L'Heureux 1

Andrew LHeureux

Professor Ditch

English 115

27 September 2017

Above the Social Constructs

Ones sex and gender are separate and different ways to define a person. Sex is

determined by the genitalia a person possesses at birth, whereas gender is a social construct

based on the performance of a person that can be distinguished as either feminine or masculine.

Failing to realize the difference for many years and being unaware of my personal gender

performances has put me at a severe disadvantage in understanding the societal norms and

constructs that are being placed on and defining gender.

Recently, I have been taught to identify the gender performances of others and myself. I

found that I do not have a specific place that triggered my gender performance toward feminine

or masculine actions; instead, my performances are being dictated by the people I am surrounded

with. With people who I am confident around, I act in more of a masculine way, but my actions

tend to take on a subordinating role when around people who are more knowledgeable or in a

position of power above myself. This leads me to the belief that a persons gender performance

is not dictated by the specific physical location in which they are in, but rather the atmosphere of

the environment and current associates surrounding them; people may be more inclined to act in

a masculine way in comfortable settings and perform in a feminine way in cases in which they

are unfamiliar with the surrounding area.

In order for my gender performance to be masculine, I need to feel confident with the

people Im surrounded by or in the place I am in. According to Aaron Devor, in his novel,
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Becoming Members of Society, a masculine speech consists of a person who will attempt to

control the direction speak more loudly and show assertive forms throughout the flow of

the conversation (40). I find myself speaking in such ways when I am more knowledgeable

about the topic of conversation compared to those whom I am speaking. The grasp of

information provides me with more ways to enter the conversation and maintain the floor as a

speaker. Additionally, in a group of predominantly females, I am able to control the focus of the

conversation by adding quick remarks or affirmative words when I am not already speaking in

response to what they are saying. Although some remarks may outwardly appear feminine, with

words like "sister" and "girl," the underlying intention for why these phrases are presented as

masculine.

There are phrases I would say such as: theyre interchangeable, sister or You dont

have a hair dryer? Girl, Ive got a hair dryer, it can be easily overlooked as feminine verbal

style, but deeper than the words are said is the action of how the phrases are presented in the

conversation. The sayings were placed quickly after someone finished their idea and always

drew attention to me and gave me control of the conversation. Furthermore, my masculine

performance is visible in groups that I am not engaging in conversation with. At church for

instance, I am able to keep an upright, bold posture as I welcome people in or when Im on stage

playing music. The familiarity of the environment gives me the confidence to portray a gallant

figure; thus, a masculine gender performance. This is evident in church settings that are not

related with my home church. The specific location of my familiar church does not trigger the

masculine performance of gender; I am confident in a similar church environment and with my

knowledge and familiarity with the religion. Confidence, rather than specificity in a location,

triggers a masculine performance of gender, although a place that I feel confident in taking on a
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masculine performance can still be classified as a space, just outside of a building, or physical

location, itself.

On the other hand, there are many instances where my performance is more feminine.

One of the most common ways this is exemplified is through my posture I partake in during

casual conversation. Devor's article describes a feminine demeanor to arms closer to their

bodies, their legs closer together (41). In almost any setting, I find myself sitting with my

legs crossed comfortably when interacting with other people in casual conversation. This may

be interpreted as a lack of power and thus a feminine posture, as opposed to one who spreads

their arms and legs to take up the most space. For me, a compacted posture is more comfortable

in most cases. In cases of speech, I perform more feminine actions when I am purposely

showing respect towards whoever is speaking. I find myself staying quiet and intently listening

to those who are either older than me or those who are more knowledgeable on the presented

topic of the conversation. In both cases, I see myself as subordinate in the conversation and find

it appropriate to play a feminine gender role with my speech patterns. Furthermore, I find myself

more often taking the initial subordinating role in conversations with people whom I am

unfamiliar with. Upon reflection, I realized that playing the feminine part is typically non-

aggressive and is seen as more respectful. With being raised to treat everyone with at least

equitable respect with myself, I commonly show a feminine gender performance during

interactions with other people through the show of respect. In fact, the admiration of the person,

stated within the definition of respect is not always present, but the societal perspective of

respect demands a behavior: femininity. In reality, the behavior associated with acting out in a

respectful manner depicts subordinate mannerisms. Devor claims that such behavioral aspects

and tactics are consistently associated with feminine nature.

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As a male by sex and identifying as a masculine gender, I realize all the occasions in

which my performances of gender may not be identified as masculine actions. This may stem

from growing up playing with my older sisters, learning the fun in playing with dolls, dress up,

or house. Additionally, I continue to live with a mindset shared by Emily Kane in his article:

No Way My Boys Are Going to Be Like That; ones gender identity is not always linked to

their sexual identity. I grew up playing with girls more than guys, enjoying the games and

activities they did. If they danced, I danced, and I was more than confident in the fact that I still

identified as a heterosexual male. I grew up to care about fashion, style, and maintenance of

health; using hair dryers and conditioners. These practices fall under what Kane describes as

activities or attributes that could be considered icons of femininity (92). It is only recently

which I am understanding the actions that I partake in being considered a gender performance

and predominantly feminine performances. Devors argument in his article is that we are all

raised to practice gender roles which will confirm this vision of the nature of the sexes (43). To

me, it does not matter in which gender my actions fall under because I live true to myself, above

the social constructs of what a heterosexual male should act like.

Gender is performed by everyone; a choice that people make, even if they are unaware of

it. These subconscious decisions can be attributed to the influence of ones level of confidence

in their current environment and also the surrounding affiliates. Through recent evaluation of

my actions, I am able to further understand the reasons behind my responses to situations. My

fluidity in my gender performances are dependent on the fact that gender is a social construct and

not determined by sex. Therefore, the actions I take are not required to follow a certain role

because of my birth assignment. People's genders are distinguished by the actions they partake

in, cautiously or instinctively. The unconscious gender performance can be masculine or

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feminine, depending on the person's confidence and familiarity of the environment or the people

in which they are with. This reveals that physical location does not encourage the gender

performance of people, but one's personal feelings linked with the surroundings will yield a

response to masculine or feminine actions.

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Works Cited

Devor, Aaron. "Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender Composing

Gender ,1996, pp. 35-43.

Kane, Emily. "No Way My Boys Are Going to Be Like That: Parents Responses to Childrens

Gender Nonconformity Composing Gender ,1996, pp. 91-97.