PERFORMANCES

Lyssette V. Buquiran
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:

 Explains gendered social patterns as a consequences of social interaction;

 Understands the complex sets of gendered expectations; and
 Acquires an understanding of a gendered sense of self.
HOW TO DO GENDER
Doing gender
= a phrase use to describe the ways in which we actively obey and break gender rules.
Gender Rules
= are instructions for how to appear and behave as a man and woman.
= the social construct of gender restated in the form of an instruction.
 Every day we do thousand of things that signal masculinity or femininity and we do them according to
gender rules.

Many of us learn a huge variety of gender rules implicitly, gradually absorbing them as we become
increasingly acculturated into our families, communities and societies. Some rules are rigid (man and
eyeshadow are big no no), while others are more flexible and negotiable (man and lip balm…maybe).

Self-consciousness about gender conformity rises because we are aware that social acceptance is at
stake.
 CROSS-CULTURAL VARIATION IN GENDER RULES
Most gender rules are simple cultural agreements.
Country Male Women
USA Physically touch each other only in Women are not allowed to expose their
ritualized ways (back slap or butt slap breasts in public
in football)

France & Argentina Men kiss on cheek when they greet one
another.

Scotland Men wear kilts

Arab Mean wear a white robe called thawb,
often with a pink-and-white covering

Belgium Pink is for boys

Japan Floral patterns in kimono is masculine Carrying a briefcase and drinking beer is not
considered feminine
European Some parts in Europe, it is perfectly
acceptable for women to sunbathe topless
LEARNING THE RULES
Age
Infancy Can tell the difference between male and female voices by 6 months
9 months Identify between men and women in photograph
1 yr Associate deep voices w/ men and high voices w/ women
2 ½ years Children know what sex they are and are “reaching out to social
norms” trying to learn the rules.
3 yrs Tend to prefer play partners of their own sex and think more positively
about their own group compared to others
LEARNING THE RULES
 All children, learn gender rules followed in their homes, but they also have to contend with an
outside world that generally affirms gender difference.
 Community and school sports are usually sex segregated, S such that girls and boys rarely play
alongside or against each other.
 As children learn that gender norms are not quite so strict, they become much more flexible
about their own and others’ conformity to gender expectations.
 Learning the rules, is a lifelong process that we actively negotiate .

Learning Model of socialization

- suggest that socialization is a lifelong process of learning and relearning gendered
expectations as well as how to negotiate them.
WHY WE FOLLOW THE RULES
Habit
 We follow gender rules because they are part of our culture.
 “Overlearned” – frequently repeated behaviors, they are learned not only by our minds but our bodies
that we no longer need to think about it.
Pleasure
 Following gender rules can be quite pleasurable
 The feeling you get when enjoy dressing up because you look nice and other people will admire you.
 Pleasure of doing gender can come from doing gender in defiant way.

Observation
 We follow rules simply because we are being observed.
 Doing gender isn’t necessarily a part of who we are but rather something we perform when others are
listening or watching.
WHY WE FOLLOW THE RULES
Policing
 Breaking them can attract negative attention.
Gender Policing – describe responses to the violation of gender rules aimed at promoting
conformity.
 When we are policed, we are being taught that negative consequences will follow if we fail to learn
the rules and follow them, at least when someone is watching.
 When a person breaks the gender rule and is then subjected to demand for them to give an account,
an explanation for why the person broke the rule that works to excuse his or her behavior.
HOW TO BREAK THE RULES
 Breaking gender rules is routine.
 Sometimes we break the rules because it is impossible to follow them.
 Other times, rules are downright contradictory.
 Breaking the rules can be fun, empowering, and rewarding
The risks of breaking a rule may be outweighed by the value of doing something you want or nudging the
world toward a future society you’d lie to see.
We can break gender rule as long as we offer a “good” excuse, one that affirms the rule that is being
broken.
THE NO. 1 GENDER RULE
 Do Gender,
 If you want to treated like an integrated member of the society– a person whom
other want to know, work with, play with, and love– doing gender is some
recognizable way is compulsory.
 If you do not do gender, you become culturally unintelligible. You will be so
outside the symbolic meaning system that people will not know how to interact
with you.
 Ex.
 Trans women like Caitlin Jenner can avoid some policing by following the gender
rules that newly apply to them.
 THANK YOU
Wade,L. & Ferree M.M. Gender ideas.interactions.institutions. 2nd
ed. United states. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.