Doing gender: Difference between revisions

In [[psychology, sociology]] and [[gender studies]], "'''doing gender'''" is the idea that in [[Western civilization|Western culture]], [[gender]], rather than being an innate quality of individuals, is a [[psychologicalSocial conditioningconstructionism|psychologically ingrained]] [[social construct]] that actively surfaces in everyday human interaction. This term was used by [[Candace West]] and Don Zimmerman in their article "'''Doing Gender'''", published in 1987 in ''[[Gender and Society]]''.<ref name="Doing Gender" /> According to this paper, an individual's performance of gender is intended to construct gendered behavior as naturally occurring.<ref name="West and Zimmerman 2009" /> This façade furthers a system through which individuals are judged in terms of their failure or success to meet gendered societal expectations, called the accountability structure. The concept of doing gender was later expanded by authors such as West and Fenstermaker in the book ''Doing Gender, Doing Difference''., edited by Sarah Fenstermaker and Candace West.

==Concept Summary ==

The concept of "doing" gender came from conversations of gender from sociology and gender studies. The specific term "doing gender" was used in [[Candace West]] and Don Zimmerman's article by the same title, originally written in 1977 but not published until 1987.<ref name="West and Zimmerman 2009" /> In the article, West and Zimmerman illustrate that gender is performed in interactions, and that behaviors are assessed based on socially accepted conceptions of gender. Rather than focusing on how gender is ingrained in the individual or perpetuated by institutions, West and Zimmerman emphasize the interactional level as a site where gender is invoked and reinforced. They begin by differentiating [[sex]] from sex category and [[gender]]. In this piece, sex is the socially agreed upon criteria for being male or female, usually based on andan individual's [[genitalia]] at birth or chromosomal typing before birth. Sex category is the assumed biological category, regardless of the individual's gender identification. This is "established and sustained by the socially required identificatory displays that proclaim one's membership in one or the other category".<ref name="West and Zimmerman 2009" />{{rp|127}} Gender, in this context, is the degree to which an actor is masculine or feminine, in light of societal expectations about what is appropriate for one's sex category.<ref name="Doing Gender" />

Doing gender according to West and Zimmerman "is to advance a new understanding of gender as a routine accomplishment embedded in every day interaction".<ref name="West and Zimmerman 2009" /> Essentially, West and Zimmermanthey arguedargue that gender is something that humans created. As humans, we have categorized and defined many aspects of life. If someone was not in favor of their gender role or did something that was not deemed "correct" for that gender this person would be committing an act of social deviance. West and Zimmerman proposed that the two main aspects of "doing gender" are gender performance and accountability.<ref name="Doing Gender" />

Gender is described as 'omnirelevant,' as it is apparent and relevant in almost every interaction. In their article, West and Zimmerman use examples such as bathrooms, sports, coupling, conversations, professions, and the might have been{{Clarify|date=May 2018}} division of labor to illustrate the ways in which gender is prevalent in many taken for granted activities. This description of gender's interactive nature is supported by Joshua and Kristin Smith (2016) where they explore what factors impact the process of "doing gender".<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=Joshua S.|last2=Smith|first2=Kristin E.|date=2016|title=What it Means to Do Gender Differently: Understanding Identity, Perceptions and Accomplishments in a Gendered World|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/humjsocrel.38.62|journal=Humboldt Journal of Social Relations|volume=38|pages=62–78|issn=0160-4341}}</ref> West and Zimmerman employ the example of a professional woman in a male-dominated field, through which it becomes apparent that the woman will have to make decisions as to whether or not she should engage in "unfeminine" behavior that would otherwise be an integral part of her identity.<ref name="Doing Gender" />

== Foundations ==

The idea that gender is something that individuals actively 'do' was largely inspired by the social psychological approach taken by [[Erving Goffman (1976)]] in ''"Gender Display''".(p.&nbsp;<ref name="Doing Gender" />{{rp|129)}} Goffman theorizes that humans make the assumption that each has an "essential nature," which can be interpreted by reading "natural signs given off or expressed by them" (p.&nbsp;75). One of the most basic natures that can be assumed from interpreting these signs is one's masculinity or femininity. Not only is gender often determined by others relatively easily, but this determination often establishes the ways in which individuals interact with one another. Goffman asserts that, because we habitually function within such scripts, they are taken to be further evidence of essential natures. He coins the term "gender display" as a way to conceptualize the ways in which individuals act in a gender appropriate manner. However, these performances are optional and vulnerable to disturbance, as inappropriate gender display can just as easily be invoked as socially accepted ones. Goffman asserts that there is a "scheduling" of gender displays around activities, so that the activities themselves are not interrupted by gender displays. For instance, colleagues may interact in a gendered manner during their lunch hour, rather than while they are working together on a project. West and Zimmerman take issue with this piece of Goffman's perspective, claiming that this masks the ways in which gender displays permeate nearly all social situations in that individuals cannot avoid being interpreted as masculine or feminine.<ref name="Doing Gender" />{{rp|75}}

