1

Masculinity and femininity are not fixed cultural categories. Discuss this statement and examine what is significant about
the ways in which gender differences are constructed in popular culture.

Gender, masculinity and femininity are social constructs, they are formed often through ideologies in popular culture. Cultural
category is a theory looked upon by Grant McCracken (1986), he defined cultural categories as the basic distinctions that a
culture uses to divide up the phenomenal world in the case of this essay, the part of the phenomenal world I am focussing
upon is gender, what separates man from woman. The Oxford English Dictionary makes sure to note that gender is typically
used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones. There has been much written on sexism in
popular culture, particularly in areas of TV and film, most argue that women are misrepresented in popular culture, I shall ex-
amine these claims with the help of multiple theories and also look at what the purpose of this misrepresentation is. First I will
explore if gender is fixed around the world in different cultures and then I shall focus on if there have been any changes in
gender roles over the generations looking at both sides of the argument. I shall continue to inquire the point of view that gen-
der is becoming blurred. Finally I shall explore popular culture and pinpoint how and why these constructs are being instilled
into the mindset of todays society.

Hirschberg & Hirschberg (2002) defined gender as society's idea of what it means to be male or female,of the appropriate roles
for each sex to play. Gender is not to be confused with sex a term that describes a purely biological difference. Certain be-
haviours and actions are set to fit a certain gender, this is when masculinity and femininity are introduced. Masculinity being the
behaviours/actions associated with men and femininity being those expected of women.
Being a member of a society we are constantly surrounded by how things are in our world, we have opinions on how things
should be but we are incorporated into surroundings where certain things already are a certain way. For example, in gender
roles, the traditionalist view, that a womans place is in the home, this view is long outdated but even so, this idea (of a wom-
ans place being in the kitchen) is still implemented into the minds of both genders through our upbringings and environments.


General idealisations of women across all cultures, countries and continents are that they are caring, loving, beautiful and nur-
turing. Words congruous with masculinity and the male gender include strong, handsome and clever. Are these words only syn-
onymous with a single gender though?

2
In England and most other countries around the world, women are expected to be the child nurturing figure, it has been that
way for a while, maternal bond is a phrase that has been used to describe this connection between child and mother. In so
far as a baby becomes interested in and attached to a human figure, especially mother, this is the result of the mother meeting
the baby's physiological needs and the baby in due course learning that she is the source of gratification. (Bowlby, 1958) This
quote goes on to describe how there is not just a mental relationship between mother and child but also a physical one. But in
recent times, this role of the female gender has undergone a slight reversal, men are becoming more and more influential in the
early stages of their child's life and women are becoming primary earners in the household. Compare this to Japan though where
gender inequality persists in family life. A common Japanese proverb that continues to influence gender roles is good wife,
wise mother. The proverb reflects the still customary social belief , encouraged by men and women alike, that it is in the
womans, her childrens, and societies best interest for her to stay home and devote herself to her children. (Boundless, 2013)
This shows that the associated roles of a gender around the world are not fixed but are variable and constantly subvert, even if
they are in the same time period.
Over time gender has arguably become less of a fixed category. Men have taken roles typically associated with women such as
nurses and receptionists while women have moved into roles that were taken by men such as doctors and accountancy jobs. This
inversion of dominance in a certain area of work goes against the argument that gender is a fixed cultural category as it says
that not only men/women can do this job, either gender can.
The first accounts of women in India tell an ancient time when women were held in high esteem followed by a long time when
their status declined (Forbes, 1999). In India in this early time women were at equal status with men and were free to make
their own choice on who they should marry, this state though, quickly deteriorated. In the medieval times, women faced great
struggle, it was in this period where Indian women were being forced into marriage without any say in this so called wedded
bliss. Undeterred by the modernisation of Indian women and culture, arranged marriage has remained a constant in the Indian
culture. This shows that women are still possibly being held back by socially by strong traditional views and suggests that gender
is a fixed cultural category.
Further evidence of gender being fixed is that even in this modern age some cultures are still lagging behind when it comes to
gender equality. Despite having a female president, Chile, shown by a 2010 study, are against gender equality. The study was
carried out by the United Nations Development Programme and it exposed that 62% of Chileans are against gender equality. This
means that the majority of Chiles population dont think that women should have equal rights in the workplace, at home and in
general life.
Personally i see gender becoming blurred. Actions and characteristics that were once only associated men are now associated
with women and vice versa (as explored previously). Geert Hofstede states here is no sign of convergence of country cultures

