Assumption of Gender

Roles-Lead to Conflict
By: Haven Girmendonk

November 23, 2016

In many cultures, a persons sex is understood to be our biological make-up, while

gender is understood to have been created by our societal surroundings.
There have been many controversial, complex situations in which people argue
and reflect these facts and ideas.
In a very famous essay by Judith Butler, Performative Acts and Gender
Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory, she discusses the
construction of identity, what happens if one is to break these constructions, and solutions
to this self-made problem.
The construction of identity starts at birth. You are either blue or pink; boy or girl.
Once you are branded as male or female, your identity comes from the world in which
you grow up in and observe. To be within the social norms of gender, there is a certain
way one must dress, act, talk, walk, eat, sit, etc. In Judith Butlers essay she describes
these completed actions as a performative accomplishment. To know that you have
followed the orders of society gives one a successful feeling, in which they are not
abnormal. If followed, these norms are seen in every day society and approved of by
the average population. They shape someones experiences and actions. If broken, then

norms have automatically distorted societies view on differences and are looked at as
negative and toxic.
When we think about the construction of these gender and identity roles, what
would happen if they were to be broken or manipulated? Our initial reaction is judgment
and punishment towards that person. Butler created these assumptions in her essay for
one of many reasons, but for a more personal connection, she herself is a lesbian which
disconnects her from her gender role. This automatically connects her to the struggle of
post judgment after breaking a norm and corrupting the conformed society in which we
all live in and created. Butler states that as women, we materialize oneself in obedience
to an historically delimited possibility. If a woman is in a relationship, there are set
gender roles in which the man supports her, while she depends on him. Most women
force themselves into believing they do not need to pay for the dinner bill, they get doors
opened for them, they are the fragile and emotional ones. If a woman were to redirect
these ideas between genders, it would more than likely cause insecurity and loss of
masculinity from the man.
Within women culture and social structures, a woman is given this name and title
but through certain circumstances, can also be placed into this challenging category.
Politically speaking, Butler feels as though women must be given a definition first only
until those can claim it to be socially constructed to begin with. To be a woman isto
be in an oppressed situation, claims that a larger, more official group of people view us
to be subject to harsh and authoritarian treatment. This relates back to the relationship
status a woman has and how it is regularly viewed by males and females. To void
attention off women, men face a very demanding and forceful role today as well.
Although Butler focuses on the role of women more so than men in many of her
statements, the ideas and concepts remain mutual throughout her essay. The
transformation of social relations becomes a matter, then, of transforming hegemonic
social conditions reflects the political and social context of ruling and domination
within society. To make it so that males do not always have to carry on the male role
and females do not always have to carry on the female role, there needs to be a switch
in the hegemonic description to change the association we tie to these characters.
Although there is not one set of binding solutions to the issue of gendering, Butler
brings her readers attention to us being the problem, rather than them. We need to
relate gender with an individuals personal wants and needs, because what one does is not
dependent on what gender they are but rather who they are and what they know thus far.
She claims that gender reality is performative and it is real only to the extent that it is
performed. This easily supports her view on how to change gendering. If one is male or
female, there sex does not relate to the gender in which they do things for either the
public or themselves. Keeping in mind that there are different genders and we all vary
from each other, the differences in gender can connect people in ways we as a society and
culture could not have imagined.

Being a young, female,

college student, there are
many things I have been told
to do and not do because of
my gender. Many females in
my position have experienced
gender interactions and judged
them based on the social
situation and circumstances.
One of the first things we
learned starting our college
careers was to beware of rape
culture, talk to someone when
needed, and stick together.
This automatically drew attention to the role of females and how much we vary from
males. Of course, conversations such as these do not focus strictly on women, it is
directed more towards this group based on the characteristics of our gender. For example,
a handful of my peers are young, petite, educated women but have been blinded from the
real world.
Although this does not apply to everyone who affiliates themselves with the
female gender, it is the stereotype which has lingered itself onto the name. This
immediately throws women into a pool of threats and vulnerability which men do not
find themselves in, as often as females might. We have been warned to not wear certain
things because it may attract attention of the wrong people, or drag you into unwanted,
dangerous situations. We have been warned to not walk alone late at night because we are
most fragile and weak at that point. We have been warned not to talk or sit like a man
because its unladylike. We have been warned not to lose our hourglass figures because
it is unattractive. We have been warned that if we are ever more successful than a man,
we are intimidating the opposing gender. These warnings were created to separate women
from men and show the differences in which we must operate and function. Women
have come a long way; seeing us travel through the plaza of UNM, but we have not been
created equal. Women on campus are still being slut shamed, still being judged for their
dos and donts and targeted by a larger population of males.
Because there is such a large gap between men and women, especially on a college
campus, voices may not be heard, and what we all most famously know is, actions speak
louder than words. If gender is the cause for women facing a larger attack on rape culture
and roofied drinks, we need to re-evaluate Judith Butlers ideas and points. There is a
negative impact from those who view gender as an immediate reflection of ones actions
and thoughts.

As for men, rape culture, stereotypes, pressure and gendering is very much real.
There may not be a publicized version of their experiences and outlooks but it cannot go
unnoticed. Thinking about this in a gendering sense is slightly unavoidable because men
and women are portrayed very different in this sense. This can relate back to Butlers
points about not assuming someones gender based on their actions or situations. Men
have equally been victimized and shamed in their own ways, yet relatable to the issues
we face today. They have had their warnings, they have experienced the punishments of
not being man enough, strong enough, tough enough, being too emotional, but Butlers
point on hegemonic has become a barrier to any solution.
Judith Butler, along with many other men and women, have been trying to make
an impact on various genders by focusing on the problems and creating healthy solutions.
Genders vary in many ways and can influence someones decision, but one cannot
assume their gender, following up with their decision. We must remember as a society
that everyone is a victim of something and everyone has individual characteristics that
shape who they have become and where they will end up.