In January 2009, the academic journal ''Gender and Society'' published a West and Zimmerman Symposium, in honor of the concept of doing gender. Nine short articles were composed for the symposium, including a piece by West and Zimmerman. Several authors argued that the doing gender framework did not allow for agency, intent or consciousness. Other authors argued that biology needed to be focused on when considering doing gender, in order to understand what role the body plays in gender assessment.<ref name="West and Zimmerman 2009" /><ref name="Jurik" /><ref name="Vidal-Ortiz" /><ref name="Smith" /><ref name="Risman" /><ref name="Mess" /><ref name="Jones" /><ref name="Kit" /><ref name="Raewyn" />

West and Zimmerman responded with an article titled "Accounting for Doing Gender", in which they restated their original argument, with an emphasis on accountability. In this, they argued, the doing gender framework does not hide agency, but contextualizes it. Because individuals' gender will be interpreted based on the accountability structure, the effectiveness of their resistance may not serve to "undo" gender. The authors contend that gender may be "redone" but never "undone", as accountability structures may change but gender will not disappear.<ref name="West and Zimmerman 2009" />

{{refimprovemore citations needed|section|date=December 2017}}

'''Doing difference''' is a concept<ref name="West and Zimmerman 2009" /> that grew out of the authors' earlier idea of "doing gender.<ref name=",Doing presentedGender" at/> theIn American1995, SociologicalCandace AssociationWest inand 1977Sarah byFenstermaker Candaceidentified Westgender, race, and Donclass Zimmermanas andthe publishedthree infundamental means ''Genderof andcategorizing Society''social in 1987difference.<ref name="Doing Gender:02" />{{Cite In journal|last1=West|first1=Candace|last2=Fenstermaker|first2=Sarah|date=1995,|title=Doing Candace WestDifference|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/189596|journal=Gender and SarahSociety|volume=9|issue=1|pages=8–37|doi=10.1177/089124395009001002 Fenstermaker|jstor=189596 |s2cid=220476362 |issn=0891-2432}}</ref> They sought to extend the idea of gender as an ongoing interactional process into the realms of race and class by asserting that the intersection of these three categories could not be thought of in strictly a mathematical or hierarchical sense.<ref name=":02" /> That is, equating these concepts to variables in a statistical model tasked with predicting life success in society will result in an inadequate understanding of systemic inequalities based on race, class, and gender.

TheyThe beginauthors byalso assertinghighlight thathow thesimply intersectionplacing ofcommunities thesefacing three fundamental ways to categorizeimmense social difference cannot{{clarify|date=May 2018}} simply be thought of in a mathematical or even strictly hierarchical sense. That isdisadvantages, simply plugging in these conceptssuch as variables in a multiple regression model to predict life success in a particular society provides a simplified way to look at their relative effects, but would fail to provide an adequate basis for even understanding, lesser yet altering systemic inequalities based on race, class, and gender. For instance, poor black women in the United States face immense social disadvantages, but to place them at the bottom of somean abstract listing of vulnerable populations tellsin usthe United States offers little information about how the interaction of race, class, and gender interacted in their [[biography]]constrains and socialdirects milieuvarious toaspects constrain and directof their lives. Their analysis of these core differences from the standpoint ofan [[ethnomethodologyEthnomethodology|ethnomethodological]] turnsstandpoint shifts the focus away from individual characteristics. Instead, they are understood processually as "emergent properties of social situations"<ref name=":02" /> which simultaneously produce systematically different outcomes for social groups and the rationale for such disparities.

