link between Gender and Culture

Gender and Culture
Gender is an important and essential construct in human beings. Throughout generations gender has remained central to the family unit. Normative conditions have always dictated perceptions and expectation with respect to the masculinity of men and femininity of women. Authors like Butler have argued that gender is not an automatic or mechanical construct and that gender authoring should be acceptable and normal. Factually speaking gender is a huge aspect of life that determines how people are recognized and accepted. In the film Zerophilia, Luke struggles with identity due to his condition that allows him to switch between genders after an orgasm. Borrowing from the Film, any unique gender construct will inevitably cause a lot of confusion and possibly affect the life of the victim negatively. This discourse analyzes the different perspectives concerning gender from Butler, Woolf and Horney. It will be deduced that gender fundamentally influences the position, desires and human perceptions towards life. Gender will be seen as a quintessential concept of life.
To what extent are human beings first and foremost defined by gender? Judith Butler (301-316) reflects on issues of sexuality and gender. She focuses on intersex, transgender, incest taboo, social violence, psychoanalysis and what social transformation does etc. Butler analyzes the social norms that dictate and those that do not dictate sexuality and gender in relation to the factors that place constraints on what is the acceptable and recognizable personhood (301-316). Butler also considers the performativity of gender with respect to gender trouble. Butler is obviously a critique of the norms that dictate and govern gender. She states that gender norms are encapsulated in human survival and persistence framework. In order for someone to do their gender in a given way they may have to undo the dominant personhood perceptions advanced by the society. Butler considers the “new gender politics” (302) that have become prevalent in recent times and the relationship it has with queer and feminist theory.
Butler considers what it means to reverse or undo the restrictive and normative gender and sex concepts. It is true that the normative conception about gender can reverse personhood and undermine the ability of people to preserve livable life. The undoing of normative restrictions can overrule previous conceptions about newer normative perceptions that make better livability a target. In other words, if gender happens to be a doing or a persistent activity executed without knowledge or will, this cannot be used as the premise on which people consider gender as mechanical or automatic. Butler argues that gender and sexuality are, contrary to normative restrictions, improvisations within some constraint. Furthermore, a person does not do their gender in complete exclusion of others people’s genders. Gender is only done for or with others even when the other person(s) is imaginary. What is to be considered someone’s gender exists only as something a person authors or owns. The conditions that constitute the gender of a person are beyond and outside a person inside. The idea that someone can author gender in a society that is opposed to the suggestion that gender can be authored is to some incomprehensible.
Although assuming a given gender does not necessarily mean that someone’s desires will be skewed in a given way it is worth conceding that there are desires that define a given gender. Butler discusses the David Reimer’s situation where the person was reassigned their gender medically into a female following a circumcision procedure that went wrong (Butler 301-316). After the gender reassignment procedure David changed his name to Brenda although he never grew as a female. Afterwards David rediscovers his masculinity and lives life as a man. This example speaks to the performativity of gender. Although Butler argues that gender is exercised without active consciousness, the performativity of gender cannot be considered as mechanical or automatic. According to Butler human desires may not primarily originate from their personhood but from the social norms that have been accepted. Butler contextualizes the social norms by arguing that ideas that are imposed on human beings by the social culture can restrain a person from enjoying viable life due to the concern that they might not be accepted by the society if their desires are different from those that are considered normal. According to Butler (301-316) there is an urge for human beings to feel recognized in order for then to live normally. The conditions set for being recognized may cause life to become unlivable. Butler proposes that these normative conditions should be interrogated in order to afford people an opportunity to resist them and hence increase their chances of facing a more livable life.
From the arguments of Butler normative restrictions on gender can hinder the livability of life. Personhood, according to Butler, should be recognizable and acceptable. This is not to say that people cannot have their unique personhood that is not in conformity with the normative conditions. In fact, Butler argued that gender is not mechanical or automatic and that gender can indeed be authored. Butler also argues that gender is important in shaping the way a person is perceived by the society. Indeed gender influences communication and decision making. On the other hand Virginia Woolf explores the misogyny that artistic women have endured from the 19th century renaissance (223-233). Woolf captures the misogyny through Shakespeare’s imaginary sister. In her book Woolf explains that way women were discouraged from pursuing art. During this time women were as having no value other than bearing children and taking care of the home. The gender discrimination has been experienced in many societies especially in areas such as education, awareness and status, and the socio-economic environment.
Women are still more restrained to their domestic duties that rob them of the opportunity to exercise their artistic selves. Women are not lesser than men in their artistic abilities but the problem is that women have continuously received inferior training. Women have also been perceived negatively by the society and the family and for this reason they have found it hard to penetrate the markets. The achievement of women in art is strongly associated with availability of opportunities. Most reputable creative and artistic women have outstanding education in art or had extraordinary support from the family. Given the fact that the support for women to pursue art has been dependent it is clear that women would have achieved much more if there was a level playing field. As deduced from Virginia Woolf gender has been an important aspect that has shaped that way the world interacts and communicates with one another. Gender has been an essential aspect of personhood and has influenced normative conditions. Gender cannot therefore be viewed as a suit or piece of cloth that can be changed at will. Normative conditions have hindered people who feel different from expressing their true self for fear of not being recognized and accepted. This said though normative conditions should be challenged in order to allow people who are unique to have a livable life.
Karen Horney (773-782) explores the relationship problems that exist between women and men. According to Horney most of the problems and suspicions come from emotional intensity. People feel insecure if they are forced to put their trust and faith in a single person. Self-preservation, according to Horney, is a human instinct. People fear losing their true self in the people they love. According to Horney, children who go through painful experiences such as being lied to and being betrayed often view themselves as second class family members. The child lets out their anger and fury through exaggerated fantasies. The fantasies will often be criminal destructive and brutal. The child is not able to understand the destructive force in them. Similarly Horney argues that little girls who contain their wishes due to their guilty conscience grow up projecting those wishes on all men. Such girls will keep away from demanding or accepting anything from their husbands. The situation will make the girls depressed and hence cause them to blame the man for their helplessness. The notion of being helpless allows the woman to dominate their husband. Horney explores the psychology of men and women’s attachment to deep emotions. In essence Horney (773-782) underscores the different factors that differentiate gender.
Zerophilia, a romantic comedy movie, speaks about a man who had a genetic disorder that allowed them to switch between sexes after an orgasm. This made the man, Luke, to become insecure with their masculinity. Dr. Sydney persuades the man to undergo full transformation into a woman. Afterwards Luke finds it hard to change into a man even with some coaching. Luke, now Luca, has an encounter with Max that allows him to transform back into a man. The transformation is quite threatening to Luke especially by the fact that he is aroused by a man. Questions of sexual identity linger in Luke’s mind. Although this is just a fictional movie it speaks a lot to the normative conditions in the society that leave Luke confused and hungry for answers.
If I was to switch gender for a brief period it would essentially not change who I am although it would leave me conflicted with social norms. Like Luke, the situation will put me at odds with the society and eager to get recognized and accepted. The urge to be accepted would indeed change my behavior and life especially bearing in mind that gender authoring is yet to become a social norm. In summary, gender is a fundamental social construct that defines human interactions. Although gender authoring is possible it negates the fundamental principles that define human perception and normative conditions of life.
Works Cited
Butler, Judith. Undoing Gender. New York: Routledge, 2009. Print.
Woolf, Virginia. Shakespeare's Sister. New York: Perfection Learning Corporation, 2000. Print.
Horney, Karen. The distrust between the sexes. n.d.
Curland, Martin. Zerophilia. Directed and written by Martin Curland, starring Taylor Handley, Dustin Seavey, and Alison Folland. IMDB, 2005.