Sociology is a field of study that provides a unique viewpoint of sexuality and gender and how important they are in the social world. A sociological perspective covers beyond the biotic concepts of sex and emphasizes cultural and social bottoms of gender. Sociological study pinpoints the ubiquity of gender and its influence in both personal and public spheres. It also identifies the similarities and differences in how genders are treated in the social world and what factors determine this treatment. Sociological research is most often joined with research on sexuality. Just like gender, sexuality is not only biologically built but is modeled by cultural and social factors. Firsthand studies on sexuality identities and conduct show a significant deviation referred to by sociology scholars as multiple sexualities rather than single sexuality. This paper will analyze three important keywords in applying the sociological perspective of gender; these keywords are symbolic interactionism, biological determinism, and cross-dressing.
Symbolic Interactionism
Symbolic interactionism is a theory that emphasizes the interactions among people in a society. For instance, communication, which is the exchange of messages through symbols and language, is the way that makes sense in people's social lives (Laurence, 2015). This is a sociological perspective that shows how people actively try to shape the social world other than being acted upon. Herbert Blumer, a scholar, identified three premises of symbolic interactionism. The first human beings interact with things based on meanings that are assigned to them. Secondly, the meanings assigned to the items resulting from our interactions with other people in society (Laurence, 2015). The assigned meanings are understood by people when handling things in given situations.
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This theory proposes analyzing human conduct by looking at the vital function of symbols in human interaction (Laurence, 2015). It is directly associated with feminism and masculinity. For example, when dealing with a masculine gender, the interaction can be hard to portray characteristics associated with masculinity. When dealing with a feminine gender, the interaction can be emotional to display the caring personality of the feminine gender (Laurence, 2015). The meanings assigned to symbols are created socially and not natural. They are fluid and not stationary.
When people do chores or have characteristics based on their gender role, they are playing gender. Whether an individual is portraying femininity or masculinity, they are always playing gender (Laurence, 2015). This means that gender is what we do but not what we are. In other terms, sexuality and gender are created. The social construction of sexuality is defined as how definitions made socially about the cultural correctness of sex-linked behavior determine how people experience and perceive sexuality (Laurence, 2015). This contrasts the theories of gender, sex, and sexuality that associate male and female behavior with biological determinism . The different behavior between males and females is due to the differences in biology.
Constructivism is a branch of symbolic interaction that suggests reality is what human beings create it to be (Laurence, 2015). Social constructs are developed through interactions with others, and those constructs that last over time are agreed upon by most people in society. This is an approach that is mainly used to explain what society perceives as defiant. There is no solid definition of deviance, but different communities have different meanings and behaviors associated with deviance.
In contemporary society, interactionists pay more attention to the meanings associated with sexuality and sexual orientation. This is because femininity is not valued in modern society and is subject to ridicule. Interactionists are more interested in discussions on homosexuals. This involves words used to describe homosexuals, which eventually influence how they feel (Laurence, 2015). This explains why these people experience social rejection and why they are most likely to experience depression and attempted suicide.
Biological Determinism
Out of the ordinary, many people think that sex and gender are coextensive. That women are just human females and men are human males. Many feminists have disagreed with this and started a heated debate on gender distinction (Kaneko, 2016). Many argue that sex refers to male and female based on biological features determined by the sex chromosomes (Saini, 2017). They say that gender stands for men and women depending on social factors, including position, social role, identity, and behavior.
Geddes and Thompson argued that psychological, behavioral, and social traits were a result of metabolic states. The two scholars stated that women are anabolic, and they save energy (Kaneko, 2016). This character makes them sluggish, conservative stable, and uninterested in particular things such as politics. On the other hand, men are katabolic, which makes them energetic, eager, and passionate. They are therefore variable and interested in social matters such as politics. These metabolic state facts were only used in explaining the behavioral differences between men and women. They were also used to support what political and social arrangements should be (Kaneko, 2016). To be specific, they were used to defend the withholding of political rights of women. At that particular time, they argued that granting women political rights was inappropriate since they thought that they were not supposed to have them. They said that due to the biology of women, they would not show any interest in politics.
To contrast these ideas of biological determinism , other scholars have psychological and behavioral differences due to social rather than biological influence. Simone de Beauvoir, for instance, claimed that one is not born a woman but instead becomes a woman. The scholar also contended that the moral and intellectual effects profound in women result from social discrimination rather than natural (Kaneko, 2016). This means that the behavioral traits seen in women result from culture rather than anatomy or chromosomes.
The biological determinism proposed by Geddes and Thompson is currently inapplicable, but their notion that psychological and behavioral differences between men and women remain in the mentality of many people across the globe (Kaneko, 2016). Earlier before, this idea was used to deny women job opportunities, such as airline pilots stating that women usually experience hormonal instability once a month and cannot perform their jobs as effectively as men.