The authors assert that the reason [[Race (classification of human beings)|race]] and [[Social class|class]] were not adequately considered in earlier works is because the [[feminist movement]] has historically been the province of white middle -class women in the developed world who were not sufficiently affected or attuned to the nature of these corollary oppressions. Furthermore, few women outside this privileged lot were able to gain access to institutions of higher education, which might have permitted them to engage in the academic discourse and activity about such shortcomings. Even if they had, the [[gatekeeper]]s within the academy and at leading journals made this unlikely process even more difficult. Perhaps overt racism and [[classism]] (and [[sexism]]) is less apparent today in these institutions, but the tendency remains for those in positions of power to view the world in a way that discounts the experience of marginalized groups.

The central theme of "difference" herein isthis meantarticle intends to illustrate how the concepts of race and gender have been falsely conceived as biologically bound predictors of behavior and aptitude among those who areof a certain skin color or sex.<ref name=":02" /> The commonalities within these somewhat arbitrary categories often exaggerated and the behavior of the most dominant group within the category (e.g. rich white men or women) becomes idealized as the only appropriate way to fulfill one social role. This conceptualization is then employed as a means of excluding and stigmatizing those who do not or cannot live up to these standards. This process of "doing difference" is realized in constant interpersonal interactions that reaffirm and reproduce social structure. Experiencing the world through the interaction of these "essentialized" characteristics and especially through dominant group's frame of reference (power interests) produces a pattern of thought and behavior that reproduces these social inequalities.

* [[GenderRole performativitytheory]]

<ref name="West and Zimmerman 2009">{{cite journal | last1 = West | first1 = Candace | last2 = Zimmerman | first2 = Don H. | title = Accounting for doing gender | journal = [[Gender & Society]] | volume = 23 | issue = 1 | pages = 112&ndash;122 | doi = 10.1177/0891243208326529 | date = February 2009 | ref = harv | citeseerx = 10.1.1.455.3546 | s2cid = 146342542 }}</ref>

<ref name="Jurik">{{cite journal | last1 = Jurik | first1 = Nancy C. | last2 = Siemsen | first2 = Cynthia | title = "Doing gender" as canon or agenda: a symposium on West and Zimmerman | journal = [[Gender & Society]] | volume = 23 | issue = 1 | pages = 72&ndash;75 | doi = 10.1177/0891243208326677 | date = February 2009 | s2cid = 144468830 | ref = harv }}</ref>

<ref name="Doing Gender">{{cite journal | last1 = West | first1 = Candace | last2 = Zimmerman | first2 = Don H. | title = Doing gender | journal = [[Gender & Society]] | volume = 1 | issue = 2 | pages = 125&ndash;151 | doi = 10.1177/0891243287001002002 | jstor = 189945 | date = June 1987 | s2cid = 220519301 | ref = harv }} [https://campus.fsu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/academic/social_sciences/sociology/Reading%20Lists/Social%20Psych%20Prelim%20Readings/IV.%20Structures%20and%20Inequalities/1987%20West%20Zimmerman%20-%20Doing%20Gender.pdf Pdf.]</ref>

<ref name="Vidal-Ortiz">{{cite journal | last = Vidal-Ortiz | first = Salvador | title = The figure of the transwoman of color through the lens of "doing gender" | journal = [[Gender & Society]] | volume = 23 | issue = 1 | pages = 99&ndash;103 | doi = 10.1177/0891243208326461 | date = February 2009 | s2cid = 143693702 | ref = harv }}</ref>

<ref name="Undoing">{{cite journal | last = Deutsch | first = Francine M. | title = Undoing gender | journal = [[Gender & Society]] | volume = 21 | issue = 1 | pages = 106&ndash;127 | doi = 10.1177/0891243206293577 | date = February 2007 | s2cid = 220442752 | ref = harv }} [https://www.smu.ca/webfiles/Deutsch-UndoingGender.pdf Pdf.]</ref>

<ref name="Redoing">{{cite journal | last = Connell | first = Catherine | title = Doing, undoing, or redoing gender? Learning from the workplace experiences of transpeople | journal = [[Gender & Society]] | volume = 24 | issue = 1 | pages = 31&ndash;55 | doi = 10.1177/0891243209356429 | date = February 2010 | s2cid = 145275500 | ref = harv }}</ref>

<ref name="Smith">{{cite journal | last = Smith | first = Dorothy E. | title = Categories are not enough | journal = [[Gender & Society]] | volume = 23 | issue = 1 | pages = 76&ndash;80 | doi = 10.1177/0891243208327081 | date = February 2009 | s2cid = 144473680 | ref = harv }}</ref>

