Prior to “Biology of Gender” I always viewed the world as having two “genders” or what I believed to be gender. In my mind there were men and there were women. I was taught to believe that these roles were defined by the sexual genitalia the individual was born with. Not only was I not using the term “gender” correctly, but it is a much more complicated concept than I could have ever anticipated. Beginning with artifact 1 my entire perspective on humans identities began to change.
In artifact 1 we were asked to distinguish the difference between sex and gender. As stated above, my prior belief of gender was incorrect, gender does not refer to the biology of the individual. Gender refers to how a person psychologically identifies themselves.Our idea of gender is believed to be a social construct. This was explained to us at the very beginning of BI-218 using a “gender bread man.” This chart gave students the oppurtunity to distinguish how they felt sexually, emotionally, and companionship wise. The significant part is, that not all the answers on the “gender break man” had to align to either specific “gender” that society has created.
What I believed to be “gender” was in fact the sex of the individual. “Sex” is the scientific term used in reference to the physically parts someone is born with. This is where the terms man and woman fits most properly, not coinciding the word gender. The focus of this artifact was to teach us and our readers that someone’s identity goes much deeper than their physical makeup. A fact that I found this extremely insightful. I furthered my research into this gender phenomena in my second artifact on the Fa’afaine of the Samoan culture.
Gender equality and rights has been a hot topic in recent United States news . Recent acts such as passing equal marriage laws has brought some peace to those who are treated like they do not fit into culture “norms.” Members of the LGBTQ community in the United states still have a ways to go in society but thankfully large strides have been made. We can see these positive strides in other areas of the world as well. In my second artifact I spoke of the Fa’afaine culture in Samoa. This concept initially confused me but in the end I found it to be fascinating and was glad that I had the opportunity to research it.
In the both the Fa’afaine culture and the Igbo culture in Nigeria (referenced from artifact #3) social roles and jobs are determined entirely by sex. In some ways this is similar to culture in the United States. This difference is , the United states has drastically evolved and has begun to allow woman to create their own paths in life. Because of the world I have been raised in these issues is not something that has crossed my mind. That is, until I did further research on the topic itself. This evolution of society is not something that can be seen in the two cultures mentioned above.
In Samoan culture having a daughter in the family is essential. When there is not a daughter in the family the mother can often become overwhelmed with the “womanly ” duties. In this case the mother will typically chose a son, usually the youngest, who is designated as the daughter and given the womanly jobs. This is something that I disagreed with. Not only because the separation of roles is entirely sexist, but because it forces a young man to live the life of a woman regardless of how he associates.
This practice is no different than society forcing children to solely associate with the sex they are born as. In one of the Fa’afaine films a man recalls being tormented as a child because he was chosen by his mother to fill the role of Fa’afaine. Other young boys pulled down his pants and called him a little girl when he actually identified as a young man despite being forced to fulfill the role as a woman. It was this forced behavior that shaped the rest of his life. On the other end of this cultural practice there are young men who chose to live this life because of the way they identify. In this sense it is a positive because the culture is already accustomed to seeing men in this position. The key conclusion that was reached during this artifact was that regardless of the role men and women decided to fulfill it has to be a personal CHOICE.
Earlier in this essay I mentioned the Igbo tribe of Nigeria and their gender roles from Artifact 3. This culture both fascinated and impressed me. This is one of very few cultures in that area of the world which allows women to have some level of independence. When we typically think of gender defined roles we imagine women stuck in the household cooking and cleaning while men play the role of “bread winners” and take care of the majority of social interaction and finances. This is not the case in the Igbo tribe. The woman of the tribe are solely responsible for all financial decisions and transactions. Not only does this allow woman to have some money of their own, but they learn different dialects and languages necessary to interact with people. This is a huge step in the right direction for the woman of this culture and hopefully will influence those around it. It gave me a sliver of hope for those other woman.
Lastly there is the way woman are treated in regards to menstruation. There were no positives outside of the United States that I studied or came across in class. In artifact 5 I addressed the terrible social stigmas that many third world countries associate with menstruation. In multiple villages we saw film of women being forced to live together in miniature huts while they menstruate because they men find them to be “disgusting,” or “unclean.” They even went as far as to claim that if a woman goes near the livestock during this time of the month they will all die and the village will starve. This is due to a lack of education and willingness to learn. This research made me feel exceptionally thankful for living in the society that I do.
Overall I think taking this course was a well spent month of summer school . Not just because it fulfilled a credit requirement, but because it opened by eyes up to the big picture. We live in a society where woman are slowly becoming more “equal.” We have rights that other women around the world could only dream of having. It is because of this that woman in positions similar to ours have a responsibility to try to help improve the lifestyles of other woman around the world. This is the major benefit I received from taking Biology of Gender.