Recently, the brain anatomy difference between men and women has been used to explain their behavior. Specifically, the corpus callosum anatomy, which comprises nerves that connect the right and the left cerebral hemispheres, is the one that controls several psychological and behavioral aspects (Kaneko, 2016). For instance, a research paper published claimed that women's corpus callosum is thicker, which explains the basis of their intuition and why they have an impaired ability when it comes to performing visual-spatial tasks such as reading maps. This idea has developed some criticism over time. Some people argue that the corpus callosum is a highly variable part of the anatomy. Generalizing its size and explaining the behavioral differences between men and women should not be justified (Kaneko, 2016).
A second critic was that infant and adult corpus callosum are different, which may mean that physical brain differences may result from other treatments. The third one was that some visual-spatial skills such as map reading could be improved through practice (Kaneko, 2016). Even though the corpus callosum of women differs from that of men, this does not mean that the resulting difference is immutable.
Cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is defined as the wearing of clothes or accessories that are primarily associated with the opposite gender. This act can result from many factors such as self-expression, entertainment, disguise, or comfort. Some cross-dressers have an obsession or a strong desire for wearing clothes that belong to the opposite gender (Buder, 2013). Some others do it to obtain sexual pleasure. Cross-dressing can also be called transvestitism, but this word is mainly considered disrespectful and outdated.
A cross-dresser is an individual who wears clothes and accessories that belong to the opposite gender. A man who wears women's clothes is male to female, and a woman who wears men's clothes is a female to male (Morris & Morag, 2015). It is still a debate for women if, in this era, wearing trousers or pants is cross-dressing. This is because these days, male clothes are considered to be gender-neutral. Most of the time, when people talk about cross-dressing, our attention is moved from male to female cross-dressing.
One key thing to remember is that cross-dressing does not mean that a person is transgender. When transgender individuals dress per their gender identity, it does not mean that they are cross-dressing. Again, cross-dressing is not associated with body dysphoria; body dysphoria is a situation where one feels uncomfortable with their own body (Greenfield, 2014). Cross-dressers are usually happy with their bodies and the gender identity assigned to them at birth, and they typically have no intention of changing their sexuality. Still, they are only interested in cross-dressing at times (Greenfield, 2014). Transgender people, however, feel that their gender identity is entirely different from their biological sex.
Most are when transgender people don't like cross-dressers because they feel like they are wearing clothes that belong to their gender identity (Morris & Morag, 2015). They also would like to be addressed in the gender they are dressed in. the same case with a trans woman who is wearing girl’s clothing should not be considered a cross-dresser nor a drag queen but a woman. A cross-dresser should not be confused with a drag queen or king. Drag is a type of art performance that is based on cross-dressing. A drag queen is usually a male artist who performs and dresses in clothes of the opposite gender (Morris & Morag, 2015). On the other hand, drag kings are the female artists who perform and dress in masculine identity.
When addressing cross-dressing, the main focus is usually on the dresses and not on the gender identity of an individual (Corey, 1990). Cross-dressers can be heterosexual, homosexual, or even bisexual. Some people may use cross-dressing as a hobby or as a sense of fashion. This is because those who cross-dress do not necessarily do it all the time. Sometimes cross-dressing can be found to be sexually attractive.
Cross-dressing is a practice that has been documented for centuries and is sometimes linked to perversion, exhibitionism, sexual deviation, homosexuality, or fetishism (Morris & Morag, 2015). In contemporary society, cross-dressing is not considered a disorder, but some people think that it can lead to impaired functioning and quality of life due to stress or anxiety.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the sociology of gender mainly focuses on explaining how society influences our perception and understanding of gender. It helps in helping people understand what the appropriate behavior is for a man or a woman as determined by the community. It, therefore, in a way influences our identity and social practices. Sociology focuses on how power relationships originate from the gender order already established and how this trait changes with time. Symbolic Interactionism is a sociological perspective that shows how people actively try to shape the social world other than being acted upon. Of importance to know is that sex does not always align with gender, and all social identities, including gender, are socially constructed. Everything that needs to be done should be purposed to reduce the discrimination of transgender people and to perceive them as part of society. If sexual discrimination is reduced, then people will have understood the real purpose of sociology.
References
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Corey, D. (1990). Trans Generations. Paris Is Burning. Pg. 1-11.
Greenfield, C. (2014). Should We Fix Intersex Children? The Atlantic Daily. Pg. 2. Https://Www.Theatlantic.Com/Health/Archive/2014/07/Should-We-Fix-Intersex-Children/373536
Kaneko, Y. (2016). Biological Determinism Manifesto. Multidisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies. Pg. 2-5. Doi:10.17583/Generos.2016.1537
Laurence, E. (2015). Symbolic Interactionism. The International Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Communication. Pg. 1-12. Doi:10.1002/9781118540190.Wbeic266
Morris, K & Morag, C. (2015). Cross Dressing As Meaningful Occupation. British Journal of Occupational Therapy. Pg.1-11. Https://Insight.Cumbria.Ac.Uk/Id/Eprint/2032
Saini, A. (2017). Scientists Assumed That Patriarchy Was Only Natural. Bonobos Prove Them Wrong. Monkey Business. Pg. 5. Https://Qz.Com/1033621/Scientists-Assumed-That-Patriarchy-Was-Only-Natural-Bonobos-Proved-Them-Wrong/