<ref name="Risman">{{cite journal | last = Risman | first = Barbara J. | title = From doing to undoing: gender as we know it | journal = [[Gender & Society]] | volume = 23 | issue = 1 | pages = 81&ndash;84 | doi = 10.1177/0891243208326874 | date = February 2009 | s2cid = 144997602 | ref = harv }}</ref>

<ref name="Mess">{{cite journal | last = Messerschmidt | first = James W. | title = "'Doing Gender"': theThe impactImpact and futureFuture of a salientSalient sociologicalSociological conceptConcept | journal = [[Gender & Society]] | volume = 23 | issue = 1 | pages = 85&ndash;88 | doi = 10.1177/0891243208326253 | date = February 2009 | s2cid = 144971443 | ref = harv }}</ref>

<ref name="Jones">{{cite journal | last = Jones | first = Nikki | title = "I was aggressive for the streets, pretty for the pictures": gender, difference, and the inner-city girl | journal = [[Gender & Society]] | volume = 23 | issue = 1 | pages = 89&ndash;93 | doi = 10.1177/0891243208326676 | date = February 2009 | s2cid = 144121901 | ref = harv }}</ref>

<ref name="Kit">{{cite journal | last = Kitzinger | first = Celia | title = Doing gender: a conversation analytic perspective | journal = [[Gender & Society]] | volume = 23 | issue = 1 | pages = 94&ndash;98 | doi = 10.1177/0891243208326730 | date = February 2009 | s2cid = 143104943 | ref = harv }}</ref>

<ref name="Raewyn">{{cite journal | last = Connell | first = Raewyn | author-link = Raewyn Connell | title =Accountable conduct: "Doing gender" in transsexual and political retrospect | journal = [[Gender & Society]] | volume = 23 | issue = 1 | pages = 104&ndash;111 | doi = 10.1177/0891243208327175 | date = February 2009 | s2cid = 144915358 | ref = harv }}</ref>

* {{cite journal | last1 = Bruni | first1 = Attila | last2 = Gherardi | first2 = Silvia | last3 = Poggio | first3 = Barbara | title = Doing gender, doing entrepreneurship: An ethnographic account of intertwined practices | journal = [[Gender, Work & Organization]] | volume = 11 | issue = 4 | pages = 406&ndash;429 | doi = 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2004.00240.x | date = July 2004 | refdoi-access = harvfree }}

* {{cite journal | last = McDowell | first = Linda | title = Doing gender: Feminism, feminists and research methods in human geography | journal = [[Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers]] | volume = 17 | issue = 4 | pages = 399&ndash;416 | doi = 10.2307/622707 | jstor = 622707 | date = 1992 | ref = harv }}

* {{cite journal | last = Prince Cooke | first = Lynn | title = 'Doing' gender in context: household bargaining and risk of divorce in Germany and the United States | journal = [[American Journal of Sociology]] | volume = 112 | issue = 2 | pages = 442&ndash;472 | doi = 10.1086/506417 | jstor = 10.1086/506417 | date = September 2006 | refs2cid = harv144790912 | url = https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:79076/UQ79076_OA.pdf }}

* {{cite journal | last1 = Simpson | first1 = Sally S. | last2 = Elis | first2 = Lori | title = Doing gender: Sorting out the caste and crime conundrum | journal = [[Criminology (journal)|Criminology]] | volume = 33 | pages = 47&ndash;81 | doi = 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1995.tb01171.x | date = 1995 | ref = harv }}

* {{cite journal | last1 = Thanem | first1 = Torkild | last2 = Wallenberg | first2 = Louise | title = Just doing gender? Transvestism and the power of underdoing gender in everyday life and work | journal = Organization | volume = 23 | issue = 2 | pages = 250&ndash;271 | doi = 10.1177/1350508414547559 | date = March 2016 | s2cid = 144150015 | ref = harv | url = http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-101903 }}

* {{cite journal | last = Williams | first = Clare | title = Doing health, doing gender: teenagers, diabetes and asthma | journal = [[Social Science & Medicine]] | volume = 50 | issue = 3 | pages = 387&ndash;396 | doi = 10.1016/s0277-9536(99)00340-8 | date = February 2000 | pmid = 10626762 | ref = harv }}