion
Gender is therefore a construction of culture since the various behaviors and roles are different across different cultures
References
Eco, U. (1973). Social life as a sign system. In Structuralism: An introduction, edited by David Robey, 57 -- 72. Oxford, UK: Clarendon.
Geertz, C. (2000).Common sense as a cultural system.In.Local Knowledge.Further Essay on the interpretation of Anthropology.New York:Basic Books
Hebdige, D.(1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. London: Methuen.
Herzog, a.,Mitchell, J and Soccio, L (1999).Interrogating Subcultures. An ELECTRONIC JOURNAL for VISUAL STUDIES. Available online at http://www.rochester.edu/in_visible_culture/issue2/introduction.htm