3
in the direction of more masculinity, nor in the direction of more femininity (1998). This quote indicates that gender is harmo-
nising and meeting in the middle rather than going one way or the other. Further proof of this can be found within fashion. Sil-
houettes, cuts and shapes that were typically associated with women have now began to enter the world of menswear with long
and oversized cuts, sometimes resembling dresses being walked down runways of fashion houses like Givenchy and Rick Owens.
Things such as pant suits deriving from the mens suit are an option for women and once only worn by men, trousers. All of the
clothing pieces give this impression of genderless fashion.

Gender is one of the most effective means of social control. From birth we are enculturated into a dual gender system, rein-
forced by all major institutions (Ramet,1996). One of the major institutions which construct gender is popular culture.
The first injustice women are done in media forms such as TV and film is simply the lack of women are in these forms of popular
culture. In Helen Ingrams essay The Portrayal of Women on Television she noted there is a higher number of women in the
population than men, so if television is more realistic, this should be reflected. Yet women are typically seen less often than
men on television and much less frequently in central dramatic roles (1995). Notably if we look at who is producing this imbal-
ance we find that men are more often than not the producers of TV and film. Statistics from San Diegos State U.s Center for
the Study of Women in Television and Film say that in 2011 only 5% of the top grossing 250 films were directed by a woman. Pre-
senting women as the sub-gender leaves them underrepresented, lacking identity in popular culture. The poverty of identity
which women are left with is one that has been looked upon again and again by researchers. Women characters are presented in
a sexualised way or passive and submissive to male characters. This state of affairs in popular culture has led to the devising of
the Bechdel Test. This test identifies gender bias in film and poses three questions that must all be answered yes to, to pass.
The questions are are there two or more women in the movie with names? Do they talk to each other? and Do they talk
about something other than a man? The findings of this test only prove to a greater extent the bias within the film genre and
popular culture as a whole.
The purpose of reinforcing these dominant ideologies is frequently due to the fear of going against the grain and what will be
the consequences of doing so. The phrase sex sells is all too simplistic to describe the negative use of women in the media,
there are more subtle and intertwining features which are having a large impact on society, particularly in the ways women
view themselves and how the opposite gender views them.
Having explored the cultural categorisation of gender roles in different cultures and over different generations I see it evident
that masculinity and femininity are not fixed roles, they are a constant variable. In fact, due to them being so variable I see a
synergy of gender in modern times, no one thing is associated with only one gender. Popular culture plays a large and vitally im-

4
portant role in the way that society views gender but even though it often places one gender above the other, society is reach-
ing the realisation that the media isn't a reflection of society.


References
Bowlby, J. (1958) The Nature of The Child's Tie To His Mother. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 39, 1-23.
Boundless. (2013) Sociology, Published Online: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
Forbes, G. (1999) Women In Modern India, Cambridge: Press Syndicate Of University of Cambridge
Hirschberg, S & Hirschberg, T. (2002) Every Day, Everywhere: Global Perspectives on Popular Culture, Boston: McGraw-Hill
Humanities
Hofstede, G (1998) Masculinity and Femininity: The Taboo Dimensions of National Cultures, California: Sage Publications
Ingham, H. (1995). The portrayal of women on Television. Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates: Mahwah, NJ, Retrieved from http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/hzi9401.html

McCracken, G. (1986) Culture and Consumption: A Theoretical Account of the Structure and Movement of the Cultural
Meaning of Consumer Goods, Bloomington: Indiana University Press
Ramet, S. (1996) Gender Reversals & Gender Cultures: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives, London: Routledge