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Berger, Butler, and Waring provide unique and distinct perspectives on gender, sex, and power. Feminism is almost by definition a study of power and inequality, given the prevalence and pervasiveness of patriarchy worldwide. To dismantle patriarchy, it is first necessary to recognize and articulate its many manifestations. Berger’s analysis of the visual arts touches on the concept of the male gaze, central to the perpetuation of patriarchy. The male gaze is only one way of seeing, and yet it has come to dominate verbal and non-verbal discourse. Moreover, Berger’s analysis shows how the male gaze impacts individual and collective female identity construction. Women have come to see themselves through the male gaze, and need to take back control of their own self-concept in order to completely shed the shackles of patriarchy. While Berger focuses on the female nude in visual art, the principles discussed in the documentary are equally applicable to popular culture, marketing, and the media. Women aspire to be like the images that men have presented to them: a female in idealized form, constructed to suit predominant male appetites. The objectification of the female body also reinforces the double standards established for women.
The bridge between Berger and Butler is the concept of performativity. Berger shows how the male gaze stimulates gender performativity, in that women viewing the constructed images of feminine identity perform or re-enact that identity for societal approval and indeed, self-approval. Ironically, even subversive...
In “Imitation and Gender Insubordination,” Butler shows how gays and lesbians also participate in performativity, albeit in differential and perhaps more complex ways than the gendered heteronormativity that Berger discusses. For example, drag is the performance of stereotypical gender. Yet drag is social commentary, a politically empowering act of re-owning gender tropes and re-communicating those tropes in subversive ways. Drag is one possible solution to the trap set by the male gaze. However, Butler also warns against the construction of either gender or sexual orientation that recognizes or values the power of heteronormativity. Butler also refers to the concept of “psychic mimesis,” the subconscious acting out of gendered or sexualized roles, norms, and identities. Insofar as personal identity is always going to involve some degree of relativity, it is extremely difficult to develop a self-concept (whether gendered or sexual) that is not relational.
Whereas Berger critiques the male gaze and Butler analyzes the implications of “compulsory heterosexuality,” (318) Waring shifts the focus to macro sociological issues in a discussion of gender and economics. Waring recognizes that women’s labor is systematically and deliberately devalued in ways that perpetuate patriarchal political, social, and economic institutions. Devaluing female labor makes it possible to maintain power over women, who become painted as dependents and…
References
Berger, J. (1977). Selection from Ways of Seeing
(British Broadcasting Corporation
Butler, J. (1991). Imitation and Gender Insubordination” In The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader (Routledge, 1993) pp. 307-20
Waring, M. (1988). A Woman’s Reckoning. In If Women Counted. HarperCollins, pp. 14-45.
Pecola Breedlove's experiences in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye symbolize the internalization of sexism and racism. On the contrary, Anita Hill's willingness to stand up and speak out against a powerful male official represents the externalization of sexism and racism. Anita Hill lacks the self-hatred embodied by the character of Pecola, but in spite of her confidence and poise, lacks the power or wherewithal to undermine institutionalized sexism. Although Hill
Moreover, in addition to narrowing the purview of human sexuality to groups within the larger society, the sociocultural aspect examines social norm influences including the effects of external factors such as mass media or politics. These movements can assist in bring about significant and widespread changes in the social norm, such as the sexual revolution and the advent of feminism. Overview of Theory and Practice Theories regarding gender and sexuality date
Gender is often considered an immutable trait, linked inextricably to the biological sex one was born with. However, research over the past several decades in a multitude of fields including anthropology, psychology, and sociology shows that gender is socially constructed and not innate. Gender is projected onto children before they are fully cognizant of their surroundings, dressed in gendered clothes and channeled into gendered activities. A child is rarely free
Gender is socially constructed. Whereas biological sex can be considered immutable in most cases, gender is mainly constructed to indicate role function and status. From birth, children are classified into the gender binary, as being male or female. Male children are socialized differently from female children, leading to distinct differences in the ways those children perceive themselves and are perceived by others. Whether through subtle or overt controls, gender norms
57). Coker's article (published in a very conservative magazine in England) "reflected unease among some of his colleagues" about that new course at LSEP. Moreover, Coker disputes that fact that there is a female alternative to male behavior and Coker insists that "Whether they love or hate humanity, feminists seem unable to look it in the face" (Smith quoting Coker, p. 58). If feminists are right about the female nature being
439). However, Johnson (n.d.) offers an optimistic view showing how patriarchy may be dismantled even in systems in which it appears to be pervasive, such as the military. In "Unraveling the Gender Knot," Johnson (n.d.) points out that it is a myth that gender disparity is inevitable and immutable. In fact, social systems are malleable and changeable. Change begins with "awareness and training about issues of privilege," according to Johnson