my writing and arguments are by all means not perfect, i am happy if u can critically engage with it
This essay examines possible reasons for the comparatively lower rates of male individuals engaging with female associated leisure activities through the lens of critical gender theory.
Hirschauer argues that societies are organized through various knowledge systems that help us navigate daily life. Gender is one of these knowledge systems, and one of the strongest and most consequential ones. When we are born, our society uses a set of standardized biologically derived features, such as genitals or chromosomes, to order us into two distinct categories: male and female. Allegedly, behavior, character and psychological processes can all be explained as natural by this unchanging sex dichotomy (Hirschauer 1996: 240).
Against this assumption, Hirschauer defines gender as constructed by social practices and bound to historical and cultural context. Growing up entails us learning the gender knowledge system, that we are not simply perceiving from afar, but that we perceive ourselves and others through. In interactions, we further perform, mediate and interpret gender through different practices and symbols, e.g. stylized speech and dress code (Hirschauer 1996: 242)
Gendered toys emphasize the crucial influence parents and family have on their kids. Dolls and toys related to beauty prepare girls to grow up valuing attractiveness and kindness, whereas toys such as cars, technology and soldier figurines encourage boys to be tough, intelligent and competitive (Francis 2010).
The annual psychology review of 2018 published a grid depicting persistent gender stereotypes. In other words, what is usually expected of a male or female individual (Miller, Lurye & Zosuls 2009).
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This socialization and construction of two different value systems conditions us starting from a very young age to associate with things appropriate for our gender and disassociate with things not appropriate for our gender. It should be no surprise that we eventually grow up to develop different needs, while others might remain unrecognized due to our environment.
School, next to mass media, peers, family and parents constitutes an important institution that socializes our members of society and at the same time reinforces certain views and strengthens our knowledge system of gender. Dreeben, in his writings „Der Beitrag der Schule “, identifies 4 overarching norms that schools teach us in order for us to pass into the “adult life”: 1. Autonomy: initiative, self-confidence, personal responsibility for own behavior, independence 2. Achievement: actively influencing the environment instead of simply accepting it 3. Universalism: assigning roles and treating other people accordingly 4. Specificity: generalization of role assigning based on few characteristics (Deerben 1980: 59f.)
Whilst the last two principles, universalism and specificity perpetuate gendered behavior and stereotyping, the first two norms, autonomy and achievement, align with male stereotypes. This correlation is likely related to the fact that school prepares us for the world historically made by men in power for men (in power). Girls are also expected to adhere to these norms, which might reduce the difficulty for them to thrive in male dominated spaces. While boys are primarily socialized with male norms, this can pose challenges when they attempt to integrate into female-dominated spaces.
As we can see, the male perspective is dominant and often even more valued. Societal norms privilege certain forms of masculinity, creating gender hierarchies. This concept is known as hegemonic masculinity (Connell & Messerschmidt 2005). Female identified individuals have to adjust to a male constructed world and their perspective is often seen as oppositional and secondary yet (conveniently) complementary to men’s. This is also reflected in the gender pay gap as well as the generally lower wages for stereotypically female work. Moreover, women are more likely to take on unpaid work, manage the household and take care of children.
Due to these circumstances, women often have less free and focused time than men, who generally enjoy comparatively longer and less fractured free time (Sayer 2005). The different time availability and income dimensions, might contribute to a gendered activity divide, because people tend towards activities that complement their lifestyle. For example, women are often the ones to play mobile games and men the ones to play computer games (Bonanno & Kommers 2005).
The action-adventure computer game Tomb Raider, first released in 1996, featured one of the first widely recognized female protagonists: Lara Croft. Especially back then, even more than today, the male demographic made up the majority of the gaming scene. Therefore unsurprisingly, the title was intended for a male audience.
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The visual portrayal of Lara Croft is a reflection of the male gaze and female sexualization. Instead of wearing clothing appropriate for adventurous cave exploring and mountain climbing, she is wearing shorts and a tank top, especially in the earlier versions of the franchise.
Moreover, even though you play as Lara Croft in the game, distance between the player and the character are upheld by the omniscient third-person perspective. This enables the player to control and inspect the character in multiple perspectives throughout the whole game play. Despite this not explicitly being the main point of the game, the camera and sexualization of Laura Croft paradoxically reinforces perspectives that center men’s point of views and experiences.
Men’s interests are more likely to influence the “hows” and “whats” of activities and conversations in mixed pairs and groups as well (Tannen: 1990: 114). This might make homogenous female groups more hesitant of welcoming a male individual among them. In her ethnography, Thorne also describes girls as well as teachers chasing away boys that get to close to the girls playing, due to the boy’s ritual invasions of female spaces and the boys not playing the “right way” (Thorne: 1993: 76,77).
Especially in schools, kids in heterogenous friendships worry about others teasing them, saying for example they are dating, leading to them preferring hanging out in homogenous groups (Thorne: 1993: 54). But girls playing with boys is more accepted and could be considered moving up the gender hierarchy. Equally, being labeled a tomboy is often taken on with pride (Thorne: 1993: 114). But being labeled a sissy for a boy is a direct threat to his status, carries homophobic connotations and might entail exclusion and bullying (Thorne: 1993: 116).
Queer identities, existing outside of heterosexual norms, are especially prone to discrimination and negative representations (Thorne: 1993: 119). Two commonly used caricatures, “soyjack”, a feminized, weak male (to the left) and “chad”, an exaggeratedly masculine figure are often employed as online communication through memes, which spread ideas widely and quickly in part due to their ambiguity and multi-interpretability.
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However, gender representation is evolving in main stream media. The anime Jojo's Bizarre Adventure blendsthe traditional masculine with flamboyant outfits and dramatic posing, the series Helluva Boss features homosexual leads and the casting show Germany ’s Next Top Model moved from exclusively casting women to including transgender women and then also men.
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Despite slow but visible shifts in our gender norms, our social structure is deeply rooted in patriarchy. Females are not necessarily encouraged to completely overthrow this patriarchy, rather to stay true to female values whilst “manning up” and emancipating themselves from previous gender norms, giving them more room and perspective to navigate a variety of spaces and enjoy a diverse range of gendered and non-gendered entertainment and activities.
Conversely, for men, their feminine side, or even just engaging with female connotated things is seen as a threat to their masculinity, which can substantially lower their status and social acceptance. In homogenous and heterogenous groups, most of the time, it is expected of the male individual to display their masculinity and show that they adhere to the hegemonic norms. We have also seen how school, mass media, family and peers can perpetuate gender difference, homophobia and hierarchies and how, especially for boys and men, means of control, like teasing, gossip and social sanctions strictly define a comparatively narrower scope of action.
ooooh BTWW- I once spent tWO WEEKS disecting undertales music tracks and mapping out how they relate to one another!!!!!!!
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i am so proud of this qwq